“AT&T’s new smartphone service plan — which is designed to encourage smartphone owners to upgrade to a new model every year, rather than stay locked into a device-subsidized two-year contract — is misguided and dumb, at least for iPhone owner,” Chris Maxcer writes for MacNewsWorld.
“Still, I’m quite pleased to see AT&T’s plan,” Maxcer writes. “Anything that decouples the cost of an iPhone from a long-term contract and service plan is good for the industry. Consumers need to know that smartphones don’t cost US$199. They also need to know that the only business model isn’t one that has you pay a low cost up front in favor of big monthly payments tied to a two-year contract.”
Maxcer writes, “The problem I see with AT&T’s plan is that so far — it’s slated to officially debut late this month — it does nothing to share with the consumer the real cost of owning a smartphone. It provides new choices and options, with very little monetary benefit to the consumer. AT&T doesn’t have to call it ‘AT&T Next.’ No, the company should just call it what it is, the ‘You Can Get a New Smartphone Easy If You Just Pay More Every Month Plan.'”
Much more in the full article here.
Related articles:
How interest in AT&T’s new ‘Next’ plan could boost new and old iPhone sales – July 17, 2013
AT&T Mobility unveils fast-upgrade ‘Next’ plan – July 16, 2013
Good to know.
what is this new media love affair with paying $700 for a phone?
Anything Apple that will get them wagging power…
@ Alent1234 – they are not just phones – have you not seen these devices yet?
Apple needs their own trade in every year plan. That I would do.
And it would cost the same as trading in every year with AT&T, Verizon, etc. Apple is not going to eat half the cost of an iPhone just because someone wants to trade in every year and thinks they should be able to do it for free.
Who said anything about free? Take my latest iPhone, give me a fair trade in price and I’m out the Appke Store door with the latest and greatest iPhone. Get the telcos out of the process.
rumor is that Apple is looking into its own trade program to drive customers into their stores…
And if Apple is late coming out with a new phone, does your higher monthly rate go down?
AT&T’s Next plan is separate from your monthly service plan. I believe the phone is paid off after 20 months if you don’t trade in.
At 12 months you are eligible to upgrade (you have paid an added $180 at that point), at 20 months the phone is yours and the fee goes away (you have paid an added $300 at that point). So ATT is willing to give up $20 at the 12 month mark to get you to sign another two year contract. OBTW, if you upgrade beore the 20 month mark you give the old phone back to ATT.
Um. This is a rip-off. AT&T is not giving anything up. With the resale value of a 1year old iPhone, which AT&T gets to keep, the consumer is coming up with the short end of the stick.
That seems to be the general consensus.
Apple’s biggest asset and the world’s corporate envy is and always has been it’s loyal customers. Apple earned this loyalty with a long history and track record that can never be denied and is explicitly the recipe for loyalty.
No other company, corporate or financial power or federal department gets this, if they did they would change and follow Apple’s MO…
DDs don’t understand loyalty either or get this excellence/customer is #1 thing…, their logic is exampled by Samsung’s and epitomized by the likes of AT&T, Verizon, Google, and Microsofts.
I have a feeling these plans will extent Android’s growth even further. While there won’t be much difference on AT&T (which now offers upgrade after one year), the bigger difference will be on T-Mobile and Verizon, where the new plans allow upgrades after 6 months. Those Samsung fans will now have a chance to upgrade with every single new Galaxy model, which has the potential to accelerate the replacement cycle, fueling further growth. As iPhones only come once per year, the replacement cycle there can only be so fast.
the flagship galaxy upgrades are once a year as well
this will help HTC and Moto if they time their releases right
I don’t think it was the flagship Galaxy models that had represented this Android growth; it was the cheapo ones, and these come at different times during the year. HTC and Moto will surely benefit as well.
The essence of the point is, the entire Android platform will likely benefit from these frequent upgrades much more than the iOS, which only gets annual upgrades.
Looks like Google finally found a way to get users to update their Android OS, get a new phone every 6 to 12 months!
If you own both an Cellular iPad and iPhone, you can still get a new iPhone every year at the full discount. So why pay $20-$50 extra dollars a month for the privilege! Without the Cellular iPad, then Next becomes questionable.
i’m… not sure that you’re right about that. can you show me where that’s actually a thing?
Since I have two iPhone accounts, and alternate getting a new phone, each year, I get this benefit on my own, without loosing my two unlimited Internet plans. I have no intent on looking any further.