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In UK, Consumers Are Now More Aware That They Can Ditch Their Phone Bundles, And Are Increasingly Doing So (theregister.co.uk)
An anonymous reader shares a report: Consumers are now more aware that they can buy the phone and the network access separately, and are increasingly doing so. "Many were totally unaware of the true value of the plan, and this marks a real change," CCS Insight analyst Kester Mann told us. CCS Insight calls the unbundling "cracking the code." Only 36 per cent of UK SIM-only customers expect to take a traditional bundle-plus-phone deal when their current plan ends, CCS found. Mann noted that this figure is considerably higher than the number of SIM-only customers today, who will upgrade to another SIM-only deal -- indicating strong growth for the SIM-only bit of the market. One in 12 phones in use is a second-hand phone.
And there are a variety of fascinating knock-on effects. For example, almost 10 per cent of UK punters now buy direct through Amazon. Operators, who have traditionally acted as credit companies, will have to make their bundles more flexible and attractive. High-margin manufacturers may have to make more use of the refurbished channel, or make older models available for longer. In fact, all OEMs have to look at refurb and online. Mann told us all of these trends are happening already.
And there are a variety of fascinating knock-on effects. For example, almost 10 per cent of UK punters now buy direct through Amazon. Operators, who have traditionally acted as credit companies, will have to make their bundles more flexible and attractive. High-margin manufacturers may have to make more use of the refurbished channel, or make older models available for longer. In fact, all OEMs have to look at refurb and online. Mann told us all of these trends are happening already.
Who needs all that useless crap leeching money out of your wallet and sucking up time
Back in 2016 I got Galaxy S 6 for 31 pounds a month. When my contract was up the Galaxy S 8 was 60 pounds a month. So I decided to get a cheaper Nokia 8 instead. The iPhone XS Max will probably be a hundred pound a month.
Remarkably, Apple's history of premium pricing may count against it. 41 per cent of customers surveyed agreed (ticking somewhat or completely) with the statement that they would never buy an iPhone, compared to 15 per cent who responded the same way for Samsung.
I found that interesting...considering I bought my first iPhone direct through Apple, with no contract in 2012, sim-free. I've bought my wife's the same way. I bought my next iPhone direct through Apple, with no contract. I bought my wife's the same way. I'll buy my next iPhone direct through Apple, with no contract. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
I bought our phones up front, full price, no contract, even though I could have gotten them "for free" with a contract, NOT because I wanted to upgrade whenever I want - I use my phone until it breaks, gets dunked in water, dropped one too many times, etc., but because I don't want to be tied to any specific carrier. Now, as it turns out, we have been with Verizon this whole time - but we pay less than we would have with a contract, even considering the cost of the phone.
It's interesting how peoples' motivations vary.
The value just isn't there. Instead, I have always bought phones one or two years behind the retail cycle, when they start to come off contract and be unlocked. You can have last year's flagship, which is usually still pretty damned good, for pennies on the dollar—under $200 for the phone with just a year of use on it, then a SIM (or before that, phoning in the numbers from the beneath the battery to the carrier) plan for cheap.
Carriers like TPO and Net10 in the US offer plans with a few gigs of data and unlimited everything else for just $25-$35 a month right now. Extra gigs run $10 a gig or so, refillable anytime, and I rarely end up using it.
I would not like to be locked into a contract, nor would I like to be limited in when I can upgrade or replace if something goes wrong.
Of course, this doesn't work so well with Apple phones, which hold their value too well. Which is one of the many reasons I don't use iOS. (The other being because I really don't like the OS experience at all, though I do like some of the apps better than the Android equivalents—but not $1k for a phone better).
STOP . AMERICA . NOW
Been on straight talk, for 5-6 years. FLAT 50 bucks a month, 10GB, unlimited everything else. No this tax, that fee...FLAT rate, perfect!
The telecoms providers have evidently seen this coming since their sim-only rolling contracts are often more expensive than the contracts that come with a phone. I'd been sim-only for about five years, but my phone finally died. I worked out the costs and it's a significant saving for me to get the phone with the calling plan together, in fact there are so many offers around where the phone + plan is cheaper than the equivalent sim-only deal. I'm paying £552 over two years when the phone itself has a list price of >£700. If you don't go direct to the network for your purchase then some of the deals are half price or better, my particular bundle from the network directly was over £1000 over two years. I'll never call it value given the profits those companies rake in, but I'd rather get half the shaft than all of it.
At the end of the day I'm still buying a phone; I'm just buying it cheaper, slower, and getting more data than I would if I bogught it outright and used a sim-only deal of equivalent content. If there's a way to save money you can almost guarantee that the telecoms networks have a product to suit you, if not directly then indirectly via a third party who buy and sell in bulk.
I've not paid for a phone via a contact for the last three phones I've owned: Nexus 5, LG G5 and Nokia 7+. Tends to work out cheaper if you keep your phone for a decent amount of time.
The last contract I had, the monthly bill was never the amount originally advertised. Plus mid contract price rises. Getting screwed by the small print. When I tried to cancel, I had to give 30 days notice. 30 days pass, still being charged. They claimed I never called and tried to keep me. Fought it and managed to leave on the original notice, but still. That was with Orange, just after they rebranded as EE.
If there is an option to avoid that bullshit, why wouldn't you take it? I've since been with giffgaff on their rolling monthly goody bags and never looked back. In that time I've always purchased the £7.50 goody bag, never seeing a price rise in the 5+ years I used them. I have, however, seen my data allowance go from the original 500MB to 750MB to 1GB and recently 2GB. That also includes unlimited SMS and 200 minutes. My wife also uses giffgaff so any call time doesn't come off that 200 minute allowance . If I want to stop at anytime, purchase more or less I'm free to do so.
...simply just say customer? English, motherfucker...do you speak it?
if you pay 79 bucks for 24 months on a free phone (1896) or buy one for 1000 and pay 15 bucks a month, (1360) just do the math.
Especially since the suckers don't tell you when the 24 months are up and you continue to pay the 79 for months or years.