What are the catches with cell phone pricing these days?

November 18, 2022 2:23 PM

I'm thinking of replacing my aged cell phone, and right now the phone I'm eyeing at, say, Best Buy is $100 cheaper if I buy the unlocked version vs a carrier version. What's the reason for the price difference? Is there a catch to buying an unlocked phone and switching it my carrier on the spot?
posted by TwoStride to Shopping (5 answers total)

Response by poster: Note: I should add that I generally try to pay full price to buy the phone outright and then nurse it along for ~ 4 years.
posted by TwoStride at 2:24 PM on November 18, 2022

This seems backwards to me. Maybe it is different where you live. Normally I'd see the unlocked version being more expensive. Reason being because the locked version is subsidised by the carrier it is locked to.
So unlocked is the superior version in my view.
posted by McNulty at 3:20 PM on November 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Sometimes there is a physical difference. For instance, there are Verizon-specific versions of some of the Google Pixel phones that support Verizon's mmWave 5G network - whereas the unlocked versions lack the appropriate chips. You'll need to research this question for the specific models you are looking at - there's not really a general answer.
posted by kickingtheground at 3:52 PM on November 18, 2022 [2 favorites]

Yes, in the specific case of currently available Pixels the (US) unlocked versions don't have mmWave support and are thus $100 cheaper. You have to buy the Verizon or AT&T version to get that particular feature.
posted by wierdo at 4:41 PM on November 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

Onboard storage also carries a price difference, which is typically $100 per doubling - a 256 gig phone will generally be $100 more than a 128, at least on the Pixel phone side of things.
posted by pdb at 7:23 PM on November 18, 2022 [1 favorite]