The sticker price on a phone stopped being the price anyone actually pays a long time ago. What you pay is a blend of a trade-in credit, a monthly installment, a plan tier you may not have chosen on your own, and a commitment that outlasts most car leases. That structure is why two people can buy the identical phone in the same week and pay very different amounts for it.
One trades in a three-year-old handset on a premium unlimited plan and pays almost nothing each month. The other buys outright and pays full retail on the spot. Apple (AAPL) raised the price of its Pro iPhones by $100 this year.
The Pro starts at $1,199 and the Pro Max at $1,299, and for a lot of households that jump is the difference between upgrading now and waiting another year. Then the three major U.S. carriers made their counteroffer, and Bank of America (BAC) spent this week working out what it is really worth to you. Carrier promotions work as credits rather than discounts, and that distinction decides how much cash leaves your account on day one.
When a carrier advertises $1,200 off, the full retail price of the phone goes onto a 36-month installment plan, and the credit comes back to your bill in monthly slices across those same 36 months. Related: Bank of America flags surprising iPhone 18 pre-order trend Leave early and the remaining credits stop. That structure is the point, because it keeps you on the account and on a plan tier that bills more each month than an entry-level one.
Apple sells the same phones outright with no strings. The trade-off is that you pay for all of it at once. Maximum trade-in credits for the iPhone 18 Pro Max have climbed to $1,200 at Verizon (VZ), AT&T (T) and T-Mobile (TMUS), Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan wrote in a Sept. 17 research note.
Apple CEO rejects biggest fear over iPhone Duo launch Bank of America resets Apple stock price target after iPhone Duo launch Morgan Stanley renews Apple stock forecast after iPhone Duo launch That is $100 more than the top credit on the iPhone 17 Pro Max last year and $200 more than the iPhone 16 Pro Max the year before. The richer promotions largely cancel out Apple's price increase, according to Mohan. Here is the part that matters at the register.
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