T-Mobile's 'Go5G Next' Plan Lets Customers Upgrade Smartphones Every Year

[MacRumors]

T-Mobile today announced a new Go5G Next plan that is designed to allow subscribers to upgrade their smartphones on a yearly basis. The plan is available alongside the existing Go5G and Go5G Plus options.

Customers who opt for Go5G Next will be able to get a smartphone with a no-interest phone payment plan, and once half the phone has been paid off, customers are eligible for an upgrade. T-Mobile says that in "most cases" customers will be able to update yearly.

When opting for a new phone, the old phone will be traded in, and T-Mobile will pay off the remaining payments to allow for a new payment contract to be adopted for the updated device. According to T-Mobile, the Go5G Next plan is also meant to ensure that existing customers receive the same "great phone deals."

Say a customer picks up a $1000 smartphone. Once they pay off half ($500), that customer can trade it in toward a new one, and T-Mobile covers the remaining $500 on the old phone. And new and existing customers on Go5G Next always get the same great deals whenever they're ready to upgrade.

Go5G Next is priced at $100 for a single line with autopay (plus the cost of the smartphone payments), and it comes with 50GB of mobile hotspot data. T-Mobile's Go5G Next plans will be available starting on Thursday, and for a limited time, T-Mobile is offering three lines for $60/month per line.

Article Link: T-Mobile's 'Go5G Next' Plan Lets Customers Upgrade Smartphones Every Year

 

[tripsync]

upgrade to a marginally better camera and CPU every year.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Not really a deal as the new plan is more expensive. It is all smoke and mirrors.

 

[frost_horizon]

So environment friendly

 

[UltimaKilo]

Isn’t this the same as Jump! and Jump! on demand? Lol

 

[pete1]

I buy the top of the line iPhone and keep it for 5 years. I give the my old one to my Dad when I upgrade and he gets another 5 years out of it. Upgrading every year seems excessive.

 

[Mr. Heckles]

So environment friendly

If anything, it’s the opposite. The returned phones get refreshed so others can use them instead of buying a new phone.

 

[depaulsunny]

3 things in life are certain. Death, taxes and T-mobile releasing new, more expensive, plans every year with a promise of free phones.

Remember forever upgrade on Magenta? Remember the promise of Magenta Max getting the best deals? Then Go5G? One plus? Amplified?

 

[Mr. Dee]

I have absolutely no reason to spend $100 for my phone bill. Considering innovation in the smart phone space has been dwindling since 2018, getting a new iPhone every year is no longer enticing enough. Not to mention the chore of transferring apps and data every year. Who really wants to go through all that?

 

[Greenmeenie]

$100? 😂 Um…no thanks.

 

[xxray]

$100/month is nuts. On prepaid, I can pay $25/month for cell service. If I sell my iPhone for a $400 loss every year, that’s $33/month for a total of $55/month. I can’t see how this would ever make sense financially unless you’re on a family plan.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

I pay like $20/month for cell service and keep my phone until it loses support.

What a waste!

 

[fatTribble]

I guess I’m skeptical of carrier plans.
I’d rather just do the iPhone Upgrade Program through Apple.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Every "incredible new plan" from all of the majors seems to revolve around extracting about $100-$130 out of each household. Plan names and select benefits continuously change but its always attempting to average about $115/month.

I just looked up U.S. averages:

• Individual cell service averages $113/month
• Family plans average $170/month

To average those prices means that many are paying a lot MORE than that to pull up those paying much less via MVNO providers.

If you care about your hard-earned money, seek out MVNO options, many using the exact same cellular backbone for much less cost. You may not get some "free perks" but you can likely get any perks offered by other means without locking in for so much relative cost every month for 12 or 24 months.

If a majority of consumers would ever (re)learn to "just say no" to such prices, prices will come down. Else, when the crowd just rolls over and pays whatever sellers ask, we reward those who keep cooking up ways to extract ever-more money out of all of us. Value your money... or lose it.

 

[alexandr]

Not to mention the chore of transferring apps and data every year. Who really wants to go through all that?

Yea, it takes at least an hour!

 

[0423MAC]

 

[jz0309]

Wow, $100 for 1 line…

 

[3304614]

(Ignoring the price for a second, which is a lot):

There was a time (many years ago) when a plan such as this would have been of great use to me. Almost every year I would get a new iPhone. I was exactly the type of customer that Apple loved, lol.

But nowadays I’m perfectly happy to keep a phone around for years (the type of customer that Apple isn‘t too fond of, lol). I kept my iPhone 8 around for four years. And the only reason why I didn’t keep it around for longer was a combination of an old battery and some minor water damage. Now I’ve had my 12 Mini for two years or so. And I’ll likely be keeping it for at least another year (likely longer). There are certainly things about the iPhone 14 (and the upcoming 15) that I would like to have, but nothing that makes me say “I gotta upgrade my current reasonably-acceptable phone now!!!”.

 

[jz0309]

3 things in life are certain. Death, taxes and T-mobile releasing new, more expensive, plans every year with a promise of free

Read the article again, there is no free phone, it’s interest-free payments on top of the $100

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

This is an OK deal but T-Mobile coverage is limited which make it not so compelling.

 

[jayducharme]

Remember the good old days when T-Mobile boasted “unlimited everything”? Now they want $100 for 50 gb of data? Who do they think they are — AT&T?

 

[zach-coleman]

Isn’t this more expensive than a standard plan + the iphone upgrade plan from Apple? I guess 50GB of mobile hotspot data is pretty nice…

Remember the good old days when T-Mobile boasted “unlimited everything”? Now they want $100 for 50 gb of data?

Every carrier limits mobile hotspot. My plan from AT&T only allows 10GB.

 

[jz0309]

Remember the good old days when T-Mobile boasted “unlimited everything”? Now they want $100 for 50 gb of data? Who do they think they are — AT&T?

Read again, it’s 50GB of mobile hotspot data and there is no mention of data on the phone…

 

[The_Martini_Cat]

So, every year you spend $1200 on your plan. After you have paid $500 of your phone ($1700 total) you can trade it in on a new phone? Which is not yet out yet? But if you have a $35 plan, you spend $1200 every THREE years. You save $2400! You can buy a $1400 phone that lasts three years and STILL HAVE $1000. And last time I heard, $1000 was NOT NOTHING. 🍸😹

 

[3304614]

Remember the good old days when T-Mobile boasted “unlimited everything”? Now they want $100 for 50 gb of data? Who do they think they are — AT&T?

Go5G Next is unlimited data (with the usual caveats of network congestion limits and whatnot).

You were looking at the mobile hotspot section when you saw the 50GB number. The mobile hotspot is 50GB (and then unlimited at 600kbps after you use up the 50GB).