If you have T-Mobile and you want the latest iPhone, be prepared to pay slightly more than customers of other companies.
On Friday, T-Mobile quietly raised the price of the base iPhone 14 (128 GB) model to $830, or $30 more than what the phone currently costs on the Apple website and via AT&T and Verizon with carrier incentives . T-Mobile is also charging a $30 premium to customers who want the bigger-screened iPhone 14 Plus, with that phone priced at $930 at the wireless carrier, compared to $900 charged by Apple, AT&T and Verizon with similar incentives.
The price increase seems to stem from a decision at T-Mobile to eliminate a discount on the phone when purchased through a carrier: Apple sells unlocked versions of the phone at a $30 premium, and T-Mobile has apparently decided to match that price. The company is offering both phones for free via 24 monthly bill credits when existing customers add a new line of service and trade in an eligible device (the credits work out to $830 for the iPhone 14 base model and $930 for the iPhone 14 Plus model). New customers can also get an iPhone 14 at a deep discount when they sign up for Magenta Max ($85 a month) and trade in an eligible device.
The price increase also applies to iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus devices purchased at T-Mobile’s retail stores, with employees told to change the prices on the displays next to both phone models, according to two retail employees who spoke with The Desk on background this weekend.
The older-model iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini phones were also hit with the same $30 price increase, according to a review of T-Mobile’s website, with the base model iPhone 13 costing T-Mobile customers $730 in-store and online, and the smaller iPhone 13 mini listed for $630. By comparison, the iPhone 13 retails on Apple’s website for $700, while the iPhone 13 mini is an even $100 less.
Curiously, the price hikes don’t seem to apply to the iPhone 14 Pro models, which cost the same $1,000 (iPhone 14 Pro) and $1,100 (iPhone 14 Pro Max) that Apple and others charge. The price of the budget-line iPhone SE 3 was also not changed, with that device starting at $430 at T-Mobile.
The following chart shows the new pricing structure for the current- and previous-generation iPhone models sold at T-Mobile compared to their prices at Apple:
[table id=20 /]
(Note: Prices are rounded to the nearest dollar amount and don’t include activation fees and tax; Apple’s price includes carrier incentives through AT&T and Verizon.)
