> The original iPhone models were $499–599 only WITH a 2-year AT&T contract, so that price was heavily subsidized.
Untrue. Sure, you bought a phone that was locked to AT&T, but you didn't need a contract, and jailbreaking was a thing quickly....
Source: ya, I bought the first one before moving to China, paid $499 for it, and unlocked it before I left the shopping mall (University Village in Seattle) I was at.
> Untrue. Sure, you bought a phone that was locked to AT&T, but you didn't need a contract, and jailbreaking...
I bought the first iPhone as well.
Not sure why you mention carrier unlocking for international travel or jailbreaking — two things that are completely orthogonal to the subsidized contract terms.
I would encourage you to check your memory. Maybe you paid a higher price to not have a subsidized contract, or maybe you broke your contract, etc etc; in any case, the contract being 2 years is very well documented:
> The iPhone was released in the United States on June 29, 2007 at the price of $499 for the 4 GB model and $599 for the 8 GB model, both requiring a 2-year contract.[17]
> The original iPhone reached the market on June 29, 2007. In the U.S. it was priced at $499 and $599, for 4GB and 8GB models, respectively, along with a two-year contract with AT&T.
> I would encourage you to check your memory. Maybe you paid a higher price to not have a subsidized contract, or maybe you broke your contract, etc etc; in any case, the contract being 2 years is very well documented:
No no, really, lots of people bought them without contracts, even from AT&T stores, at the subsidized price. I think it was the way Apple and AT&T were selling the iPhone: you paid the money, the phone was locked to AT&T's network, so you could only get a contract afterwards without jailbreaking. They "required a contract" but it wasn't done at the same time you bought the phone, so you could always skip it!
This was in the early days of the iPhone, just a few months after it was released (I bought mine in October 2007). They closed the loophole a few months later. My memory is pretty accurate on this one, since I actually bought the phone at University Village (for $499?) and was using it in China a week after I bought it.
The original iPhone models were $499–599 only WITH a 2-year AT&T contract, so that price was heavily subsidized.
The current iPhone 14 range is $799–1099+ for the base configs with no contract, but these are unsubsidized prices.
(The base model iPhone SE is only $429 today.)
Apples to oranges comparison.
Carrier and retail subsidies still exist. It's just that they're no longer the only way to buy an iPhone.