Summer for T-Mobile this year has meant announcing a series of promotions and plans dubbed #UncarrierAmped. Today, the company launched the latest, and last of these moves. This time it’s all about Apple. John Legere announced in a blog post that the company is adding Apple Music to its Music Freedom free music streaming service and is going to offer this year’s — as yet unreleased — iPhone to anyone buying an iPhone 6 over the next couple of months.
Since its inception last year, Music Freedom has grown in popularity almost exponentially. T-Mobile customers now stream up to 131 million songs every day, and don’t have to pay for the data, or have it come out of their Simple Choice allowance. Apple Music, unsurprisingly, became a very popular request from T-Mo customers who wanted to take advantage of Cupertino’s latest music subscription service, and stream it as much as they like. Apple Music joins a list of 33 music streaming services now available on T-Mobile’s Music Freedom which already included iTunes Radio.
As part two of today’s announcements, T-Mobile is also gearing up for the next iPhone’s launch and offering its customers a unique deal on current iPhones. Customers who buy an iPhone 6 this summer can upgrade to the next generation iPhone for free, as long as they do it before the end of the year. The idea is that customers don’t have to wait on buying a new phone just because they know a new iPhone is coming in a few months. Snag an iPhone 6 on the company’s JUMP! on Demand early upgrade program now, then trade in the iPhone 6 when the next Apple smartphone launches, without having to pay any extra fees.
This time of year, everyone’s waiting to make a move, waiting to see which devices are coming next. “Will the next one be better?” “Should I go for it or wait?” Today, we’re solving all that and ending the wait—in a big way. Now, every single customer who gets a new iPhone 6 this summer as part of this deal can simply swap it for the next iPhone, if they upgrade before the end of the year. Yeah, that’s what I said. Just swap it out and pay NOTHING more—nothing up front and no change to your monthly payment. No deposit. No fees. Nothing. You get the next iPhone guaranteed.
What’s more, those who do buy an iPhone 6 on the JUMP! on Demand program will also be given priority when it comes to ordering the next iPhone. If you order the next-gen Apple device within the first 48 hours of it being available, your order will be bumped up to the front of the list.
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Wow.
Wow indeed.
I wish this was global for T-Mobile, not just US (or is it?).
Pretty cool. May have to seriously start crunching numbers and evaluating coverage maps to see if it’s worth switching the family over from AT&T.
I just did in June, I had AT&T in long island NY. MY speeds are better and I’m saving about $50 a month from what at&t will be when they get rid of subsidies altogether. Try their 7 day test drive. They send you a 5s to use for a week for free. All you have to do is return it to a retail store. It wasn’t even high pressure when I did. I haven’t gone away with it yet but locally I’ve been pleased.
If you live anywhere in the Western US, DONT DO IT. T-mobile is terrible out here. I live and work in downtown Phoenix, AZ, an area that is “deep pink” on the T-mobile coverage map. There are so many network dead spots, I’ve given up on trying to listen to streaming music – Apple Music or anything else – on my short drive home, as there are 3-4 spots along 7th street (a major thoroughfare in PHX) where ALL data service cuts out. And those areas that do have LTE service, the congestion and speed are so poor, its actually better to turn off LTE entirely and rely on 4G, which actually results in faster data speeds.
Yes, this has happened on multiple iPhones, with reset network settings, and even a full restore. T-mobile just has poor service coverage – its a few dollars a month cheaper than ATT, but vastly less reliable.
I’ve run into that where I live in South Jersey as well. Great pricing but lousy coverage makes that a Moot Point.
T-Mobile . . . . UPGRADE YOUR NETWORK!!!!
GREAT COVERAGE IN CALIFORNIA…sorry for yelling, but this guy over stated “Western U.S. ” I live, work in Los Angeles, also travel often on film shoots. I’ve been with TM couple of years after horrible ATT: monthly cost, service, add-on costs, customer service, and never once looked back. TM’s customer service is scary good, plan options work for me as a single guy. Like the “leasing” concept a lot. Have iPhone 5, looking to get 6 now, then upgrade. Have I had dropped calls? Yes. Two. Literally two, in two years.
