If you are an AT&T customer then you are probably already aware of their Next program. If you are not an AT&T customer but still read our device release reports then you would have heard us talk about Next pricing with AT&T. In short there is the Next 12 and Next 18 plans which both allow customers to offset the initial $ down price against paying off for it monthly. Next 12 allows devices to be purchased over 20 months while Next 18 allows devices to be paid over 24 months. To give you a practical example yesterday we reported the news that the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge was on its way to AT&T. You can buy the device straight out for the seriously huge $946 price tag. Alternatively you can purchase the device on the next 12 plan for $47.30 over 20 months or the Next 18 plan for $39.42 over 24 months. Either way buying upfront, over the 20 months or over the 24 months all adds up to the same $946 price tag, but the benefit is over the longer months you pay less per month.
Well today AT&T have announced that they are now introducing a third tier to their Next program which will be the Next 24. The new Plan was announced today at the AT&T Consumer Industry Analyst Conference and as you have probably guessed will allow customers the opportunity to pay over 30 months. Similar to the 18 and 24 plans, the 30 plan will also offer $0 down at the point-of-purchase and split the cost evenly over the thirty months. This means the outgoing monthly charge should be much less than the previous 18 and 24 plans. In terms of the Note Edge example, this would in effect bring the cost down to $31.53 per month. So overall not bad for a device which costs nearly $1000 upfront.
Although the plan was announced today it won’t officially hit stores until November 9th. Another interesting part of the Next 30 plan is after 24 months and the device is in good condition AT&T will allow you to upgrade to a brand new device. If the new Next 30 plan is swaying you towards switching to AT&T. Then it is probably also worth noting from today AT&T are offering $150 bill credit to any customers who switch to their network and open a new line.