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Poll: How did you buy your current smartphone?

Are you firmly in the contract camp or did you take the prepaid route?
By
January 19, 2022
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G on the box
Eric Zeman / Android Authority

Smartphones are available at a wide variety of price points, ranging from sub-$100 devices to the $1,000+ price points. There are several ways to buy a phone too, such as a contract with a carrier or retailer, the prepaid/once-off payment route, or the yearly upgrade program.

But how have Android Authority readers acquired their current smartphones? That’s the topic of our featured poll today, so give us your answer by taking the poll below.

How did you buy your current phone?

3900 votes

Contracts are one of the most popular options around, softening the financial blow if you want a high-end device. The prepaid route is another popular way to buy phones, owing to the variety of great budget phones as well as the fact that you’re not tied down to a cellular network.

Another option is the yearly upgrade program, with Apple offering the iPhone Upgrade Program, for example. This allows you to get a new phone every year while paying a flat monthly fee. For what it’s worth, the Pixel Pass is more like a traditional contract in that you can only upgrade to a new Pixel every two years.

Finally, there’s the simple hand-me-down, as many people will get a family member’s old phone when that relative upgrades to a new device.

You can let us know how you bought your current phone via the poll above. You can also leave a comment if you’d like to elaborate on your decision or the choice between prepaid, contract, and upgrade programs.