Hello all. Im thinking about possibly switching to IPhone from android. I have the Galaxy S3 and I really do like the phone but im just looking for a change to try something different. Im looking to see if anyone here has any experience with ATT next. I have seen several reviews that make it sound horrible, but when I do the math it doesn't seem all that bad. I am a bit of a gadget freak and I like getting new phones as often as I can. On att's website they have the IPhone 5s on the next program for 27 a month. Which comes out to about 324 for a years worth of payments vs 236 for a contract extension subsided price (200 plus the 36 fee). I would be upgrading every year as soon as I can so I don't think its thats really that bad of a deal. It looks like a lot of people who upgrade every year sell their current IPhone for about 450 then pay about 650 for the newest one off contract. I can see how you really get screwed if you take the whole 20 months to pay it off but if you truly upgrade your phone every 12 months is it really that bad of a deal.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
IPhone 5s and ATT Next
- Thread starter Joe1
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I think the difference here is that if you trade up on AT&T Next after 12 months you need to give them your old phone. Alternatively, if you have a 2 year contract, buy a new phone and sell your old one it will cost a lot less each year. The difference is whether you want to put the money up front to buy a new phone before you sell your old one and how much energy you want to spend selling your old phone.
The thing with AT&T Next program is that it is like renting a phone until all the payments have been made (which is 20 month). However, If do AT&T next program, you pretty much have 27 bucks added to your monthly bill along with the cost to have that line open, data plan, messaging plan and any other service that you have enabled.
You do get the option to upgrade every 12 month, but here is the catch, you must return the phone in order to be eligible to get the next one (I also believe that the phone has to be in good working condition upon upgrade, that's what the website says, but I could be wrong here). However, if you don't upgrade and make it to the 20 month, you already have paid for the device, and it is yours to keep.
I guess in a way if you do plan on upgrading each year, then NEXT program may be for you
Most of the information I got was from their website and that is how I understand how the next program works.
You do get the option to upgrade every 12 month, but here is the catch, you must return the phone in order to be eligible to get the next one (I also believe that the phone has to be in good working condition upon upgrade, that's what the website says, but I could be wrong here). However, if you don't upgrade and make it to the 20 month, you already have paid for the device, and it is yours to keep.
I guess in a way if you do plan on upgrading each year, then NEXT program may be for you
Most of the information I got was from their website and that is how I understand how the next program works.
AT&T is definitely making it simple for people to do annual upgrades with Next. Looking at the math, Next makes it easy to spread the cost of a new phone out evenly so you always have the same bill. The cost of that convenience is that you end up paying more for your phone over the course of the year.
Yeah the convenience factor looks like it is a big plus with the next program. It does come out to be more money over all (but not my much) and its spread out over a year. Plus to me i also kind of look at is as phone value insurance. Right now it looks like phones keep their value very well but no one knows what the market for used phones will be next year with the 5, 5c, and 5s in the picture. I look at is as i pay nothing down, make 12- 30 dollar payments (guess price for the 32gb model) its a total of 360. Or I would pay 299.99 plus 36 activation fee (32 GB model). Then I just hand it over and get the new model no questions asked or worrying about upgrades or trying to find a buyer to cover the early upgrade fees and it only is about 20 bucks more (360 next vs 336 upgrade). For me that's worth the hassle of not worrying to try and find a buyer or anything.
You have to also factor in what you could sell the phone for if you went the normal upgrade route. I know you said you didn't want to worry about finding a buyer but to get an accurate cost difference the selling price needs to be factored in. With Next you pay $360/yr and give the phone back for a new one then pay $360/yr again and again. Let's say I have a 32gb iPhone 5 that I sell for $450 because I want a 32gb 5s. An early upgrade will cost $550 and when you subtract the $450 I got for my 5 the cost of the 5s becomes $100 which is much cheaper than Next. Next is a massive ripoff. If you want to upgrade to the new iPhone every year then take the time to sell your current iPhone and do an early upgrade.