Los Angeles is a small part of the Western US, which I why I said “western US”. Since I switched to T-mobile 6 months ago, I’ve taken mine from Arizona on a couple drives to San Diego – good luck getting ANY data coverage on Interstate 8 until you’re about in sight of the ocean. I’ve been up to Washington State, Idaho, and Oregon a few times – horrendous coverage unless you’re in the center of a well populated town like Spokane (and then LTE crawls). And good luck trying to use T-mobile in any other Western US state – they have few to zero towers in states like Montana, Wyoming, and Nevada (outside of Vegas).
I was on the East Coast (CT and New York) a few weeks ago, and the service was fine. So if you live east of the Mississippi, I’m sure T-mobile is a great deal. If you live in metro LA, San Francisco, or downtown Seattle, have fun with T-mobile. Everywhere in between… DONT do it.
I am in Provo, UT, about 60 miles south of Salt Lake City. I have 0 issues about 98% of the time, either with Speed, or Connections, unless I am entering fringe area’s of the state. However, even then… its usually 3-4G. Not often I hit less then that or “roaming” speeds.
Get outta here. GREAT T-Mobile coverage all over Southern California for me, from Santa Barbara all the way down to Tijuana now. On my last trip to Vegas last month, I actually noticed a great improvement in coverage along I-15. Where as before it was mostly Edge service, now I had LTE for huge part of the desert.
I have a T-Mobile iPad, and the coverage isn’t nearly as good as my Verizon iPhone in most places I go.
The costs LOOK better at a glance, but if I want an iPhone 6 I have to either pay an extra $30/month per line for the iPhone 6, or buy it at full price – effectively bringing the costs on par (including hardware costs, might be slightly cheaper) than my Verizon plan, which has much better coverage.
Math just didn’t pan out for us. $140 for 3 lines looked great, but then you add $60/mo for 3 phones and… same as my Verizon bill. 60*24 months = $1440 – or only marginally less than buying 3 current-gen phones at full price.
Difference is HOW and WHAT you get for that same money. I’ve had Verizon since 2006-2012 and I’m never going back. If you live/work in urban neighborhood, you’ll love t-mobile forsho! Speeds and reliability is amazing here in NY.
Moreover, IF you go with vz, you still get 1) Less data / line, 2) No free music streaming, 3) outrageous international roaming fees, 4) No free upgrades till you a. pay ETF b. wait 2 years to buy a new phone. 5) YOUR MATH IS WRONG.
Yeah, I’ve been trying to do the math also. it’s a damn pita. Seems the best option is to go into a damn store or call to have them go over the numbers with you. supposedly there are some promotions now that make it cheap enough to warrant switching if you have coverage in your area. Worst case scenario is you use it as an opportunity to see if your current carrier will offer you anything to stay.
@nnddesai – 1) I have 15gb/month split across 3 lines. On our most insane data usage months, we might go through 8gb of it. While technically correct, I practically have unlimited data and never worry about my usage. 2) See point 1. Doesn’t matter. I stream Apple Music/Spotify all the time. 3) True. I don’t travel internationally very often, and when I do I really don’t want to be contactable. If I do, my Verizon iPhone is factory unlocked (all VZW iPhones are) and I can just buy a SIM card in the country I’m in. 4) The math here is suspect. You’ve been paying your $27.95/month for the phone for a year – or $335.40. Now you’re giving them your 1 year old phone, and in exchange are getting a new phone, and continuing to pay $27.95/month for it, but have nothing to show for the past year. So over the course of 2 years, I get a marginal upgrade on my phone (I’m on the whole # cycle, not the S cycle) have paid $670, and have nothing to show for it. If I go with Verizon, I’ve paid $300 for my phone, plus the extra $670 for service over T-Mobile, but I have a phone to show for it that I can typically get close to $300 for it at that point, so the end costs are roughly the same. T-Mobile may be MARGINALLY cheaper, but the fact that I do travel to the countryside quite a bit (where T-Mobile has zero coverage for much of my trip) and side by side in 30%+ of the places I spend my time, the iPad (with it’s bigger antenna) has little to no coverage while my iPhone has close to full coverage – and I’m in the city that’s the home to T-Mobile’s headquarters – means that Verizon is worth the marginal increase in price to me, for vastly more benefit.
5) Where is my math wrong? I genuinely want to know.
