Ondrej Holzman There are several options for buying a new iPhone. You can subscribe to an operator, buy at full price or in installments. In the United States, since last fall, users have been able to use the so-called iPhone Upgrade Program directly from Apple, which guarantees that they will receive a new iPhone every year for certain monthly payments. Now with a similar concept Alza is coming to our market.
Alza is not the first to offer a similar service here; however, her offer is the most straightforward and at the same time a bit different. The principle of the service lies in the fact that the customer ideally wants to get the latest iPhone every year, but does not want to pay the entire amount for a new phone at once, and at the same time wants to make the transition from the old to the new generation as convenient as possible.
The program works simply: with monthly installments of different amounts depending on the selected model, Alza guarantees that you will receive the latest iPhone every year, and at the same time your current phone is insured against breakage and theft, and in the event of a breakdown, it is immediately exchanged for a new one.
The important thing is that the monthly installment is the only thing that connects you both with the phone and with Alza. There is no interest or upfront payment in the program. There are only two conditions. You must pay installments for at least six months, after which you can return the phone at any time, terminate the program and with it all obligations. At the same time, you can use one iPhone for a maximum of two years, after which it must be returned/exchanged again.
The ideal scenario for which the "New iPhone every year" program is built is as follows: a new iPhone 6S is released and you buy it from Alza for 990 crowns (for 16GB) per month. You pay for 12 months and the new iPhone 7 comes out. At that point, you just need to go to the branch, exchange the old iPhone for a new one, and for the next 12 months you continue to pay 990 crowns per month.
In practice, this means that you paid 6 crowns for a year of using the iPhone 11S. You then returned the phone and it cannot be redeemed, so it is not in your possession. At the same time, however, Alza guarantees you the immediate replacement of a damaged piece and the use of one insurance event for each new phone.
It is then up to each customer to consider whether such a program is worth it. For illustration, we attach a simple comparison when you buy an iPhone classically, for example, on Apple.cz and when you use the new Alzy program.
Purchase on Apple.cz:
You will pay 6 crowns for an iPhone 16S 21GB. In 190 months, the new iPhone 12 that you want to buy will be released. Let's assume that it costs 7 crowns. However, before buying a new one, you must first sell the old one. With current experience, the price of a year-old phone can be 22 thousand less, provided you sell it in excellent condition. So you will get 190 crowns for an old iPhone. If you want to buy an iPhone 10 right away, you have to pay an extra 11.
Total amount invested in two years: 32 190 crowns + iPhone 7 in your possession.
Purchase within the Alzy program:
You will pay 6 crowns for an iPhone 16S 990GB. In 12 months, when the new iPhone 7, costing 22 crowns, comes out, you have paid 190 crowns in twelve monthly installments. If you want to buy a new iPhone, you go to the branch, return the old model there and immediately get an iPhone 11. You don't have to pay anything extra, and you'll probably still have the phone in your hand in excellent condition, because you have a guarantee of fast service and a possible replacement under the insurance claim .
To make both examples comparable, let's assume that you will use the iPhone 7 under the Alza program for the next 12 months. Assuming that the monthly installment remains the same, you will pay another 11 crowns.
Total amount invested in two years: 23 760 crowns and in hand you have no phone.
Many variables need to be taken into account, for example, in a classic purchase, the amount taken for the old phone can be different - the overall deal can be both more favorable and less favorable. With Alza, provided that the amount of the installments does not change (they may increase a little if the new iPhone were significantly more expensive), your investment is always secure. But at the same time, you are sure that the iPhone will never belong to you or stay, because you are always just renting it. This is a fundamental difference when shopping at Alza.
However, with Alza you also have an insurance policy and the right to a quick replacement in the event of a breakdown. You don't get that with a classic purchase. You can purchase such services for an additional fee, but the total investment will increase by at least three to four thousand, depending on the type of service.
From an overall point of view, however, it is still more profitable to buy a new iPhone at full price and then sell it profitably. However, not everyone wants to pay the full price immediately, and one of the ways to avoid this is the "New iPhone every year" program. For him, the key is to consider whether you're okay with never owning an iPhone and just renting it, and whether you plan to stick with the iPhone and get a new model every year.
