Illustration: The Verge
AT&T announced Next Up Anytime, a new early upgrade program for customers on an AT&T installment plan, which will be available starting July 16th. At $10 per month, it’s more expensive than AT&T’s existing $6 per month Next Up add-on but gives subscribers the option of upgrading their smartphone as soon as just one installment payment has been made, up to three times per year.
After the new program launches, the cheaper Next Up will no longer be offered to new customers, but people who already have it will be able to keep that until they upgrade their devices. With Next Up, customers were eligible to trade in and upgrade their devices as soon as they paid off half of it, either through monthly installment payments or sooner with a lump…