Stuck on a 24-month contract but want the new iPhone? EE has an answer
EE has announced a new set of contracts called ‘Upgrade Anytime’, which allow you to − you guessed it − upgrade your phone at any point during your contract.
In theory, this means that if a new phone comes out after you’ve been in a new contract for just 15 days, you can make the switch and get a brand new phone − provided you’re willing to pay an upgrade fee.
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The downside is that you’ll be locked into an additional 24-month contract once you make the upgrade — but so long as you’re happy with EE’s service and rates that shouldn’t be much of a problem now that you know you can upgrade your handset at any time.
You’ll also need to pay an upgrade fee of £100 if you’re upgrading within the first year of your contract, which increases to £200 if you’re upgrading within the first six months.
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Changing with the (Apple) times
The news comes just days before Apple is expected to launch the latest round of iPhones, which are expected to include an upgraded iPhone X, the iPhone XS, a plus-sized iPhone XS Plus, and a cheaper model equipped with an LCD rather than an OLED display, rumoured to be called the iPhone 9.
A couple of years ago it was much easier to hold tight in a 24-month contract, because many smartphone manufacturers like Apple were operating on a two-year development cycle with more iterative handsets released on the ‘off’ year.
So you could happily upgrade when the iPhone 6 rolled around in 2014, skip the incremental 6S, and then hop up to the iPhone 7 when that was released in 2016.
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But just one year after the iPhone 7, Apple surprised everyone with the release of the iPhone X, which presented a pretty convincing argument to upgrade.
If you can afford the upfront cost, then the best overall deals can often be had by buying a handset outright and purchasing a cheap SIM-only contract (where you’re ideally not locked in for too many months). However if you’re not in the financial position to do so, then EE’s latest deal could be the compromise that you need.
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What length of contract do you tend to sign up to? Let us know @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