Then the Alzy program starts to make sense, but you still end up paying significantly more than if you buy the phone the normal way. It is up to everyone to evaluate whether the convenience of maximum service and the easy transition to a new phone practically immediately after its arrival on the market, for example, is worth it, which Alza guarantees.
Alza offers in its program all iPhones 6S and 6S Plus from the aforementioned 990 crowns per month to 1 crowns for the highest model. Alza is currently discussing the iPhone SE.
New iPhone Every Year Program Details you can find it at Alza.cz/novyiphone.
Due to numerous questions, we have attached a short comparison below by the UpDate service, which offers similar options as Alza's program:
- UpDate offers exchange for a new phone only after 12/18 months. You can change your phone at Alza at any time.
- With UpDate, you must subscribe to the installment plan for 20/24 installments. If you want to terminate the service, you must pay the missing phone installments. The phone will then remain yours. With Alza, you can terminate your obligations at any time after six months without having to pay anything extra. But then you have to return the phone.
- UpDate does not offer an immediate exchange for a new piece in case of failure.
- UpDate also offers older iPhones on installments.
An example (see above) of an UpDate purchase:
You pay 6 crowns for an iPhone 16S 1GB because you want a new phone in 309 months. In 12 months, when the new iPhone 12, costing 7 crowns, comes out, you have paid 22 crowns in twelve monthly installments (phone + UpDate service for exchange for a new phone + insurance). At that moment, you can exchange your old iPhone for a new model, and UpDate will pay the remaining installments (190) for the phone, which amount to 15 crowns. But in order to get a new iPhone, you have to sign up for a new installment plan again and continue on the same principle, so you end up paying for the phone in full.
If you want to withdraw from the service, you must always pay the missing phone installments (not for insurance and UpDate). The phone then remains in your possession.
Total amount invested in two years: 31 crowns + 416 crowns left to pay in order to completely pay off the iPhone 8 and keep it in your possession. You will pay in total 39 824 crowns and you have iPhone 7 in your possession.
The principle of operation of the Alzy and UpDate services is therefore slightly different. Both services offer you the option of automatically exchanging your old phone for a new one, but with Alza you always just rent the phone, with minimal obligations and the possibility of immediate withdrawal. With UpDate, on the other hand, you buy the phone more or less classically in installments, but with the option of exchanging the old phone for a new one in addition. This option is charged for 49 or 99 crowns per month depending on the type of phone (UpDate already lists it together with the insurance price in the final prices).
Why do you list a price of over 24 for the iPhone 6S on Apple.cz, when that is the price for the iPhone 6S Plus? So that it comes out so favorably for Alza in the comparison or is it just a mistake? In that case, it will be necessary to rewrite a larger part of the article and then consider whether it is worth it.
I agree with Jiří, it is an absolutely fundamental mistake in an article that discusses the financial advantage of renting. This service can be interesting (not cheaper) for someone who always changes their phone for the latest one, or to convince a user who has had to change every generation or more to start behaving in this "ultra-consumer" way.
Of course, you can't come to alza with the fact that you have an iPhone from apple.cz or iwant, etc. and alza, as we know, does not keep the same prices as on apple.cz. I assume that the amount in the article is the amount that Alza states in its e-shop for individual phones.
What are you saying? The price of the iPhone 6S on Apple.cz is CZK 21, here in the article it is stated that it costs CZK 190 on Apple.cz. So the author here compares the price of the iPhone 24S Plus from Apple.cz against the price of the iPhone 390S at Alza.cz.
Thanks for the heads up, obviously it was an inadvertent mistake. We have already recalculated the prices in the article and put them in perspective.
She, on the other hand, came with something that she saw in the US and wants to collect some money on it before it comes here.
So what?
Well, if it wasn't so expensive and overpriced... Probably like their "discounts"
I would like to respond to the advertisement on the official website, as it offends me greatly. :) https://www.alza.cz/novyiphone …. about 3/4 of the page, the headline is "be smarter than others" .. has anyone noticed how they present it? Smart Jarda has a 3rd iPhone after 3 years, which isn't even his, while stupid František (stupid = no tie and shirt) owns a 6sko with which he is still happy, however it is an old phone and František is doomed because an old phone is something like the end of the world. I buy a new phone every year and now I'll have to play the "smart Jarda" that doesn't really have anything. It pissed me off and offended me, am I the only one?
