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Apple Store No Longer Sells iPhone With 2-Year Contract on AT&T
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THIS!!!! Why are people forgetting that $20 of your monthly bill is already a subsidy. The next plan just adds an extra $30 to that amount to give you a *savings*... yeah right!
You always do ... the cost for subsidized phones is just hidden in the monthly cost - with NEXT you play less every month than with a subsidized plan.
Subsidized phones are not really subsidized - it just sounds better, but is not.
AT&T does not give you a free gift .....
We already switched to next with our iphone 6+ purchases. We did the math and for us it worked out cheaper AND gave us tethering. Win Win for us!
You just described what I do every two years, saves me money in the end and keeps my monthly down, for me the NEXT was a couple hundred more over two years, ugh.
I wish the industry would quit with the subsidy term. When I buy or lease a car no one says the car company is subsidizing my purchase. Nobody is getting a phone for nothing. You're basically paying it off in installments every month.
Have you ever tried to purchase an iPhone while off contract? I have every other year and it always defaults to the lower price.
Apple does not harm their business partners in any way at any time. If AT&T wants to make their own business decision with their services, it's up to them. Regardless of how it's done, iPhones will still be sold and Apple will still make profit.
Yes. That's the only negative for the next plan. If you want to turn in the phone, you have to order through at&t rather than directly from apple. i just plan to make the final payment for the phones either next month or in august... then we'll own them and will be able to order from apple (and sell our 6+'s)
Wait what? Do these people know AT&T is ****ing them right in the ass with 2 year?!?!
All the extra charges, activation fee and such.
One thing with att is that when I purchase my last htc phone from att.com it arrived " open box " and this is tricky because you don't know if your phone is refurbish or new.!!? I notice a massive att junk inside that phone and it can't be removed.!
I wander if this is the reason behind all of this...so att can install some of the junk without your approval.!?
Also not to mention that I still have so much problem with how att bill my daughter Filip2 GPS Watch...its a nightmare.
I wander if this is the reason behind all of this...so att can install some of the junk without your approval.!?
Also not to mention that I still have so much problem with how att bill my daughter Filip2 GPS Watch...its a nightmare.
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Non contract plans are the best thing to happen in the US. Other countries have had these for years. The problem that many people have here is the service. Cheapest is T-Mobile but others prefer ATT or Verizon.
And I find it very hard to believe that 2 year contracts are cheaper. They aren't. You end up paying the same thing or even higher but the difference is you can't get out of it. Just because a phone is $199, multiply your service price for 2 years + taxes. Same crap. So I'm not understanding how people think getting stuck in a contract is cheaper.
As for selling the phone, how about eBay? Trade-ins?
And I find it very hard to believe that 2 year contracts are cheaper. They aren't. You end up paying the same thing or even higher but the difference is you can't get out of it. Just because a phone is $199, multiply your service price for 2 years + taxes. Same crap. So I'm not understanding how people think getting stuck in a contract is cheaper.
As for selling the phone, how about eBay? Trade-ins?
Holy cow, look at all this confusion and number crunching. We as the customers, shouldn't have to worry about this stuff, but unfortunately we do. Just another example of how screwed up the US-based carriers' pricing has become.
Is it safe to say that the cheapest/safest way to get a smartphone is to buy it outright, no contracts or leasing, and then to get a contract-free, month-to-month plan?
Is it safe to say that the cheapest/safest way to get a smartphone is to buy it outright, no contracts or leasing, and then to get a contract-free, month-to-month plan?
That's not true. For some of us, the 2-year contact is less expensive. I did the research last Fall and stuck with a new 2-year over the NEXT and saved $197 over the course of my contract. I also like my monthly bill to be less each month which now it's only $68. For others with family plans or high data use, NEXT can work out better but it's not "always" the cheaper option.
This math only applies if the customer in question is lazy or stupid. You get that up front fee back entirely if you sell your phone in a private transaction; you still get a big chunk of it back if you're lazy and let a third party do the work for you. Yes, some people do neither and keep paying, but that just means they're being dumb or lazy; it does NOT make the two year contract a "horrible deal" as you alleged. For conscientious consumers, the contract with subsidy remains the most economical concept.
Why do you think AT&T wants it to die in the first place? This ought to be really, really obvious...
I worked in telecom years ago and I fought with executives that pushed the subsidized model. From the perspective of the carrier subsidized prices are a double edged blade. Yes you lower the cost of entry for customers and therefore get them using and relying of heavy data usage, but you also cause a disconnect between the cost of service and the cost of equipment. My prediction at the time was that subsidized pricing would allow equipment manufactures to blackmail us with our customers. If customers began to care more about the device they had then the quality of wireless service then manufacture could demand more per device wiping out any gains earned by the carrier. What was leaderships response? Promote devices more by signing exclusivity agreements. I left the industry shortly after the iPhone was available on multiple carriers.
That would be true if they removed the hidden $20/mo subsidy from your bill... but they don't. The cheapest is still the 2 year contract.
Once your installment agreement is complete and the phone is paid off you're no longer being charged that monthly fee.
This sucks. I did the math -- this will cost me $11.68 per month more, based on spreading the cost of the phone out over 2 years ($399.00 before, $679.20 with AT&T Next). The ONLY advantage is that there is no upfront cost -- but you do eventually end up paying for it, and then some.
That article is two years old. I don't know if the AT&T plan changed since the article or the article itself was misleading, but you get to keep your phone if you choose to do so. You only lose it if you choose to upgrade, but in that case you have a new phone in your hand. However, in the meantime, AT&T Next provided you with free financing of your phone.
The trade-in part of the program is one place where AT&T makes money. You can choose to trade-in before paying off the phone in full, however the value of the phone is greater than the remaining monthly installments. Trading the phone in is a bad financial decision although AT&T does provide convenience here as a service if you want to upgrade.
The best option for people who want 10GB+ plans is to use AT&T Next, eventually pay the phone in full, and sell the phone on the private market when you want to upgrade. I'd like someone to break down how that is financially worse than a 2-year contract (not including grandfathered unlimited plans, which can make sense to keep for those who use a lot of data).
Let's look at it this way. A 10GB plan with 16GB iPhon 6 costs $100 per month base regardless. Contract costs $40 while Next costs $15 for the same phone. Plus, contract requires $200 upfront payment. That's a total of $800 cheaper. Now, with Next you have to pay installments on your phone. Over 2 years, those installments equals to the full price of the phone which is $650. That's $150 cheaper. And, in the end, in both cases, you have a fully paid for phone which you own.
Great deal my butt. they don't include the full price of the phone. you end up paying 2-400 dollars more with next. No thanks.
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