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Sure, Verizon customers can now order an Apple iPhone, and they even get the perk of preordering it a week before everyone else. But Verizon will also end its “New Every Two” program on January 16–the program offered a $30 to $100 credit on a new phone every two years–so existing customers won’t be able to get their new smartphones at a discount (This has since changed; see the update below).
This also ends Verizon’s early-upgrade program, in which customers would be eligible for new contract pricing as early as 13 months into a contract–now they’ll have to wait 20 months into a two-year agreement. Seeing as Apple usually releases a new phone every year, we wonder if Verizon will be willing to ease up on these new restrictions.
It might be a good time for AT&T to start getting aggressive about its own subscription plans to help draw customers away from the idea of switching to Big Red.
UPDATE: We’ve received word from Verizon spokesperson Brenda Raney that existing customers will still be able to use their New Every Two credit for the iPhone or any device in the portfolio, but as the programs ends after January 16th, they won’t be able to sign up for the New Every Two program after that. They’re replacing the New Every Two system with a new upgrade program to be announced later in the year.
