Under a new payment plan introduced in March, T-Mobile charges a down payment for the phone and monthly installments until the device is paid off in two years. For instance, customers pay $146 up front for an iPhone 5 and $21 a month for two years for a total cost of $650. That’s about the same price Apple charges when someone buys the phone without a two-year contract for use at another carrier.
In eliminating the down payment, starting Saturday, some phones will be cheaper. For instance, customers will be paying $600 overall for Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy S4, compared with $630 currently. Apple’s iPhone 5 will be $2 cheaper, at $648 overall.
But HTC Corp.’s One will cost $600, up $40. Other higher-priced devices include Sony Corp.’s Xperia Z and BlackBerry Ltd.’s Q10. T-Mobile said it was revising prices to reflect demand and other factors.
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