There are people who want a cheaper phone that can still do a lot and there are people who want the best available. I don't think the 5c will cause the 5s to not hold its value as well as previous iPhones. There have always been cheaper options and people pay more for the best iPhone available.
Im using next to get my phone but just paying it off with a bonus Im getting in Dec. You dont have to trade your phone in or anything if you pay it off completely before the 12 months is up. But its a nice way to get a phone when short on cash and dont want to run up your CC and save that money for emergencies.
There's one thing that kind of gets lost in this math, at least for the 1st 12 months, the initial down payment. Sure, you can sell the iPhone 5 for $450 (assuming 32gb), but you originally spent $299 for it at the start.
Standard route compared with $299 32gig 5 and 5s:
Year 1: $299 downpayment for iPhone5 32gb and hope to get the $36 fee waived. 12 months later you sell it for $450 to pay for 5s at $550, early upgrade. The grand total spent over 12months is $399
Year 2: You'll finally see the benefit of this after not having a downpayment. So it might really only cost $100 after selling a 5s to get the 6 with an early upgrade. Years 1-2 total: $499
After 3 years: You are now on a 4th phone and only spent $599. That's if everything went smoothly to sell your phone, got top dollar before another release, possibly having to using an old phone for a month while waiting for the next model, etc. So probably not smooth sailing.
Next route:
Year 1: Start $27* a month (don't know price for 32gb Next), comes to $324 after 12months. Choose to get a new phone. So in a way, a bit cheaper this time.
Year 2: You've spend another $324 and are now on a 3rd phone. But now you really are paying more over. Years 1-2 total: 648
After 3 years you are now on a 4th phone and spent $972, and even more if we knew the 32gig price. But luckily, it was super convient, no having to time with market to get the best price, shady ebay and craigslist to sell it, etc.
And of course you can always pay Next off early, say a bonus check, while your service is still active and no longer tied to a contract (the installments). So helps if you don't want to pay up front or feel your time is worth more than the hassle with the cheaper way.
Last edited:
http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/16/4528404/att-next-phone-upgrade-plans-a-huge-ripoff
Sums it up pretty well, as well as a previous post to this one. Even if you upgrade every year, Next is a bad deal. You have to give them back your old phone to continue to pay $360 extra dollars and be forever tied to a 2 year contract.
If there's one thing I've learned about Apple products it's that you should never bet on them not holding their value. I don't know how they hold their value so freaking well, but they do. The 5S will be in demand and selling for high prices on the secondary markets a year from now. There might be some slight impact due to the 5C, or people wanting the no-longer-available 5 instead, but I doubt it.
It's not that hard to sell something on ebay or list it on craigslist.
And what if you don't want the next iPhone? What if you want to keep your 5S? Well, then you're really getting soaked with AT&T's "Next" deal.
I dearly wish that AT&T would de-couple the equipment subsidies from the service costs--or at least give us the option to do so. Right now, there's not a lot of benefit to buying an unlocked iPhone if you don't upgrade every year. In fact, when the 4 was introduced, IIRC, it was actually cheaper to buy it on contract and then immediately break your contract and pay the fee.
Anyway. As long as there's no difference between your monthly bill before and after you have paid off your hardware, and you plan on keeping your AT&T cell service, then it makes sense to sell your old phone after 2 year and upgrade to a new one with a new 2 year commitment.
But Next? Next is clearly a losing proposition unless you really value not having to sell your old phone on ebay or list it on craigslist. Like REALLY value that.
Sums it up pretty well, as well as a previous post to this one. Even if you upgrade every year, Next is a bad deal. You have to give them back your old phone to continue to pay $360 extra dollars and be forever tied to a 2 year contract.
If there's one thing I've learned about Apple products it's that you should never bet on them not holding their value. I don't know how they hold their value so freaking well, but they do. The 5S will be in demand and selling for high prices on the secondary markets a year from now. There might be some slight impact due to the 5C, or people wanting the no-longer-available 5 instead, but I doubt it.
