Apple Stores to Allow Customers to Purchase iPhone Through U.S. Carriers' Early Upgrade Programs

My thoughts exactly! Was debating if I was going to join the next program or do the $250 early upgrade. Only wanted to buy at Apple because its easier to get a replacement new device incase of a DOA or defective unit.

It does not matter where you buy your iPhone ...you get the same service if you go to the Apple store directly.

I'm on AT&T. I recently saved about $30 for switching from a 4GB plan to a 10GB plan that dropped my per-phone fee from $40 to $15 (we have 2 phones). The catch is this: if I buy my next phone at a subsidized cost, the per-phone fee jumps back to $40.

Basically, what they did was offer me Next pricing without signing up for the Next service and I had to increase my data plan to get it. Now I have to enroll in Next for my subsequent iPhone or otherwise face a bill that swings from a cost savings to big cost increase. I'm glad Apple will be offering the Next option in-store.

So I have the following options:
1. Buy an iPhone 6 at subsidy.
2. Buy an iPhone 6 unlocked at full price.
3. Buy an iPhone 6 under a new Next plan.

I've been debating these loosely in my head ever since switching to the 10GB plan, but never wrote anything down. Doing so here will help me make my decision and hopefully also benefit others in the same boat. So let's do some math. I have a 64GB phone now but will consider getting a 32GB phone next time, and of course there are rumors that 32 will be the new 16, so I might as well crunch numbers for all 3 price tiers.

Assumptions:
* Numbers are for 1 phone.
* "1 Year" or "2 Years" assumes either selling or turning in your phone as applicable.
* Resale values are conservative (i.e. $100, $200, $300 for a 2yr old iPhone). YMMV.
* Purchasing at subsidy and upgrading at 1 Year incurs a $250 upgrade fee.

1. Subsidy - Includes a $450 discount; raises my monthly bill by $25
Size - 1 Year - 2 Years
16GB - 780 - 1060
32GB - 780 - 1060
64GB - 780 - 1060

2. Unlocked - All costs are up front; bill remains the same
Size - 1 Year - 2 Years
16GB - 680 - 910
32GB - 680 - 910
64GB - 680 - 910

3. Next - Cost of phone split across 24 payments at 0% interest; bill remains the same
Size - 1 Year - 2 Years
16GB - 505 - 910
32GB - 555 - 910
64GB - 605 - 910

If getting a new iPhone every year is important to you, the Next Plan appears to be a no-brainer. If you don't mind waiting two years between phones, well... it seems like the Next Plan is still a no-brainer because free financing is way better than parting with all your cash up front.

I'm rather surprised by these results, so I feel I must have missed something. By all means, please let me know if you can find that I've done something wrong. Here's a link to the math:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28700580/iPhone%20Purchase%20Options.xlsx

It does not matter where you buy your iPhone ...you get the same service if you go to the Apple store directly.

If you mean service as in "cell service" then yes, it's the same. However, Apple's customer service is above that of a carrier store.