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AT&T just made it a lot easier to upgrade your phone

AT&T Storefront with logo.
AT&T

Do you want to upgrade your phone more than once a year? What about three times a year? Are you on AT&T? If you answered yes to those questions, then AT&T’s new “Next Up Anytime” early upgrade program is made for you. With this add-on, you’ll be able to upgrade your phone three times a year for just $10 extra every month. It will be available starting July 16.

Currently, AT&T has its “Next Up” add-on, which has been available for the past several years. This program costs $6 extra per month and lets you upgrade by trading in your existing phone after at least half of it is paid off. But the new Next Up Anytime option gives you some more flexibility.

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With the Next Up Anytime program, there are two ways to upgrade your phone up to three times a year, according to AT&T’s blog post:

  1. Once you pay off 33% or more of your phone, you can upgrade to a new device. This also means you can take advantage of AT&T’s trade-in and other upgrade promo offers.
  2. Upgrade anytime after you make one installment payment and the first Next Up Anytime payment.
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Again, this program only allows you to upgrade three times per year — anything more than that, you’ll have to figure it out on your own. Now, I’m not sure who actually needs to upgrade their phone that many times every single year. I feel that most people upgrade every couple of years, if not annually. But three times a year? That just seems a little much.

Sure, there are always great Android phones that come out every couple of months, and Apple releases a new iPhone line every year. If you want to stay on top of all of the cutting-edge mobile tech or just want to switch things up often, this could be a good option for you.

Christine Romero-Chan
Christine Romero-Chan has been writing about technology, specifically Apple, for over a decade. She graduated from California…
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