Samsung tipped to match Apple’s phone rental scheme, let users upgrade as new handsets launch
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Samsung is tipped to announce a phone rental scheme for impatient smartphone fanatics, matching Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program that will launch in the United States on Friday.
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The scheme would let users rent the latest, top-of-the-range smartphones for a monthly fee, using the phone plan of their choosing, and swapping their rented phone for a new model every year.

Telecommunications experts say Australian consumers would “definitely be interested in that sort of offer” but rental schemes are likely to face opposition from Australian phone carriers.

Samsung is the latest company tipped to offer a rental scheme, with Forbes quoting a source saying it was “a no-brainer” for the world’s leading smartphone maker, and forecasting a launch within “the next several months”.

Its launch would follow Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program that will kick off this Friday in the United States, offered with the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus.

Under its scheme, users will commit to paying between $32 and $44 a month for two years and will receive a new, unlocked iPhone each year, as well as hardware and software support, and coverage for two accidental damage incidents.

It is not known how much a competing Samsung rental program would cost.

Telsyte managing director Foad Fadaghi said Australia’s voracious technology consumers would likely embrace phone rental schemes as while smartphones were usually offered by carriers on a two-year contract, they were usually upgraded every year.

“Australians are upgrading their phones regularly and for those who want the latest handsets all the time, it would take the hassle out of reselling and buying new phones,” he said.

“It would be particularly attractive for consumers in that second year. If you’re in the second year of a contract, you’re effectively paying for an older handset.”

But Mr Fadaghi said launching a phone rental scheme would be “to the detriment of carriers” in 
Australia, with 40 per cent of Australians currently paying off a mobile phone on contract, and phone makers may not want to “upset their relationship by competing with them”.

Samsung and Apple representatives declined to comment on whether the schemes would be made available in Australia.