On the heels of Verizon’s announcement, Sprint is officially joining the club by ditching two-year contracts in favor of full-price devices and leasing programs. Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure announced that the carrier plans to transition out of the contract system by the end of the year. Sprint users and future customers will instead be given the option of buying a device at full price — something many users are not particularly fond of doing — or leasing it through the carrier’s program.
Interestingly, the announcement seems to focus on leasing phones, and not payment plans. Essentially, a user gets a phone at little or no money down, and pays an extra amount per month (usually around $25 or $30 for a flagship device). This continues for 24Â months, after which the user can choose to give the device back and choose a new one to lease, or they can buy it outright. Assuming that you’ve been paying a monthly charge to use the phone, Sprint likely will offer the phone at a discounted price. The only question is, how much of a discount will users get? The system works almost like a lease on a car, which is sure to cause some confusion with customers who are used to paying $199 and signing a contract to get the latest and greatest phone.
Sprint, Verizon, and of course T-Mobile have all switched or begun switching to the no-contract model, which means AT&T is the last carrier clutching to two-year contracts and subsidized devices. Given that two of the nation’s largest carriers announced the change in the same week, we’re willing to bet AT&T isn’t far behind.
Source: Android Police