Last Oct. 27, John Legere, T-Mobile CEO, tweeted a photo of the Google Pixel, along with a cryptic line that suggested a big news coming that will involve his company and the Google Pixel. At first glance that should offer no surprise since T-Mobile is, after all, a carrier and it is in the business of selling phones.
Those in the know, however, will most assuredly get confused. The key information here is that Verizon exclusively sells both the Google Pixel and Pixel XL. So when Legere is going about Twitter, posting this business about how Pixel is working great on his network, it is easy to get a little bit more than curious.
Tomorrow I have BIG news about @TMobile @Google Pixel. Hint: it works great on our network!! I love it!! pic.twitter.com/VE62neWsgf
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) October 27, 2016
For starters, T-Mobile is not carrying the Pixel line. That is still the official position. When a consumer, for example, asked about this, a T-Mobile support staff merely directed him to purchase the device at Google.
That, of course, will work. A consumer purchases an unlocked version of the Pixel phone and uses a T-Mobile SIM. The problem here is that an unlocked phone does not enjoy certain perks when a device is purchased under contract. Particularly, the consumer will have to shell out money for the full retail price, which is not a very attractive option given Pixel's eye-watering price tag.
There is, however, an emerging but sound speculation that explains how T-Mobile could be working on a financial scheme in partnership with Google. The company could make it easier for its customers to buy an unlocked Pixel from the Google Store at a reduced rate or under some form of financing for non-network phone.
If this is really what T-Mobile is trying to pull-off, it will have to be done without disadvantaging Verizon as Pixel's exclusive carrier. Of course, the company is quite effective in pulling all sorts of stunts in the past to offer deals that are attractive to consumers. This is probably one of the reasons it has effectively snagged customers away from other carriers.
For the third quarter alone, T-Mobile has reported an 851,000 increase in its post-paid subscribers and 684,000 new prepaid customers. At this expansion rate, the carrier is poised to breach the 70 million mark by the end of this year.
At this point, there is no word yet coming from Google confirming what Legere has been declaring in his Twitter account. Unfortunately, we do not have any previous reference in Google's past for more insights about non-contract payment schemes.
