Yes. You either pay for a device using a Device Payment Plan (independent from the service cost), or you pay for it in the form of a contract, where the cost of your device is baked into your service cost, or you pay flat out retail. Devices, especially Apple devices, retail for a minimum of $400 for the iPhone SE, and $550 minimum for an iPhone 6S, and Verizon will not bite the full cost of such a device. But they might cut you a small discount. Only a small one.
My recommendation: If you plan to upgrade, please do not do so now. Q3 is the worst time to upgrade. Your desired device from Apple will be replaced in a month by Apple with the iPhone 7*. This means the older devices will become cheaper, and the modern devices will be available for one year until they are refreshed again. More mileage for your money, you know?