It's not that hard to sell something on ebay or list it on craigslist.
And what if you don't want the next iPhone? What if you want to keep your 5S? Well, then you're really getting soaked with AT&T's "Next" deal.
I dearly wish that AT&T would de-couple the equipment subsidies from the service costs--or at least give us the option to do so. Right now, there's not a lot of benefit to buying an unlocked iPhone if you don't upgrade every year. In fact, when the 4 was introduced, IIRC, it was actually cheaper to buy it on contract and then immediately break your contract and pay the fee.
Anyway. As long as there's no difference between your monthly bill before and after you have paid off your hardware, and you plan on keeping your AT&T cell service, then it makes sense to sell your old phone after 2 year and upgrade to a new one with a new 2 year commitment.
But Next? Next is clearly a losing proposition unless you really value not having to sell your old phone on ebay or list it on craigslist. Like REALLY value that.
I have a 32gb iPhone 5 right now. If I was deciding to get the 5s via at&t next or early upgrade than what I spent on the phone a year ago isn't relevant to my decision now. No matter what I choose the money has been spent so it's a sunk cost. If you don't have a phone than the cost of both in year 1 is what the op posted with the upgrade path being a little cheaper and then becoming a lot cheaper in year 2 on. I've never had an issue selling phones so the upgrade path is what I choose but I can certainly understand someone not wanting to deal with the hassle.
I'll agree, if you go Next route, it would be crazy not to get a new phone, otherwise it's just one long 0% interest loan and no benefit of subsidizing.
Though if for some reason you don't want to upgrade to the new iPhone, then it might best to pay off the remaining balance and enjoy owning the phone and not tied to any contract. You'll still have your service and be in good standing.
Oh, quick question, when you first start ATT Next, you probably don't have to give up your current phone. That probably only starts with the first 12month upgrade later on. So if you choose not to upgrade 12 months in, then that old phone could easily pay off the remaining owed installments, then be contract free.
Last edited:
I don't know for sure but I assume you only give back the phone you get when you start the plan.
One option that's a bit of a wildcard here is Apple's new in-store trade-in program. It sounds very convenient, but no one knows how much Apple will offer for the phone that you trade in.
If they offer competitive pricing to Gazelle, then you could walk into an Apple Store with a 16GB iPhone 5 and get a $300 credit to buy an early upgrade 16GB iPhone 5S for $450, spending only $150 (plus AT&T will charge you a $36 fee).
If they offer competitive pricing to Gazelle, then you could walk into an Apple Store with a 16GB iPhone 5 and get a $300 credit to buy an early upgrade 16GB iPhone 5S for $450, spending only $150 (plus AT&T will charge you a $36 fee).
This is correct. To start the plan, you don't need to give them anything other than your signature and the tax on the phone you want.
Definitely. You need to be full upgrade eligible (off contract) or a new customer to sign up for Next.
Yeah I forgot about those options. That's a good option for people who are worried about being ripped off or don't want the hassle of finding a buyer.
yeah, Its a lot to consider. I know for me personally I have never had very good luck selling old phones (previous phones weren't iPhone's). The people that I have talked to with iPhone's that sell them usually try to unload them about a month before the new phone is released so they get the best value and they still end up owing 100-150 to upgrade and go with a cheap phone for a month until they can get the new iphone. I can really understand how it gets you in the long run but to me anyways the convince is really worth it. just walk in the store with a 5s and out with a 6 a year from now. No hassle of finding a buyer or going without a phone for a month, just pay 350 a year and get a phone every year. The only other option i see to not have to deal with trying to sell your phone to a third person is att trade in program. I know for other types of phones they hose you on value(Galaxy s3 recycle value ATT 135.00 vs best buy trade in 185.00). Im not sure what they give for iphone 5 but if its more then 286 (upgrade fee plus activation fee) it may be worth going that route for the convenient factor. That way you can still upgrade every year, (trade in old phone and walk out with a new one) and just pay whatever the two year price is that day.
Last edited: