Vodacom customers who opt for a four-year iPhone 17 contract pay about 44% more than the cash price

[mylesillidge]

Pay R28,800 for a R19,999 iPhone on Vodacom

Vodacom customers who take out its most affordable 48-month contract to buy an iPhone 17 will pay about 44% more, or R8,801, than the standard retail price at Digicape.

South Africa's largest mobile operator by customers launched 4-year cellphone contracts in 2024, offering subscribers a way to pay a lower monthly fee than on a 24- or 36-month contract.

 

[DarkStarMonday]

Ya'll haven't figured out how contracts work after all these years ?

 

[Bundu]

fair would have been if this was compared to taking a 4 year loan from a bank

 

[drs]

Borrowing R19,999 over four years and repaying at R600 p.m. equals an interest rate of 19.2%. I guess most people get better rates on credit cards than that.

 

[bwana]

Shameel thanks you.

 

[quovadis]

Did Vodacom stop taking out advertising or upset someone at Broadmedia?

 

[LazyLion]

Stopped using contracts decades ago....
Buy all my phones for cash.

 

[Unreal]

Did Vodacom stop taking out advertising or upset someone at Broadmedia?

I was thinking the same.

 

[Smiggles]

Prepaid all day every day thanks.

 

[Brian_G]

MTN take note - pay your bribe subscription fees here, it's the African way

 

[ajax]

You do still get really great sim-only deals on contract.
If you're a new customer at MTN and talk lots, for example:

 

[My_King]

Why not make it 5 years?

 

[Sarg3_ZN]

Why not make it 5 years?

with a 35% residual?

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

some people just got to have it, same as a GTI or a Chinesium SUV

 

[My_King]

with a 35% residual?

Call it balloon payment.

 

[EmmanuelGoldstein]

some people just got to have it, same as a GTI or a Chinesium SUV

Yes, sadly iPhone is a fashion statement in SA like a Gucci handbag

 

[supersunbird]

Ya'll haven't figured out how contracts work after all these years ?

Well, there was a time when phones were discounted. My Samsung S2 and S4 mini were cheaper over contract than buying cash. Those days are long gone though.

 

[Zellephant]

Haven’t had a phone contract for at least a decade now, so I am clearly out of the loop - I know they upped contracts to 3 years a while back, it when the hell did they push it up to 4???

Surely this is an industry that is ripe for a bit of healthy regulation (and I generally despise regulation)

 

[Zellephant]

Well, there was a time when phones were discounted. My Samsung S2 and S4 mini were cheaper over contract than buying cash. Those days are long gone though.

Yep. The good old days. I stopped using contracts the moment it stop being the cheaper way to be connected.

Used to be if you took a top tier package, like those with 1000 minutes or unlimited talk time and a decent data package (back when you actually needed a decent amount of talk time), the device was essentially a freebie you got with the deal.

 

[FiestaST]

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