Aggressive, under-the-radar carrier marketing is powering new iPhone sales

Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro in Deep Blue
A Bank of America research note highlights a key factor behind Apple’s stronger-than-anticipated iPhone sales this fall: aggressive, discreet carrier marketing. This strategy has made iPhones more appealing, surpassing the impact of product upgrades alone.
Faizan Farooque for TheStreet:
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U.S. carriers have become quiet engines of Apple’s success by offering better trade-in deals, longer payment plans, and less strict condition criteria.
The move is not just boosting unit sales; it is also changing how Apple generates revenue: by employing partners, not just products, to expedite updates and retain users within its ecosystem…
Wamsi Mohan, an analyst at Bank of America, wrote a research note that didn’t make front-page news, but should have.
Mohan gave Apple shares a “buy” recommendation again and cited U.S. carrier incentives as one of the key reasons for the iPhone 17 cycle’s rise…
The research says that telecom companies like Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T are paying for the upgrade cycle in ways that go well beyond the customary bundling.
With these deals, a lot of buyers may get an iPhone 17 for less than $250 up front, even the Pro Max variant.
All you need to do is sign up for a particular unlimited data package and agree to pay for it over the course of 24 to 36 months. The psychology is strong: Apple makes a big sale, the carrier gets a high-value client, and the customer hardly feels the expense.

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MacDailyNews Take: Sometimes, financial engineering is even more important than hardware and software engineering.

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