AT&T will let you switch phones up to 3 times in a year for an extra $10/month

With Android phones reaching a point where year-on-year advancements are hardly groundbreaking, there’s little need to upgrade frequently. However, this hasn’t stopped carriers from enticing users with plans that facilitate yearly phone upgrades.

AT&T already offers an add-on plan called “Next UP” for $6 a month, allowing annual phone upgrades after 50% of the device cost is paid off. Now, AT&T has announced a new ‘Anytime’ option that would allow customers to upgrade their phones up to three times a year.

Beginning July 16, customers who opt for an AT&T Installment Plan can add the Next Up Anytime feature for an additional $10 per month. Once enrolled, customers can upgrade their device after making one installment payment and the first Next Up Anytime payment. To qualify for promotional deals on new devices, however, customers must have paid off at least 33% of their current phone’s cost.

An AT&T employee, commenting on Reddit prior to the official announcement, indicated the retirement of the previous $6 per month Next Up plan in favor of the new Anytime option. The post also indicated that customers who upgrade after 12 months and maintain the Next Up Anytime add-on would be eligible for significant smartphone deals ranging from $830 to $1000. However, AT&T’s official announcement does not mention these specific details.

While the program offers flexibility and frequent upgrades, it also raises questions about consumerism and the environmental impact of such rapid device turnover. The company’s announcement emphasizes that the program responds to customer demand for choice and flexibility in upgrading their devices. “If there’s a cool feature – like AI or the device folds, or just a sleeker design on the latest smartphone, we want to make the experience easy for our customers to upgrade earlier and more often.”

What’s your take on this new Anytime add-on? Let us know your thoughts in the comment below.