Tech trade-in site musicMagpie has launched a mobile rental service for select Apple and Samsung devices.
The new service, which is live as of today (November 9), offers customers a chance to pay a monthly payment for a device with no upfront cost.
Customers then have the option to either upgrade to a newer model every 12 months at no extra cost, keep the same device at a lower monthly cost, or return the phone and end their agreement.
Current devices available to rent are iPhones ranging from the iPhone 7 to the iPhone XS Max, and the Samsung Galaxy S9+.
Every device ordered as a rental comes with a free case and screen protector worth up to £40, with musicMagpie fitting the screen protector ahead of delivery. The devices also come with a lifetime warranty that covers technical defects and faults caused by workmanship or materials.
“It’s brilliant that we have been able to offer our customers a far more flexible and affordable way of owning a phone, with no major upfront costs and lengthy, expensive contracts,” said musicMagpie CEO Steve Oliver.
“We’ve seen a huge switch from the product economy to the subscription economy in recent years and the subscription model is something that is becoming more popular with consumers, so we wanted to give our customers that same experience but with their mobile phones.”
Oliver added that the move made sense from an environmentally friendly standpoint, as consumers were given more options to get refurbished devices, and musicMagpie will recycle or resell all returned devices.
“Renting a phone is also a far smarter choice for the environment as it encourages the reuse of products, keeping them in circulation for longer and mitigating the need to create new products which involves mining for precious metals,” he said. “It will also help to reduce the frighteningly increasing problem of e-waste.”
musicMapgie says it will expand the number of phones available to rent “in the near future”, as well as offer other products such as MacBooks, tablets and wearables.
