The bottom line, then? If you?re going to upgrade your phone twice a year, every year, you could save money using T-Mobile Jump or Verizon Edge (AT&T Next limits you to upgrading only once every year). But buying new phones at that clip is a very expensive hobby and new top-tier devices don?t even come out that often. With the more likely scenario ? one phone per year ? you stand to save little to nothing by opting for any of these carriers? new upgrade plans when you consider the resale value of your old phone. And if you don?t upgrade every 12 months you?ll be racking up huge charges for no reason.
Ultimately, most everyone is better served by sticking with their traditional cell phone plan and buying a phone at full cost when you can?t take that old smartphone any longer. It?s best, then, to think of these "upgrade plans" as extended payment plans that take advantage of customers who want the newest phones and want to pay little up-front by charging them massive fees as the months roll by. No deal.
