Apple $269 replacement vs. ATT Next Upgrade

Replacement 5C from Apple is going to be cheaper. With Next you end up paying the full, unsubsidized cost of the phone over those months.

 

Correct, once you use Next upgrade, you can't upgrade for 18 month, and by the time 18 month comes, you are eligible for Next upgrade again being that you trade in the device to get a new one.

 

AT&T next is a ripoff

 

you should be able to buy a 5c off swappa for less then 270$

 

Mainly depends on your plan. For current shared data plans with higher data tiers it can be cheaper than a 2 year contract.

 

But you get to own the phone but with next plan you don't.

 

Except that you do. Next is simply financing the payments for the phone (it's not leasing it or anything like that). You have an option to trade it in at some point instead of making the rest of the payments, or you can simply pay it off (either whenever you want or by making monthly payments until the 0% financing/loan is paid). It's the same as buying the phone outright except instead of paying for it all right away you pay for it over a period of time.

 

Yes you do.

 

I think you're getting confused about the OPTION that Next plans have where if you want to upgrade your phone before you've finished paying for it, you have the option to give your phone back to AT&T, and then AT&T will pay off whatever you still owed on it.

T-Mobile and Sprint (IIRC) both have leasing options, but like others have said, Next is simply a 0% financing option. You take the price of the phone, divide it by the number of months you want, and that's what you pay monthly.

 

If you are going to get the 5c again than pay the $269. But if you are going to upgrade to a new iPhone 6 than I would take the next option. Check eBay and you could probably get the 5c even cheaper.

 

Actually you do own the phone with next plan, however, once the installment must be paid off in full, then they let you keep it. I don't think it's rip off.

You also have to think about the monthly fee, would you rather pay $15 - $25 (depending on what mobile shared data plan you have) for a line service using Next? Or pay $40 a line if you did a 2 year contract?

 

Yes the per line charge is cheaper, but you also need to add in the monthly installment cost of the phone you get; so $15-25 + monthly phone cost. This can be much greater than $40 and a turn off to some people.

 

Yup, it depends on your plan--for some it can be cheaper one way for others the other way.

 

I get the whole "different strokes for different folks", but how that's at turn-off is beyond me.

If someone wanted to buy a $949 128G B iPhone 6 Plus:

Option 1: $499 up-front, and then a $40/month charge (line cost for a traditional two-year contract)
Option 2: $000 up-front, and then a $55/month charge (line cost + installment cost for a Next 24 plan w/ 10GB+ data)

I'd think most folks would be turned-off by the $499 up-front payment required to keep the monthly charge at $40 vs $55.

Weird.

 

Option 3:$1049 up front, not deal with a contract. Mainly because I don't like the idea of paying that $55 a month and would rather have my device paid for, plus if I want to upgrade early if have to give that phone back, and I wouldn't want to do that, let alone pay like $300-400 for an 18 month old phone so I can own it.

 

That's pretty much the same as option 2 given that with monthly payments you are simply paying that amount over time and can pay off the remainder at any point you want.

 

Yes and no. Mathematically it is the same, which is why I'm not even going to argue; it's a great way to get your phone if you don't want to pay it all up front. That also assumes you are going to keep/want to keep it. It is very easy to fall into the cycle of being on Next paying $786 (128 GB 6+ pricing over 24 months) total on your phone at the 18 month mark, then wondering if it is even worth it to pay the remaining ~$300 to buy it off AT&T. It would probably make more sense to just trade it in at that point and get the next phone; continuing the cycle. Plus, it keeps you tethered to AT&T's network discouraging you from leaving as you'll have to pay the lump sum to buy the phone, or just lose that $786 you've dumped into it. It's a mind game that I wouldn't want to get into, and don't plan on doing so. T-Mobile's Jump on Demand program that lets you upgrade 3 times every 12 months is even more brilliant.

If you're the kind of person that doesn't care about actually owning the phones, and wants a new one every 12, 18, or 24 months then it's brilliant. Or, if you're like my wife and you keep the phone until it dies, then it is also a brilliant idea as you can pay it off slowly with no interest. But, I just don't want to get involved with the mind games and like the feeling of paying for my stuff in full when I can. Certain items (like a house) are difficult to pay for up front, but I aim to make my phone purchase a "one and done" affair.

 

But with option 3 you can avoid the hassle of making 24 payments and instead own the phone the first day it's in your hands and then take the phone to a prepaid carrier and pay half the price for cell service and data. Saves a ton of money over 24 months.

 

I guess depends on what someone would see as a mind game. Slowly paying something off with the option to pay whatever remains at any given point in time isn't that much different then paying it all up front. Again, I guess it can depend on how you personally feel about it ultimately, but that just comes down to a subjective personal difference and not so much a difference in the actual terms or anything like that.

 

Well, if you plan to leave the carrier, then it's not even really a consideration at all, it's kind of an apples to oranges comparison since you don't even have any other option aside from buying the phone outright and leaving if that's what you want.

 

Sure, but if you just pay the full retail price upfront then you are avoiding any and all types of contracts. Financing a phone is theoretically putting yourself in a contract. But that isn't what this thread is in regards to. Don't pay attention to me. Lol

 

It's absolutely a contract, but it's one with no pre-payment penalty, so I'm not sure what the disadvantage is. Contract ends when you pay it off.

Pay it all off on the 2nd payment and be done with the contract, if you want. Or on the 9th payment. Or the 15th payment.

It's costs you 0% APR. Leave the full retail price in some interest-bearing account for the 12 months between iPhone launches (assuming you upgrade yearly) and make some money off of it?!

 

Lets not make it sound like you will make any money of an "interest-bearing account with $700.
That would get you barely $7 in one year
What this "next" things only advantage is that its basicly a 0% APR 2 year payment option
Some rather not rent to own a cellphone over a 2 year period and just want it paid off in full.
Others will rather pay it slowly little by little, personal choice I guess

 

Yeah yeah, lol. I'm not trying to say that you can retire off of it, just mentioning a way you can earn a few bucks along the way. And hopefully folks have something that earns them more than the 1% you used. lol

Definitely personal choice.

I don't get the "rent to own" comment, though.

You never hear people call it that when they buy something from another store using 0% APR (like a TV from Best Buy, appliances from Lowes/Home Depot/Sears, etc).