I forgot I did have 2 other phone on contract, and why i went to Next. I think even if you buy off the phones, you're still considered on the "Next" plan.
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Trying to figure out ATT options for iPhone 6 is like a math word problem
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I forgot I did have 2 other phone on contract, and why i went to Next. I think even if you buy off the phones, you're still considered on the "Next" plan.
Actually, you don't have to wait for the 20 months to be up. You can pay off your device/loan anytime. I think you do have to allow for a couple of weeks before you can request an unlock, though.
Considering how much the landscape has changed since the beginning of last year, now more than ever it just makes sense to buy the phone outright and go with the best available plan option for your needs.
With T-Mobile continuing to push the envelope and Sprint bringing a new CEO on board, I don't think the industry shakeup has finished yet. Whatever the best value might be right now, a contract or upgrade plan locks you in and keeps you from exploring whatever competing offers might come along later.
With T-Mobile continuing to push the envelope and Sprint bringing a new CEO on board, I don't think the industry shakeup has finished yet. Whatever the best value might be right now, a contract or upgrade plan locks you in and keeps you from exploring whatever competing offers might come along later.
There's ETF for a 2-year contract and you can pay off device installment plans. The main difference between paying upfront and Next is with the former, you have to pay the entire $650 upfront while the latter is more flexible. With both, you still end up paying $650 for the phone and you can always unlock the Next phone after it's paid off (which you can do anytime) so you can bring the phone to other carriers (bar Verizon and Sprint).
Exactly--not that confusing. Next/Paying full retail price/BYOD (bring your own device) all have the same monthly pricing and device pricing, only difference being Next allows you to pay in installments.
I'll either be buying any future devices from a third party or paying full price upfront--simplest solution and allows me to change devices without any confusion.
True about the taxes paid. Except in California and Mass (maybe one more state) where u pay taxes on msrp price of the phone regardless if it's subsidized or not.
Are these numbers correct?
32.50x2x20=1300 + tax on top of that.
My friend said something about the first next phone being only 7 extra a month tho so that would be 800. (don't know the details)
Regardless on the original contract plan you could resell your old iPhone to offset the cost. So that 1700 would drop by 400-600 depending on how much you got the iPhones for.
The old plans were subsidies where the carrier straight up eats the cost of the new phone whereas the the NEXT plan is financing which means you pay full-price for the phone over an installment period. IMO the older plans were are better.
Yes, you do have to pay sales tax up front with Next.
This is incorrect. You do have an agreement with Next with respect to the device. If you want to leave Next, you still have to pay the remaining cost of your device, which for some people could be a lot more than their old "ETF" given device costs will probably start at $650. But of course you then own the device which you can sell, etc.
While the Next payoff cost is likely higher, keep in mind that you most likely had already paid $200-400 upfront plus an extra $36-40 upgrade fee (if they didn't waive it for you).
If you leave AT&T at, say, month 12, you would have paid the following towards the iPhone 16GB:
Next:
($32.50/mo * 12 months) + $260 loan payoff = $650 + tax
2-year contract (new plans):
$200 upfront + ($25/mo * 12 months) + ($325 - ($10 * 12)) = $705 + tax + upgrade fee (optional)
Trying to figure out ATT options for iPhone 6 is like a math word problem
Goodness this is so so confusing and will be a firestorm of crazy starting next month with AT&T. We may be paying $180/month for our services on an outdated plan and could save $20/month switching to Mobile Share, but we'll take the $200 we'll spend for our iPhone 6's and $45/month each for our plan any day. We'll have unlocked 4S' as travel phones and the latest iPhone on unlimited data plans. I wish all AT&T customers could still take advantage of this and force AT&T's hand.
Goodness this is so so confusing and will be a firestorm of crazy starting next month with AT&T. We may be paying $180/month for our services on an outdated plan and could save $20/month switching to Mobile Share, but we'll take the $200 we'll spend for our iPhone 6's and $45/month each for our plan any day. We'll have unlocked 4S' as travel phones and the latest iPhone on unlimited data plans. I wish all AT&T customers could still take advantage of this and force AT&T's hand.
