Ok. I just did the math. I'm on contract still till November. We have 2 iPhone 5, 10gb mobile share. We were given the $25 off each device special back in February. ATT says we lose that discount if we get new phones. That raises my bill to $180 plus tax. I pay currently $132 plus tax. Even Next is an increase to $180. I don't want to lose my discount so I see me having to buy phones outright or not upgrading. And this is provided the iphone costs the same. I mean really $180 a month for 2 phones? What a ripoff.
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For Most People, Contract Upgrade is Bad, Next is good, Buy it: Why? (AT&T)
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For Most People, Contract Upgrade is BAD, Next is good, Buy it: Why? (ATT)
That's about what people paid before Mobile Share existed. iPhone plans have always been $80-$100 per phone.
That's fine if you want to pay it all up front right away, but you're kidding yourself if you think it saves you money in the long run.
That's about what people paid before Mobile Share existed. iPhone plans have always been $80-$100 per phone.
That's fine if you want to pay it all up front right away, but you're kidding yourself if you think it saves you money in the long run.
Well, from cost point of view, doing next is essentially the same as buying outright but not spending all the money right at that moment and simply paying it off over time (at 0%).
I agree. Just during these hard times, it's difficult to go up on my payments. My phone is having problems with the battery and loses signal to the cell tower. Was hoping for a new phone, but may have to just live with it.
Between getting a new phone out right or via Next (or even contract) vs. not getting one at all, sure, that makes sense. Between paying full price out right vs. going with Next, you are basically paying the same thing, in one case you are just doing it all at once vs. spreading out the same cost over a number of months.
True. In fairness to AT&T though, the trade-in value via NEXT is similar to what you'd get via Gazelle, etc. so it's actually a decent enough alternative for those who don't want to deal with the risk and hassle of selling yourself.
And my numbers are based on the iPhone 5s. If apple raises the price, we may see even higher prices.
If you pay for the phone upfront, it is the same cost as if you did the NEXT plan. But, now you have a choice to pay it off when you want, and maybe a choice upgrade next year, or not.
IT IS THE SAME COST. WHY ARE FOLKS UNABLE TO DO THE MATH?
People have always been told that signing a contract is the way to get cheaper rates. It's always been like that for cell providers (cheap phones), land lines, internet, cable, and satellite. We always associate 2 year agreements with cheaper prices.
It's hard for people to shift out of that mindset.
However, if AT&T gave a $25 line discount to all plans and not just the ones with 10 GB or more, then I think you would see more consistent approval. Right now, the people with larger capacity plans see the light while the people with less data think that the other people are crazy. So it's just one big argument of "Contract is cheaper! No, Next is cheaper!" When in fact both people are right.
What the people on 6 GB plans don't realize, is that upgrading to 10GB on Next and getting that extra $10 discount per line will actually give them a lot more data for essentially the same cost as having a 6GB plan on contract.
NEXT would be dog**** for me 
CURRENRT PLAN
$50/month 550 min (15% emp discount)
$10/month extra line
$30/month unlim data for line #1 (15% emp discount)
$30/month unlim data for line #2 (15% emp discount)
$120/month before discount ($103.50 after discount)
$103.50/mo X 24 months = $2,484
$200/2-years for upgrade on phone #1
$200/2-years for upgrade on phone #2
$2,848 = total cost for 2-years on current plan.
NEXT
$100/mo 10gb (15% emp discount)
$15/mo service charge for phone #1
$15/mo service charge for phone #2
$27/mo NEXT payment for phone #1
$27/mo NEXT payment for phone #2
$184/mo before discount ($169 after discount)
$169/mo X 24 months = $4,056
$4,056 = total cost for 2-years on NEXT plan.
Is unlimited talk/text + being allowed to tethering worth an extra $1,200 over two years? It's not for me.
CURRENRT PLAN
$50/month 550 min (15% emp discount)
$10/month extra line
$30/month unlim data for line #1 (15% emp discount)
$30/month unlim data for line #2 (15% emp discount)
$120/month before discount ($103.50 after discount)
$103.50/mo X 24 months = $2,484
$200/2-years for upgrade on phone #1
$200/2-years for upgrade on phone #2
$2,848 = total cost for 2-years on current plan.
