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Wife wanting a 6 now--Next or 2-year?

M

maverick22

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 30, 2012
685
107
We have AT&T & share 3gb. We both have iphones. Hers keeps dying on her randomly throughout the day. We did the replacement battery recall thing, which helped for a few months, but now it keeps dying daily throughout the day.

She is just ready for a new one. So I bring up the old question...to go with the old 2-year contract or purchasing using Next?

Our bill with her iphone and my iphone comes out to $122 after taxes. My phone was bought using the 2-yr. She is not the type to rush and need a phone every year. I assume if we bought hers using Next that I wouldn't be able to "steal" her upgrade in a year, would I?

Thanks in advance.
 
maverick22 said:
We have AT&T & share 3gb. We both have iphones. Hers keeps dying on her randomly throughout the day. We did the replacement battery recall thing, which helped for a few months, but now it keeps dying daily throughout the day.

She is just ready for a new one. So I bring up the old question...to go with the old 2-year contract or purchasing using Next?
Click to expand...
She is off contract correct?

What phone does she want - 16GB iP6?

How much is the NEXT discount per line when you share 3GB of data?
 
maverick22 said:
- don't know
- yes...possibly 32gb
- not sure
Click to expand...
If you don't know whether or not she is off contract, how do you know she is eligible to get a subsidized phone?!?!?!

Also, without knowing what the NEXT line discount is, there is no way to calculate which is the better deal.
 
If you're just paying $122 after taxes for 2 lines inclusive of subsidy, then 2-year contract is cheaper than Next. Really not worth switching to Next in your case. Just buy outright and sell your old phone.
 
The only way to know for sure is to work out the math. I looked it up and the NEXT discount is only $15/mo if you share under 10GB of data. If you buy a 16GB iP6 on contract, that is $200 + $40 upgrade fee + tax (the tax will vary based on where you live, I used my tax rate for the calculations):

$200 + $40 + tax = $255

On NEXT, the same phone is $650 + tax but you have to subtract from that the $15/mo line discount savings over the course of the 2 year contract:

$650 + tax - ($15 x 24) = $690 - $360 = $330


So the NEXT phone is more expensive by $75. If you share at least 10GB of data, then the NEXT phone is a significantly better deal because the line discount is $25/mo if you share at least 10GB of data.
 
Gryfter said:
from what I "heard", Next is only worth it with a family plan of 4 or more lines...
Click to expand...
I don't get this. You don't have to go by what you "hear"; you just have to do some simple arithmetic.

Having a family plan of 4 or more lines isn't the issue - the issue is how much data is shared. If you share under 10GB of data, the NEXT line discount is only $15/mo and so the 2 year contract price is better. But if you share 10GB or more of data, the NEXT line discount is $25/mo and the NEXT phone is a significantly better deal than the 2 year contract in that case.

The number of people on the plan doesn't matter - it is the amount of data that is shared that matters because that determines the amount of the monthly line discount.
 
Thanks so much for taking the time to do that math! I may just go ahead and go with a 2-year contract.
 
DarrenStevens said:
The only way to know for sure is to work out the math. I looked it up and the NEXT discount is only $15/mo if you share under 10GB of data. If you buy a 16GB iP6 on contract, that is $200 + $40 upgrade fee + tax (the tax will vary based on where you live, I used my tax rate for the calculations):

$200 + $40 + tax = $255

On NEXT, the same phone is $650 + tax but you have to subtract from that the $15/mo line discount savings over the course of the 2 year contract:

$650 + tax - ($15 x 24) = $690 - $360 = $330


So the NEXT phone is more expensive by $75. If you share at least 10GB of data, then the NEXT phone is a significantly better deal because the line discount is $25/mo if you share at least 10GB of data.
Click to expand...

If you need 10GB data call retentions at AT&T and get 15GB for price of 10GB. Gets you $25 off each phone line. So family share plan would be $100 for 15GB and $15 each line. Total $130 for service and if you finance with Next monthly zero interest for phone.

Which you can pay off any time or after 2/3 of payment upgrade to latest phone. Turning in your current one. You can pay ahead to upgrade any time as well. Or pay off, own the phone and sell it yourself. No fees, finance charges or penalties.
 