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$180 for 4 smartphone lines is pretty good. Do you have a large corporate discount or something? Because for us, even without texting, it would be $210/mo ($90 + 4*$30 data).
We do. My mother works for Berkshire Hathaway, and while I'm not sure of the discount she has, it's pretty substantial being that our bill is well below $200/month. I've done every number crunch for the US wireless landscape and we elected to stay simply because of this discount. I wish they'd have bigger ones for all these corporations. Customers really deserve them.
If it makes it easier to think of it this way... the only reason to buy outright (or enter a new contract, but NOT NEXT) on AT&T is as follows:
1. You have unlimited data on any number of plans that you plan to keep
2. You have an older data plan that they are allowing you to keep (older pricing).
You can't take into account your out of contract cost when comparing if NEXT is a good decision because it never will be, since you are not taking into account the new phone(s) you want to by.
Next has effectively shifted the way you pay. It is now completely transparent what you are paying for service and what you are paying to own/lease (I say lease because technically you have a choice to dump the phone every two years 12-18 months without finishing paying it off in full, but only if you start paying towards a new one).
NEXT is really the best option for those who want a phone every year since AT&T no longer allows early upgrades on their contracted plans.
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AFAIK the largest discount is 30% and it only applies to the main line. We have a 26% discount on our line. It's easy to calculate savings on the 10GB family share plan because its just 26% of $100 = $26. They also do a breakdown now if you login online where it flat out tells you your savings).
Years ago it used to be an account-wide savings, but they have switched that, and this applies retroactively (so even if you have contracted plans, current or older, it's only the main line that sees the discount. It also applies to the texting package, however.
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I believe ETF's started at around $380 and went down $5-10 per month. Considering you are also not putting $200 down (instead it's about $50 taxes, give or take), as you would with a contracted plan (unless you wait and find a sale/deal), I would say it's pretty darn close.
1. You have unlimited data on any number of plans that you plan to keep
2. You have an older data plan that they are allowing you to keep (older pricing).
You can't take into account your out of contract cost when comparing if NEXT is a good decision because it never will be, since you are not taking into account the new phone(s) you want to by.
Next has effectively shifted the way you pay. It is now completely transparent what you are paying for service and what you are paying to own/lease (I say lease because technically you have a choice to dump the phone every two years 12-18 months without finishing paying it off in full, but only if you start paying towards a new one).
NEXT is really the best option for those who want a phone every year since AT&T no longer allows early upgrades on their contracted plans.
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AFAIK the largest discount is 30% and it only applies to the main line. We have a 26% discount on our line. It's easy to calculate savings on the 10GB family share plan because its just 26% of $100 = $26. They also do a breakdown now if you login online where it flat out tells you your savings).
Years ago it used to be an account-wide savings, but they have switched that, and this applies retroactively (so even if you have contracted plans, current or older, it's only the main line that sees the discount. It also applies to the texting package, however.
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I believe ETF's started at around $380 and went down $5-10 per month. Considering you are also not putting $200 down (instead it's about $50 taxes, give or take), as you would with a contracted plan (unless you wait and find a sale/deal), I would say it's pretty darn close.
Fair enough, but I imagine that most people looking to switch carriers are more interested at their cash outlay when looking to terminate their contract rather than what they already paid months ago when starting their contract, i.e. the nominal cost of an ETF would probably be a lot less than the cost of ending a similar Next agreement.
In any event, there is still an agreement with the Next plan, which was my primary point.
Why not just upgrade and keep your same plans? Plans don't have to change just to get a new phone
That's what I want to know. I only upgrade my phone every two years and pass my current phone on to my son. He's using iP4 and I'm using iP5.
I'm not spending crazy money to upgrade every time there's a new release.
Now imagine how confusing all this will be when Apple stores allow NEXT/EDGE as purchase options next month.