I travel throughout California and have never had coverage complaints with T-Mobile. To dismiss LA (or California) as a small part of the US is just silly considering it’s home to a significant percentage of US residents overall.
I’m not sure I dismissed California at all? The places I specifically travel on a consistent, regular basis have issues with T-Mobile coverage, while Verizon has rock solid coverage. If T-Mobile had the coverage I need in the places I go, I’d switch in a heartbeat, but I wouldn’t expect to save any money. For those who CAN get good coverage, I’m simply encouraging to run the actual maths and take a look at their usage, rather than taking the Marketing headlines at face value and expecting to save tons of money.
Yeah, not getting involved with JUMP on Demand. But, I will order the new iPhone.
WOW!!! This is crazy! Verizon really needs to do something like this.
I was already planning on moving 6 lines to T-Mobile from AT&T next month. This just sweetened it.
Coolest CEO going at the mo.
I’ve given up trying to listen to Apple Music streaming on my drive home, on my T-mobile iPhone 6, since there are so many data dead spots, even in supposedly “deep pink” areas of central and downtown Phoenix.
T-mobile’s poor quality LTE bands and dearth of towers mean all you have to do is get within 100 yards of a tall building and you can expect your service to disappear.
With the death of contracts this is the only way apple can survive. If it wasn’t for financing plans no one would be paying $650+ to get one.
Hmmm, they have been indeed buying iPhones unsubsidized for years abroad and recently even more expensive (given strong Dollar vs X-Currencies). What will you do when the subsidies stop? Buy a cheap phone? Nope. A good smartphone is not as much a luxury as much as a necessity amongst those under 60…
Well, I did not jump on getting an iphone 6 last year because I could not get one subsidized. My iphone5 is fine and now I will wait for iphone6S. So I will get a phone every 3 years instead of 2. I can live with that. It played a role in my buying decision.
I’ll look at TMO when they have coverage like Verizon. The reality though is that when they have coverage like Verizon… TMO service will cost more than it does today.
Exactly. You get what you pay for. Question we all need to ask ourselves is it worth saving $xx to have poor coverage/speed.
Sounds great but I just checked the coverage maps and Verizon by far has better coverage where I live.
Does this also mean iCloud Radio or just the Paid Apple Music tier.
I love this guy. I use StraightTalk through AT&T and I travel a lot so I need better coverage than T-Mobile has, otherwise I’d switch.
Jump! is a leasing program, you will never own your iPhone ever!!
ONLY available to customers who bought iPhone 6 from T-Mumble on / or after June 28, 2015 AND it is on the just-announced Jump On Demand program.. This according to local, Southern California T-Mobile retail stores… So, be careful about your timing….
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and reception quality is too. I live in the North East and commute to Manhattan daily. I’ve done all four of the majors and have been back with T-Mobile for 18 months. Verizon was my last carrier and was probably the most disappointing – for my routines and where I go, T-Mobile beats Verizon hands down, as does AT&T… Sprint is probably worse, but then my expectations were low anyway. The free international data roaming and very sensible call prices are a killer app for me as I travel abroad frequently and no longer have to actually fear turning the phone on! For me and my use, T-Mobile is the best carrier by a significant margin.
Hey folks …
The reason TMobile is offering the iPhone deal is the 700 Mhz band. I just switched 24 phones from Sprint to TMobile. We saved over $1000 a month in fees for unlimited data plans. We were SHOCKED to discover that even in the dark purple regions in our calling area, we got “NO SERVICE” notifications on our brand new, iPhone 6 units.
Turns out that the current iPhone 6 is NOT compatible with the brand new 700Mhz band that TMobile got from AT&T. These purple regions on their map, along with the octogon saying it was “user verified” comes entirely from Android phones. And yes, TMobile’s team has verified this for us. Our brand spanking new iPhones do not work on this spectrum.
In this case, TMobile is banking everthing that Apple’s new iPhone 6s units WILL work in this spectrum. If that’s the case, then not only will coverage be significantly better, but our phones will actually work inside buildings.
Go figure.
All in all, a major disappointment with TMobile. But it explains their willingness to update your iPhone 6 to a 6s as soon as its available.
Our company has already been promised 24 replacements as soon as they are available.
CharlesJR