NEXT
$100/mo 10gb (15% emp discount)
$15/mo service charge for phone #1
$15/mo service charge for phone #2
$27/mo NEXT payment for phone #1
$27/mo NEXT payment for phone #2
$184/mo before discount ($169 after discount)
$169/mo X 24 months = $4,056
$4,056 = total cost for 2-years on NEXT plan.
Is unlimited talk/text + being allowed to tethering worth an extra $1,200 over two years? It's not for me.
Clearly you just overlooked everything in this thread and didn't even bother to consider the details before making a generalized statement. Yup, that's meaningful.
And on a contract/subsidized device, you MUST pay $25 more per month for the life of your contract, even if the subsidized device is gone. The bottom line is that you're paying the full retail price of the device - or more - whether you lose it or not, damage it or not, or get it subsidized or not. How exactly they characterize those costs is really irrelevant - you're paying. But with a subsidized device, you're actually paying more than full retail by the time the contract is up.
The other part that amazes me is when people throw in the lost, damaged, broken stuff.
The "damage or cost" is the same if you
Buy it outright
Buy it on Next
Do it on contract.
The phone is still gone. Somebody has to pay for it, and it is not ATT.
The "damage or cost" is the same if you
Buy it outright
Buy it on Next
Do it on contract.
The phone is still gone. Somebody has to pay for it, and it is not ATT.
It's a scam. It's ALL a scam.
This is good deal for AT&T because it encourages people to never pay off their devices. It's that simple.
They want all there customers to pay them the most possible every month for as long as possible.
So you can sign up for next and pay $30ish a month until the device is paid off. But most people won't do that. Most people will upgrade to another device and keep upgrading. And AT&T pockets that and gets the value left in the old phone.
It sucks. It's a scam. BUT it's really no more of a scam than most "normal" 2 year contracts.
At the end of your 2 year contract you will likely get a new phone. Next just makes it more likely.
tldr:
AT&T is ripping everyone off pretty equally. And for what it's worth I will "next" my iPhone 6.
This is good deal for AT&T because it encourages people to never pay off their devices. It's that simple.
They want all there customers to pay them the most possible every month for as long as possible.
So you can sign up for next and pay $30ish a month until the device is paid off. But most people won't do that. Most people will upgrade to another device and keep upgrading. And AT&T pockets that and gets the value left in the old phone.
It sucks. It's a scam. BUT it's really no more of a scam than most "normal" 2 year contracts.
At the end of your 2 year contract you will likely get a new phone. Next just makes it more likely.
tldr:
AT&T is ripping everyone off pretty equally. And for what it's worth I will "next" my iPhone 6.
How is it a scam again? You pay the same price that you would if you just bought the phone out right (just in smaller payments over a period of time) and you can pay off the phone almost at any point if you want. That's some "scam" indeed.
NEXT would be dog**** for me
CURRENRT PLAN
$50/month 550 min (15% emp discount)
$10/month extra line
$30/month unlim data for line #1 (15% emp discount)
$30/month unlim data for line #2 (15% emp discount)
$120/month before discount ($103.50 after discount)
$103.50/mo X 24 months = $2,484
$200/2-years for upgrade on phone #1
$200/2-years for upgrade on phone #2
$2,848 = total cost for 2-years on current plan.
Well, heck yes. If you can keep that plan, it is definitely a better deal. I think most people aren't on the unlimited data plans any longer due to prior switches.
And it’s interest-free. No finance charge. You’re actually using AT&T's money for the new device for free.
Unlimited sucks when you're using over 5GB a month and getting throttled. I'm finally switching with the 6
If someone is on unlimited and actually using it and can not take advantage of data sharing, they probably should stay on the old plan.
Yes.
(I personally paid for unlimited on two phone for MANY years, never went over 2gb, but one family member blew through their 2 gb often - STUPID ME)
Every employee I've talked to at ATT has said the opposite...that once the 2-year contract is up, it becomes Off-Contract and thus the $40 fee drops to $25 or $15 depending on data allotment.
I can check their page to see if there is anything in writing that states this.
That's correct. But it also doesn't seem to go against anything that was mentioned in the post that you quoted/replied to.