Only an intelligent person can offend me :-))
Exactly... You can calculate with simple math that when buying and selling each year you save 5-6k (including insurance) than using the alza program. Lately, I've only been shopping at mironet, even though I used to buy practically everything at alza. For the last year or two, alza has annoyed me beyond belief with its "discount" alces, when the price of the product is reduced to the level of the average price on the market, the next chapter is unbelievably tacky, intrusive and arrogant marketing. The icing on the cake is the fees for absolutely everything or just the effort to complain about the product when it happened to me that the complaint was rejected even though the failure was obviously a hidden product defect...
And how much will the iPhone SE cost? It seems unnecessarily expensive to me. Mainly, most apple users change their phone every two years anyway. 1000 CZK per month you have an iPhone - 4500 CZK per month you have a fabia - that's a slight disproportion...
Not worth it for those who change their iPhone normally after 2 years. It's a shame - they could have such a (cheaper) program.
it's basically never worth it for the casual user.
even if you change every year, you can sell the previous model, in my opinion, with a smaller loss than if you were to pay the lump sum. of course, alza has set the prices so that it pays off far more than the consumer
Personally, I change my phone after a year, and after recalculating, I found that I save 5-6 thousand every year if I change my phone in the usual way (by selling the old one and buying a new one, including insurance) than if I used this program.
so actually such a form of operational leasing for a mobile phone?
and then there is the question of whether Alza has any kind of insurance against the unscrupulous, so that someone doesn't go there for a new mobile phone every month, or for smart users whose mobile phone is stolen every now and then .. after all, this nation still believes that whoever doesn't steal robs the family, I think that it will be even more fun to watch :)
Can you count those? :) if I bought a phone for 21190 and then sell it for 11190 and pay an additional 11. for a new model, so the total costs are 22190 and not 32. After all, you have to include the money collected for the sale :)
You must have been falling through the cracks, huh :D? So it takes half a dozen…
You spend 22 on your first iPhone. You're 000 down.
You sell it for 11. You are 000 in the red.
You buy a new one for 22. You are 000 in the red.
Installment programs like this attract exactly people like you... Who can't count to five :-D
I don't know which of the two of you failed, but I will buy the 1st phone for 22.000, then sell it for 11.000 (I have 11.000 in my hand and 11.000 I have definitely lost) and I will add another 11.000 to the 11.000 in my hand and buy the 2nd phone. Yes, I spent a total of 33.000, but I still have the 2nd phone in my hand, which I will sell for 11.000 after a certain period and the total cost will be 22.000
32 crowns + iPhone 190 in your possession vs. 7 crowns and you don't have a phone in your hand + you have insurance. Ultimately (if I want to end both purchase models at the same time) it's exactly the same (+/-). Clear as a slap. However. What's the point of owning something if someone wants a new model every year + to be sure of insurance? That's the advantage. However, I have to add that probably no one will solve this and every Praguer will buy the iPhone anyway :-))
This is something like operative leasing for cars ... but with cars it's more about the fact that whoever has money will use it, because with cars it's a much bigger advantage than here with mobile phones .... where it works out almost instantly... purchase/rental.
Maybe good for someone who was going to break their phone more than 2 times a year ;-). After a year and a half, give me a new one and then when he breaks it again, he stops paying and has nothing to return :-D.
Otherwise, of course, it's fowl for the guilds, because it's for someone who doesn't know what to do with money and wants services.
Another thing that I've mostly observed is that people change after 2 years with the fact that they give it to someone in the family, so it's a brat even for 5 years ;-). Of course it's crazy when it breaks ;-).
Just for advice, I bought a 6s 64GB on sale, so various sellers in the third wave gave discounts from the Apple price to 20900-21900, so more money down ;-).
I still don't understand why you write the word "BUY", because it is only a rental, you are buying (leasing) a service, the phone is never yours and you will NEVER BUY it, you will just keep paying over and over again. It is simply a lease (otherwise operational leasing for car companies is exactly the same and has been around for several years)
Hello, I am now interested in who all of you who participate in this discussion live in a rental (apartment) ??? You pay rent and at the end…. nothing.