Just as was rumored, AT&T has launched a new AT&T Next plan option.
AT&T Next 12 with Down Payment is the fourth option that customers have when selecting an AT&T Next device installment plan. As its name suggests, customers that sign up must pay a down payment on their device, which is 30 percent of the product’s cost. Other AT&T Next plans don’t require a down payment, but customers that want that plan typically need to meet a certain credit requirement.
After signing up for AT&T Next 12 with Down Payment, you plunk down 30 percent of the device’s cost upfront and then pay for the rest over the next 28 months. For example, if you buy a 32GB Samsung Galaxy S6 with AT&T Next 12 with Down Payment, you’ll pay $206 upfront and then pay $17.11 per month for 28 months. Customers that opt for this plan will have an option to upgrade to a new device after they make 12 payments.
One of the big differences between installment plans like AT&T Next and traditional two-year contracts is that with Next and its counterparts, you don’t have to pay anything upfront the day that you get your device. Because AT&T Next 12 with Down Payment does make you pay upfront, it may not seem terribly different from a regular contract, but it’s notable because you can trade your device in and get a new one after 12 months. That means that more people can upgrade more often if they’d like, and if they do go that route, they may be able to go with a $0 down payment AT&T Next plan the second time that they upgrade.