In this newsletter:
📝 Post: Are You Paying for a Phone You Could Be Getting for Free?
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: Tech Headlines
😎 Pick of the Week: Old Ideas, Modern World
📦 Featured Product: Things That Hold Other Things
📝 Are You Paying for a Phone You Could Be Getting for Free?
Every fall, at least for the Apple fans, they must ask themselves, “Is it time to upgrade and get the new iPhone?” Sometimes this answer is simple, sometimes it’s a bit more difficult. Android users go through the same internal struggle, so this argument can be made for anyone with a cell phone. It’s just feels a bit more prominent every September since Android device releases are broken up throughout the year (Google, Samsung, etc).
I’ve talked in the past about When Should I Buy a New Phone? and have a set rule of thumb I’ve been pretty consistent on. Essentially, I believe you should upgrade every 3-5 years whether you need to or not. Older phones will eventually not be able to update the software to keep up with newer versions. Which means you’re missing features, but more importantly - missing security updates.
Not to mention, your phone holds your entire life. Your phone calls, texts, passwords, personal media, and much more. You use it everyday and depend on it - don’t keep yourself from having a stress free life in this area of tech. In the podcast linked above, I talk about pretty specific scenarios, helping you choose when and what to buy, but in this post, I want to talk about something I’ve realized most people don’t take advantage of or fully understand - trading in your older phone for the most recently released phone. This has been the case with the iPhone for roughly the last 10 years, but many Android phones follow suit.
Generally, within the first month or two, one or more of the major cell phone network providers (ATT, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc), will give you a lot of money when you trade in your older phone towards the newer phone. They usually accept a phone that is 3-5 years (or versions) old, and the trade in value is the same regardless of the age of the phone. Meaning, last years model will not warrant you any more money via trade in.
For example, this year, ATT is giving up to $1,200 towards a new iPhone 18 as long as you trade in an iPhone 14 or newer in working condition. So what’s the catch? Well, for starters it depends on the plan you have. But it doesn’t require a new line (which some do). You do, however, have to pay the taxes upfront and sometimes an upgrade fee. The biggest catch though, is the “rebate” comes monthly. Meaning - each month, they will charge you $33.33 for ‘purchasing’ the phone, but also credit you that same $33.33 for 36 months. Multiplying $33.33 x 36 months = $1,200.
What happens if you don’t stay with [insert provider] for all 36 months? Simple, you much pay off the remaining balance. So if in 1 year you decide to switch to [another provider], you will have paid $33.33 x 12 = ~$400, and need to pay the $800 difference. BUT, and this is a big BUT — if you stay with [insert provider] for the full 36 months, you essentially have received the newer phone for free. Some carriers do this over 24 or 30 months, too.
“Well, what if I don’t know if I’ll stick with them for that long?” Well, there are other options. Apple, Google, and Samsung all have their own version of an “Upgrade” program. But I also wrote a post about Breaking Down the Hidden World of Alternative Cell Phone Providers. However, if there’s the slightest chance you will switch providers, it is absolutely worth the ‘purchase.’ Even if you switch, you still need a newer phone every so often, and with an MVNO, you’ll typically have to pay out of pocket for it.
So with that, I would like to make a new rule of thumb. If your cell phone provider allows trading in/up your older phone for a newer phone at $0/month, you should absolutely take advantage of that. It doesn’t matter if you want a new phone or not, it’s a phone that will last you ~3 years longer than your current phone for ~$100. And it comes with much better hardware, speed, and battery life!
🗞️ ICYMI: Tech Headlines
Apple releases iOS 27 with Siri AI overhaul while Microsoft wrote a Code of Conduct for future MAI (Microsoft AI) Models.
Other Top A.I. Leaders Call for Slowing Down A.I. Development except for Meta. There, Mark Zuckerberg Takes Aim at Anthropic in Debate Over A.I. Slowdown. They also released Muse for the Mac, letting the AI take actions on your computer.
In regard to the political space in tech, Revolut confirms customer data breach through fake government requests and the Senate Votes to Block Crypto Bill in Major Blow to the Industry.
A connectomics milestone: Mapping the complete male fruit fly brain - which helped Pietro Schirano train the fly to play Super Mario.
😎 POTW: Old Ideas, Modern World
This week’s picks prove humans have been weird, clever, and surprisingly innovative for a very long time.
📦 Featured Product
This week, here’s a few random picks of things that hold other things. I own/have owned each of these and if this is something you would use, these are worth having!
