Would like to know why price increase on iPhone 6 Plus

Apologies for the prior frustration.

done

FYI the target deal requires a installment plan like next and a new line of service.

@ndabunka 

The iPhone SE which came out this year is new brains in a iPhone 5 body, that will stand up to iOS updates a lot longer than an older iPhone 5 or 5s. The iPhone 5 is 2 years newer than the 4, so in two years, you're likely to have the same issue. The iPhone SE is 5.5 years newer than the iPhone 4. It's probably going to last you longer...

If you are not using much data, I'm not sure what you are getting for $120 for 3 lines. That seems expensive if you aren't using the data (I've got 20GB and 3 lines for about $140 and I only get 17% FAN discount).

I know you don't want to touch your plan, but if you're not utilizing it, it seems like you're wasting money and isn't part of this conversation about saving money? You're still giving AT&T that subsidy money but not benefiting from it.  

If you bought that iPhone 4 for $199 when it was new, then AT&T subsidized the rest (the other $449) and Apple got the rest. If you got it a year later for $99 then AT&T subsidized the rest to Apple (the other $449). If you got it a year later for 99 cents then AT&T subsidized the rest to Apple (the other $449).  [For a while iPhones dropped $100 at the first year and again the second year. Apple kept them around for a few years so that cheaper phones could be out there]. It has nothing to do with a herd, the phones are more expensive then they've been marked in the past.

@ndabunka

So don't buy an iPhone.  I purchase 2 Moto pure edition this year for $250 each.  My sister just bought one at Best Buy for $250 for my nephew.  

Thats just one example.    There are other phones out there for less than $650.  Best Buy has a whole bunch of unlocked, lower cost phone's.  The only way Apple and other manufacturers will control the retail price is if each customer complains with their wallet.

This is all the carriers fault only because they created our false sense of costs for like 30 years with the nonsense of contract sales.  Good riddance.    I have 30 gigs of data, 4 phone lines and a tablet and pay $207 a month.  My only discount is AARP 10%.    My last bill with Verizon before line discounts for the same devices was $360.  

https://www.walmart.com/ip/AT-T-Apple-iPhone-5S-GoPhone-Prepaid-Smartphone-includes-45-of-Airtime/53126982

$194. You can sell the GoPhone card to recoup some of the costs.

Done

That is a totally unique situation. For the sake of standard, normal upgrades and such the other users in this thread are simply applying normal conditions to hypotheticals.

@GLIMMERMAN76

I deleted it because there really was NO POINT to pursuing it.

The success or failure of U-Verse is irrelevant to the discussion.  It was bleeding edge technology that helped enable the services you have today so it's a bit surprising that you choose to attack it.  You ARE currently using the architecture my team developed (IMS is the core for EVERY LTE call that is processed).  As a consumer, you just aren't aware of it.

I agree that the Target deal is not what some had promised.  I don't think it REQUIRES anyone to sign up for Next but it does require a new line to be added which is not needed in this case so...