I just went through this. I was due an upgrade from AT&T. I had a dead iPhone 6 that I had to replace. Here were my options:
* $18-22 a month for two years to buy an iPhone from AT&T. No money down, no voice/data contract. The phone is locked to AT&T until you're done paying for it. Total cost works out to around $525.
* Slightly more, like $25-30, for two years to buy an iPhone from Apple. Differences: it's unlocked, you get Apple Care, and as stated above you can return the phone after one year to get a new one (and reset the two year clock). Cost works out to around $600.
* Buy refurbished from the Apple Refurb online store. Cost is about $450 the last time I checked.
* Buy refurbished from a 3rd party seller on Amazon. I did this. The seller got a ton of great reviews. The phone was complete crap: battery was shot, would not hold a charge, slight screen discoloration, very noticeable screen artifacts when hitting "Home." It was just unusable. The cost was about $339. I returned it.
* Bought a new Moto G5 Plus unlocked from Amazon for $229.
I'm hoping for a new iPhone 8 to be introduced in September, and will probably upgrade from my current iPhone 6 (the one I replaced was for somebody else) to that.
* $18-22 a month for two years to buy an iPhone from AT&T. No money down, no voice/data contract. The phone is locked to AT&T until you're done paying for it. Total cost works out to around $525.
* Slightly more, like $25-30, for two years to buy an iPhone from Apple. Differences: it's unlocked, you get Apple Care, and as stated above you can return the phone after one year to get a new one (and reset the two year clock). Cost works out to around $600.
* Buy refurbished from the Apple Refurb online store. Cost is about $450 the last time I checked.
* Buy refurbished from a 3rd party seller on Amazon. I did this. The seller got a ton of great reviews. The phone was complete crap: battery was shot, would not hold a charge, slight screen discoloration, very noticeable screen artifacts when hitting "Home." It was just unusable. The cost was about $339. I returned it.
* Bought a new Moto G5 Plus unlocked from Amazon for $229.
I'm hoping for a new iPhone 8 to be introduced in September, and will probably upgrade from my current iPhone 6 (the one I replaced was for somebody else) to that.