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Even though Sprint will be selling the same iPhone 6 as all the other carriers, CEO Marcelo Claure sees the new iPhones as a chance for the company to stand out.
The company is launching a host of new plans to go along with the new devices, including an “iPhone for Life” option in which customers will rent, rather than own the device for $20 per month. (That’s for the base model, with the iPhone 6 Plus and models with more memory available for an added charge.)
Under the plan, customers can trade in their device for a new iPhone every 24 months. Renting as opposed to buying the phone also means that customers can leave the store without having to pay sales tax on the full unsubsidized cost of the phone, Claure said.
“I think a product like that deserves different treatment,” the newly named Sprint CEO told Re/code.
As far as service plans, Sprint will offer a new option just for the iPhone that includes unlimited talk, text and data for $50 per month. That means the option to get a new iPhone 6 starting at $70 per month.
Of course, Sprint is not alone in seeing the new iPhone as a key opportunity to bring in new customers. T-Mobile is holding the latest installment in its “un-carrier” series of announcements on Wednesday, while top dogs AT&T and Verizon will no doubt be flexing their muscles as well.
Sprint, though, is perhaps in the most need of new business, having lost millions of customers over the last couple of years.
Claure is also excited because the new Apple phones support Sprint Spark, the fastest version of the company’s LTE service, which takes advantage of the 2.5GHz spectrum Sprint acquired from Clearwire.
“That makes a tremendous difference on our network now and in the future,” Claure said.
Customers can also choose to pay full cost and own their device. If they finance the device, they would pay $30 per month. Those who want Apple’s standard $199 on-contract price can get that, but will actually wind up paying both more up front and per month.
Here’s a comparative chart on the Sprint options:
Note: We will have much more from our interview with Claure in an upcoming post.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
