First year with the iPhone Upgrade Program
As expected, Apple announced the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus today. For the first time, I didn't bother to follow along with the announcement at all because I knew I'd be getting the phone anyway. Why? Because last year, at the release of the iPhone 6s, I opted in to the iPhone Upgrade Program, an Apple-managed iPhone buy-in program that gives you the new iPhone every year.
The biggest concern people had at the time was that essentially the iPhone Upgrade Program meant you never owned another iPhone ever again unless you chose to just pay off the 24-month "loan" you were given by Citizen One (on behalf of Apple). Every year, you would give back your current phone to get the latest release from Apple. I was VERY ok with this new trade-in system because I knew that other than with the iPhone 4 (my very first!), I had very little sentimental attachment to my phone. Every phone I've had since then has just sat unused and unsold (hard to sell a really beat up phone) and I didn't want more phones to pile up in the future. I was happy to do the annual trade.
So this Friday, I will pay nothing more than what I'm already paying to get the new phone. I don't even care about all the new technical details. New is new and I'm going to take it. Most likely in 128GB Jet Black (even if it scratches easily). Why don't I care about scratching? Because next year, I'll get the iPhone 7s or whatever just as effortlessly.