Well some people don't have a few hundred dollars to drop on a new phone when they need one. At that point you're at the whim of the carrier anyways.

Just like with cars, people have gotten accustomed to buying on credit and have forgotten that you can save and buy for cash on the same cycle. One difference being that the "buying on credit" aspect is really well hidden from the consumer by being bundled into their monthly payment

If that is the scenario a garbage prepaid phone is probably a better idea than a 2 year contract.

or a used last-gen phone, unlocked and with a new battery.

I would rather buy a phone like moto g than get a super phone that is locked to a career and bloated with all the shit. But then if you are on hacker news, you most probably are not an average joe when it comes to tech.

I have a Moto G, outright. It cost as much as a night out, and it works perfectly. It's got nearly stock Android, and the battery is good.

The camera is HORRIBLE, but the difference is not worth >$650 to me

Yeah Moto G was my phone for an year as well till i got a proper job and could afford Nexus 6P.

If you don't care about camera, it really is a great phone for 250 CAD.

a footnote about the Moto G and Verizon: some people who bought unlocked Moto G phones from a 3rd party (e.g. Amazon) have reported that 911 doesn't work properly with Verizon. dunno. maybe that's why Verizon doesn't sell it on their US website.

Unless you are using it for work related stuff (mobile development, photography, etc...) buying a phone with money you don't have is not a smart idea. I guess the Yahoo! icon is the least of the trouble of these people.

I still find it crazy since Apple offers a monthly payment plan which includes AppleCare+ and a new phone every year. But I guess you need good credit for that the extra $35 or $45 per month for the phone.

I just went through this. I was due an upgrade from AT&T. I had a dead iPhone 6 that I had to replace. Here were my options:

* $18-22 a month for two years to buy an iPhone from AT&T. No money down, no voice/data contract. The phone is locked to AT&T until you're done paying for it. Total cost works out to around $525.

* Slightly more, like $25-30, for two years to buy an iPhone from Apple. Differences: it's unlocked, you get Apple Care, and as stated above you can return the phone after one year to get a new one (and reset the two year clock). Cost works out to around $600.

* Buy refurbished from the Apple Refurb online store. Cost is about $450 the last time I checked.

* Buy refurbished from a 3rd party seller on Amazon. I did this. The seller got a ton of great reviews. The phone was complete crap: battery was shot, would not hold a charge, slight screen discoloration, very noticeable screen artifacts when hitting "Home." It was just unusable. The cost was about $339. I returned it.

* Bought a new Moto G5 Plus unlocked from Amazon for $229.

I'm hoping for a new iPhone 8 to be introduced in September, and will probably upgrade from my current iPhone 6 (the one I replaced was for somebody else) to that.

Wasn't it a part of Verizon's FCC agreements to always carrier unlock their phones?