All mobile value plans are more expensive than what I currently pay for UDP and subsidy. Contracts are more expensive for some people, but not for everyone.
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AT&T to Stop Offering Two-Year Phone Contracts Starting January 8
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Well the good part is you can switch carriers anytime you want.
I see AT&T losing business.
I see AT&T losing business.
And that would make perfect sense if the unsubsidized plans were cheaper than the subsidized ones for your usage, but in many cases they aren't (see post above). And even if they ARE cheaper, it might not be enough to overcome the upfront subsidy received. I ran the numbers when we upgraded to two iPhone 6es a year ago and it was cheaper to stay with the subsidized phones/contract plans vs buying a phone outright or on Next with the discounted Mobile Share plans. $450 per line in subsidies is a pretty substantial amount.
I can probably find the spreadsheet where I calculated it all, but I recall the savings for renewing under a contract was around $150 per line over two years. In fact, I even found it was cheaper at all points in the contract. If we decided to switch to T-Mobile two months after renewing, paying the ETF would have STILL been cheaper than unsubsidized/Next. The only way it would have been cheaper is if we planned to keep our phones longer than 2 years, which we did not.
I went into the above fully expecting to not renew any contracts, but it just didn't make financial sense. We are planning to bail when they up the Unlimited data plan cost, though, given it voids the ETFs and are generally unhappy with AT&T.
Same here. This debate comes up every month and some people can't fathom how contracts are cheaper.
What about corporate discounts? My wife and I have stayed on contracts because it's $25 /MO cheaper than any Next plan. By being forced to a Next plan our bill will increase by at least that much. Not thrilled.
I'm not talking about using another device for that. Currently if I need net access for my wifi iPad in an area that doesn't have wifi, I just use the phone as the router. I'm not aware of any MVNO that offers that.
My iPhone 6s Plus was purchased outright. My cell phone plan with unlimited data and messages added on is $86.32 per month.
AT&T's 5GB data plan would cost me $75 per month, so I'd be giving up unlimited data to save $10 ($15 when prices go up). For now, the option to use unlimited data when I need it feels worth the extra money, but I'm definitely on the fence about it. I can't use the hotspot feature, which sucks.
Swapping out unlimited data for 5GB of data doesn't feel worthwhile. If I were going to select the 15GB data plan, I'd have to pay $115, so I'd be shelling out more money. I'm not overpaying by much.
What? Of course not. You get a discount per line on NEXT.
That would be insane otherwise.
Yeah I always hated that term. The majority of people don't buy a car outright but no one refers to cars as subsidized.
and hotspot, and unlimited minutes, and unlimited texting and data rollover. Not sure why you care about data caps honestly
So if I am on month-to-month with unlimited data ($77 a month is what I pay), can I use my upgrade and renew a 2-year agreement before January 8th to get an iPhone 6S for the $199 price?
I have unlimited minutes and texting and hotspots on my current plan. The only thing I don't have is data rollover because I'm on unlimited. Try again?
I was talking about if you buy the phone full priced, not on NEXT.
Pretty sure the price of your plan on a 2 year contract is the same as what it will be if you buy the phone outright, meaning you are now footing the bill for the entire device, whereas AT&T was effectively paying for your phone on a 2 year contract when you consider you could sell the phone two years later for about the same price as a new subsidized phone when signing a new contract.
Probably because cars aren't subsidized. You take out a loan and agree to pay the full amount.
For a phone, AT&T paid Apple $450 for you, leaving you to pay the remainder. In exchange for that upfront subsidy, you agreed to remain an AT&T customer for some period of time.
You could try to frame it like you took out a loan from AT&T, but it's really the fact that AT&T is a third party covering part of the cost of the device that makes it a subsidy.
In graph form:
Car: Manufacturer -> Third party -> you
vs
Phone: Manufacturer -> Third party + you
I think this will finally push me off of my current AT&T plan.
I've been keeping a grandfathered unlimited plan with a corp discount for $72 a month or so.
I JUST renewed my 2 year contract, because I was still able to get the phone subsidy of roughly $450.
When looking at other plans, it just didn't make sense to change, because my $72 was really $72 - ($450/24) = $53 per month. Additionally, I was even able to get a few $100 account credits for "retention". My 5s was completely free for that reason.
