In an effort to take the confusion out of its phone financing plans, AT&T is trimming down the number of its plans from four down to two.
Beginning June 9, the carrier will be offering its streamlined Next installment plans which it calls AT&T Next and AT&T Next Every Year.
"We know you want flexibility and choices," says AT&T in a press release. "With our new plans, we're giving you the power to decide between lower monthly payments or the ability to upgrade to the latest smartphone sooner."
With AT&T Next, customers will have 30 months to pay off their purchased smartphone. Upon making 24 monthly payments or when customers have paid 80 percent of the handset's total price, they can already upgrade to a new smartphone. With this particular plan, customers will be given the opportunity to trade in an eligible phone.
In the meantime, with the AT&T Next Every Year plan, consumers will be given 24 months to pay off the smartphone. Customers can also trade in their qualified device as part of the plan. As soon as they have made 12 monthly payments or paid off 50 percent of the phone's retail cost, they are already entitled to upgrade to a latest phone model.
That’s not all the carrier is throwing in to sweeten the pot. It also lets eligible customers make a down payment at the time of purchase to cut the financed amount, which would then lead to lower monthly payments.
What's more, consumers will also be given the chance to choose how much they want to fork out as their down payment with the new payment plans, making them sweeter as opposed to the present installment plans. Plus, contrary to the carrier's previous plans, these two plans ensure that consumers will need not wait for a specific number of months to upgrade. Rather, they will be given the option to do so once they have paid off a certain percentage of the smartphone’s total retail price.
In January, the carrier stopped subsidizing phones with two-year contracts. It then only allowed customers to buy their new phones through the AT&T Next installment plan or by paying off the phone’s total retail cost upfront.
