Apple’s new upgrade program is the best way to buy the iPhone 6S

Apple announced the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus today. And if you want one, Apple would like you to think that it's business as usual. You can preorder them starting September 12th, and they'll be available on September 25th. The 16GB iPhone 6S starts at $199 on-contract, and 64GB and 128GB versions will be available for $299 and $399, respectively. The 5.5-inch iPhone 6S Plus is priced slightly higher at $299, and it too is available in 64GB and 128GB options ($399 and $499, respectively). Easy.

But these prices aren't quite as meaningful as they have been in years past, because major carriers have trended away from traditional two-year contracts and toward 24-month payment plans. This way, instead of paying a large chunk of the cost of the phone up front when you sign a new contract, companies like AT&T and Verizon spread that cost over the life of your plan. So today, Apple announced its own version of this: the iPhone Upgrade Program.

Up front, Apple tells you four things about its new Upgrade Program. First, you'll be able to get a new iPhone every year. Second, the phone is unlocked — you can choose which carrier you'd like to use. Third is that you'll be able to pay for the phone with "low monthly payments," instead of paying the subsidized cost of the phone up front. And fourth is that the Upgrade Program comes with AppleCare+.

That sounds like a decent deal, especially with the inclusion of AppleCare+. But is it really? Let's break it down piece by piece, and see how it stacks up against the major carriers, using the base iPhone 6S and all the 24-month plans as our reference.

New iPhone every year

The iPhone Upgrade Program is basically just a 24-month installment agreement, much like the ones being offered by the four major US carriers. Once you've paid 12 monthly installments as part of that agreement, you'll be able to swap your phone for a new one. Just remember — this essentially resets the clock on the 24 months, meaning that you're now starting another two-year agreement. What Apple hasn't shared yet is information on whether (or how) you can opt out of that agreement.

The major carriers typically offer you the option of paying the remaining balance of the value of the phone if you want out of their agreements early, and each has its own structure for when you can upgrade. AT&T will let you upgrade your phone after 18 months, Sprint will let you upgrade "whenever the latest iPhone is released," and T-Mobile will let you upgrade after 12 months. (T-Mobile also offers a program called Jump on Demand that lets you upgrade three times per year, but we're talking iPhones here — and only one gets released every year.) Verizon's payment plan is the worst here — you can only upgrade your phone when the 24-month installment plan has been paid off in full.

The phone is unlocked

Apple will sell you an unlocked phone as part of the Upgrade Program, which means you can take it to any of the four major carriers for the service of your choosing. You shouldn't have a problem bringing the phone to any of the carriers for activation, and it means you can jump from one to another if need be.

Buy a phone through the carriers, however, and you'll obviously lose this luxury. Carriers tend not to sell unlocked phones (Verizon is the exception here), and when they do, the installment plans they offer are most certainly not applicable.