AT&T goes for Verizon's jugular with huge trade-in discount for the best Android phones
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While AT&T and Verizon have generated quite a bit of customer frustration and negative publicity with their (not very) surprising recent decisions to increase mobile plan prices, both carriers have also happened to considerably step up their smartphone discounting game of late.
In response to Big Red's revival (and expansion) of its hugely popular broken phone trade-in promotion just a couple of weeks back, the third-largest wireless service provider in the US appears to have quietly and vastly improved its own trade-in deals for some of the best Android handsets around.
As noticed by Droid-Life, AT&T is now ready to slash up to a whopping 800 bucks off the list prices of Samsung's Galaxy S22, S22+, S22 Ultra, Z Flip 3, and Z Fold 3, as well as Google's Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, with incredible ease. Of course, there are also plenty of strings attached, but if you're patient and have an old phone lying around, saving the full $800 on your next flagship will be a breeze.
What do you need to trade in to get $800 off?
While the full list of eligible devices is simply too long to get through without going mad, we're just going to give you a few samples to understand a little bit of what you're dealing with here:
- Samsung Galaxy S, SII, SIII and up
- Galaxy Note and older
- Galaxy A50, A42 5G, and A70
- Apple iPhone 7 and up
- iPhone SE (2nd Gen)
- Google Pixel 3, Pixel 3a and up
- LG V50 ThinQ, Velvet 5G, Wing 5G, and Stylo 6
- OnePlus 6T and up
- OnePlus Nord, Nord N100, N10 5G, and N200 5G
- Moto Z4
- Moto G Stylus and G Stylus 5G
- Motorola One 5G and One 5G Ace
- ZTE Red Magic 3 and Red Magic 5S
Do you happen to see anything there that might seem... out of place in 2022? Yes, we're mostly talking about the original Galaxy S and Note from all the way back in 2010 and 2011 respectively, but if you've gotten rid of those antiques years ago, fret not, as AT&T will obviously give you $800 for, say, a Galaxy S6 or Note 5 as well. Or a Pixel 4, or a Pixel 4a, or an iPhone 8, or a OnePlus 7 Pro, and so on and so forth.
Believe it or not, the ancient Galaxy S II is valued at $800 in 2022... even if it doesn't work.
In contrast, iPhone 13 Pro Max buyers, for instance, can currently qualify for a modest $350 discount with a Galaxy S8 trade-in. And the best thing about these killer deals is that your used Galaxy S4 (or Note 3, or S5 Active, or iPhone 7) doesn't even need to power on or come with a functioning screen to be valued at $800 by AT&T. That's right, broken phones with shattered screens will be accepted... as long as they're part of the extended aforementioned group.
What are the terms and conditions?
As you may have figured out by now, monthly installment agreements are obligatory, and your savings will be applied to your account in the form of bill credits over the three-year duration of said, well, contract.
Let's not mince words, this is pretty much a good old fashioned contract you need to sign here, although if it makes you feel any better, at least you don't have to open a new line of wireless service... if you don't want to.
Both new and existing customers can join the $800 off party, with the activation or retention of postpaid unlimited wireless service at a minimum of $75 a month (for new subscribers "before discounts") being essentially the final major requirement you'll have to consider before making your buying decision.
Keep in mind that the "up to $800" discount will virtually make the Galaxy S22 and Google Pixel 6 free to own while leaving you on the hook for monthly payments totaling $400 and $1,000 as far as the S22 Ultra and Z Fold 3 are concerned respectively.
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