The increasing price range for premium smartphones made EMIs popular, but a new option of renting those high priced phones has arrived in India. When cars, furniture, home appliances, houses and more such things can be rented, why not smartphones?
Consumer rental platform, RentoMojo now offers premium smartphones on rent, making it easier for consumers to use and upgrade phones without shelling out huge sums of cash. The site offers popular smartphones, including Apple iPhone X, Google Pixel 2, Samsung Galaxy S9, Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and more.
RentoMojo's rental plans for premium smartphones start at Rs 2,099 per month and go as high as Rs 9,299 a month. There's also an option to own the smartphone by paying the difference after renting it for two years. Let's pick iPhone X as an example and see if it is worth buying or consumers benefit from just renting Apple's flagship.
RentoMojo offers the iPhone X 64GB for Rs 4,299 if the consumer chooses to rent it for 24 months. But if you'd like to rent the smartphone for a shorter duration, the rental goes higher. Consumers can rent an iPhone X for 6 months by paying Rs 9,299 per month. There's an initial refundable deposit of Rs 9,998 to be paid at the time of renting a new phone.
If consumers choose to buy the iPhone X after using it for two years, they can pay an additional Rs 15,556 and own the device. As per the premium smartphone listings on RentoMojo, iPhone X attracts the highest rental.
Is renting better than buying? For some, it might seem like a feasible option. Not only do consumers get the advantage of using the iPhone X by paying bare minimum, they also have to option to upgrade to newer models without worrying about selling the device. This model is great for those who upgrade their phones frequently.
But there are some caveats to this silver lining. For instance, renting an iPhone X 64GB for two years costs Rs 1,03,176. If the customer purchases the iPhone X, it will cost Rs 94,900. Even if customers choose to purchase the iPhone X in 24 EMIs, it will cost Rs 4,601 per month and the total cost will come up to Rs 1,10,433 (including 15% interest). At the end of two years, you'll own the iPhone X, which can be sold to get at least half of that amount back.
In the case of RentoMojo, which charges Rs 15,556 extra after renting the iPhone X for two years, the total cost of the device goes up to Rs 1,18,732. So it is a sound choice to purchase an iPhone X in EMIs if you're sure of buying it after two years of renting it. But RentoMojo's offer works better for those who only want to use the iPhone X for six months.
Besides iPhone X, RentoMojo offers other premium phones on its site. The iPhone 8 64GB rental starts at Rs 3,967 per month, Samsung Galaxy Note 8 starts at Rs 3,599 per month, Samsung Galaxy S9 costs Rs 2,999 per month and Google Pixel 2 is the cheapest of the lot starting at Rs 2,099 per month. The refundable deposit varies depending on the smartphones, which you can check before placing your order.
It is worth mentioning that the service is available in Bangalore, Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai and Noida.