HEK said:
If you need 10GB data call retentions at AT&T and get 15GB for price of 10GB. Gets you $25 off each phone line. So family share plan would be $100 for 15GB and $15 each line. Total $130 for service and if you finance with Next monthly zero interest for phone.

Which you can pay off any time or after 2/3 of payment upgrade to latest phone. Turning in your current one. You can pay ahead to upgrade any time as well. Or pay off, own the phone and sell it yourself. No fees, finance charges or penalties.
Click to expand...
That is gtk about the deal you can get through retentions.
 
maverick22 said:
We have AT&T & share 3gb. We both have iphones. Hers keeps dying on her randomly throughout the day. We did the replacement battery recall thing, which helped for a few months, but now it keeps dying daily throughout the day.

She is just ready for a new one. So I bring up the old question...to go with the old 2-year contract or purchasing using Next?

Our bill with her iphone and my iphone comes out to $122 after taxes. My phone was bought using the 2-yr. She is not the type to rush and need a phone every year. I assume if we bought hers using Next that I wouldn't be able to "steal" her upgrade in a year, would I?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
 
I suppose that the question you need to ask yourself is this:
Would you rather pay full price for the phone in installments and be able to buy another phone in a year OR
Would you rather get subsidized pricing and be tied to a 2 year contract?

Personally, for myself, I prefer the subsidized pricing. It just didn't make sense, to me, to pay full price (in installments) for the opportunity to pay for another new phone in a year.

I'm sure that you'll get lots of opinions, here, on what to do but ultimately only you know the answers to those questions. And only you can make the choice that is best for you.
 
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maverick22 said:
Our bill with her iphone and my iphone comes out to $122 after taxes. My phone was bought using the 2-yr. She is not the type to rush and need a phone every year. I assume if we bought hers using Next that I wouldn't be able to "steal" her upgrade in a year, would I?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Once you use Next, You won't be able to use that line to upgrade until the phone has been paid off. But you do have the option to pay to upgrade. So yes, you wouldn't be able to "Steal" her upgrade, unless you decided to pay off her phone installment early.
 
I think the days of subsidized phones is quickly drawing to a close and Next may be your only option. I think if you buy directly from apple, you won't have the option - you can only get it by way of Next
 
Another thread on Next vs 2 yr contract. I pay $90.6/mo for two iPhones. Mobile share cannot match that. You should do your own math, something similar to what I have attached below.
att_comparison.PNG
 
spacemnspiff said:
Another thread on Next vs 2 yr contract. I pay $90.6/mo for two iPhones. Mobile share cannot match that. You should do your own math, something similar to what I have attached below.
View attachment 560823
Click to expand...

Not sure if I'm reading your table correctly but it looks like, under the Next plan, it will be 2 years before you pay off your phone in installments. Is that correct?
 
maflynn said:
I think the days of subsidized phones is quickly drawing to a close and Next may be your only option. I think if you buy directly from apple, you won't have the option - you can only get it by way of Next
Click to expand...

I t certainly look like things are going in that direction. For me the customer loyalty (staying with one carrier for 2 years), will be out of the window. If I have to pay full price for my iPhone than I'll have no obligation to stay with my carrier and will be able to leave them at will instead of waiting until my contract expires. I guess having customers with a long term commitment are no longer important to cellular providers.
 
AJsAWiz said:
I guess having customers with a long term commitment are no longer important to cellular providers.
Click to expand...

It's not that they don't want to, but T-Mobile broke it.

Once one of your competitors gives everyone something amazing you have to either follow them or fall behind. So now we all win.
 
I thought AT&T killed off two year contracts on iPhones a week or two ago. I read something along those lines.
 
AJsAWiz said:
I t certainly look like things are going in that direction. For me the customer loyalty (staying with one carrier for 2 years), will be out of the window. If I have to pay full price for my iPhone than I'll have no obligation to stay with my carrier and will be able to leave them at will instead of waiting until my contract expires. I guess having customers with a long term commitment are no longer important to cellular providers.
Click to expand...
Well, by being on Next your payments are stretched out over 2 years, so it's fairly similar to being on contract for that period of time.
 
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