Samsung's Galaxy S7 and S7 edge upgrade plan goes live in the UK, and it's a bit of a catch

It's happening, folks! A week before the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge officially start shipping, the Samsung Upgrade Program is live in the United Kingdom. Just like Apple's annual upgrade plan, the program lets Samsung fans get the latest Galaxy S models on a 24-month repayment scheme. Although the plan works like a standard carrier contract, it is a device-only affair, so subscribers still have to supply a SIM contract or a pay-as-you-go SIM card.

Mind you, though – as with most good things in life, there's a catch. Should you subscribe, you’ll be paying 14.9% annual interest on your loan. Not only you’ll be paying an additional interest, but you’ll need to finance a separate SIM contract or a pay-as-you-go SIM card. Ehh...

as with most good things in life, there's a catch.

Of course, you can always pick up a Galaxy S7 or S7 edge on a carrier contract with no interest and other small print to be mindful of, but then you won’t have the option to simply swap your year-old device for the latest and greatest one. However, you don’t have to pay interest on a carrier contract. It all boils down to deciding whether paying extra for the option to upgrade your Galaxy next year is worth it to you, or not. Of course, you are not obliged to upgrade if you don’t really want to, but the upgrade plan's point is to upgrade every 12 months, after all.

On the upside, if you choose to upgrade after a year, Samsung will “pay” the other half of the loan itself if you return your smartphone in “good working condition” and upgrade to the next Galaxy. Thus, upon receiving the Galaxy S8 (or whatever it ends up being called), your 24-month repayment plan starts from scratch. You can do this for the rest of your life on Earth if you want to, just paying off half the loan and upgrading to the newest Galaxy each year. However, you can only exit the program once you’ve paid for your device in full.

The complete terms and conditions of Samsung's upgrade plan are available on this page. At present, it's not known when Samsung will bring the offer to the United States.

source: Samsung UK via Android Authority