Some people don't think you need to upgrade a phone every 2 years, but I do, and here's why:
(a) Battery life goes to crap after 2-3 years
(b) Mobile cpu's are exploding in power - the 6s cpu compared to the 6 cpu, for example, was 70-80% faster
(c) I work in tech, and usually need to test on the latest devices
I'm rarely using my full 5gb of "unlimited", but my usage has been creeping up, and any other plan was still around $50 for 5gb.
Without the $450 subsidy though, there's absolutely no point to stay on an individual plan. I'll probably join a family plan with my mom/brother/sister and try to get my rate down to $40/month or so.
The NEXT plan is an absolute scam, because not only is the discount negligible (maybe $100 off the phone vs $450), but you also don't get to resell you for (usually $200-$250) - you have to trade it in.
The real pain point for me next time around will be paying the $750+tax for a new iPhone. I will probably try to keep my 6s for 3 years given the new state of things. As Androids get more powerful, it may ultimately push me to a $300-$400 android model like the Nexus 5x currently. I strongly prefer iOS, though.
I've been keeping a grandfathered unlimited plan with a corp discount for $72 a month or so.
I JUST renewed my 2 year contract, because I was still able to get the phone subsidy of roughly $450.
When looking at other plans, it just didn't make sense to change, because my $72 was really $72 - ($450/24) = $53 per month. Additionally, I was even able to get a few $100 account credits for "retention". My 5s was completely free for that reason.
Some people don't think you need to upgrade a phone every 2 years, but I do, and here's why:
(a) Battery life goes to crap after 2-3 years
(b) Mobile cpu's are exploding in power - the 6s cpu compared to the 6 cpu, for example, was 70-80% faster
(c) I work in tech, and usually need to test on the latest devices
I'm rarely using my full 5gb of "unlimited", but my usage has been creeping up, and any other plan was still around $50 for 5gb.
Without the $450 subsidy though, there's absolutely no point to stay on an individual plan. I'll probably join a family plan with my mom/brother/sister and try to get my rate down to $40/month or so.
The NEXT plan is an absolute scam, because not only is the discount negligible (maybe $100 off the phone vs $450), but you also don't get to resell you for (usually $200-$250) - you have to trade it in.
The real pain point for me next time around will be paying the $750+tax for a new iPhone. I will probably try to keep my 6s for 3 years given the new state of things. As Androids get more powerful, it may ultimately push me to a $300-$400 android model like the Nexus 5x currently. I strongly prefer iOS, though.
Most people are stupid (and easily manipulated) as these monthly debates show.
That wasn't evident from your post now was it?
Additionally, I was on the udp long ago and I don't remember them offering unlimited. I recall having set of amount of minutes (i.e. 1500 min, etc), some set amount of texts, etc.
Additionally, I remember hotspot being a feature to try and get people off udp.
Sorry if I am a skeptic of your claims from what I understand from the history associated with udp
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Yep, it makes complete sense to do it otherwise you are essentially giving AT&T approximately $18.75 a month ($450/24).
Not true in all cases. I put all the current plans from AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile into an excel spreadsheet next to my grandfathered unlimited plan with 2-year contract. The 2-year contract was cheaper than all of the alternatives, even with AT&T's recent price increase to the unlimited plan.
All of the current plans are geared toward unlimited calls and SMS, while charging based on data use. This is the exact opposite of what I need. My grandfathered plan is geared toward unlimited data, while charging for calls and SMS. Obviously any user with heavy data and light calling/SMS is better off on the older plan.
While that may be, they are still more expensive than any prepaid plan with the same services and same network
I wonder if Apple will reduce the full prices of their iPhones to look better at the iPhone 7 introduction. They can no longer use the $199, 299 and 399 "bait" pricing and I think the $649, 749 and 849 pricing won't look that great in comparison. Sure, they could list all of the carrier installment plans, but that would look somewhat convoluted.
awesome man thanks, i hear its easier to do everything online, instead of risking going to the att store and messing up your udp
There's a good chance you'll be able to do that, and then switch to another carrier ETF-free due to the Unlimited data price increase coming in February. Anyone off-contract and thinking about switching carriers in the near future should likely be considering renewing their contract for a new phone ASAP.
Are you kidding? Of course they can still use that price. Virtually everyone with leases and payment plans lists either the monthly or the down payment price, not the total price.