Welp, that didn’t take long. Two days before pre-orders even open on the iPhone 8, AT&T is already giving phones away.
If you buy a new iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus through the AT&T Next equipment installment program, plus fulfill a couple other small-print requirements, AT&T will give you a second device for free. If you’re already an AT&T customer and your significant other’s phone is also getting a little long in the tooth, this is a difficult offer to pass up.
The offer starts with pre-orders on Friday. It doesn’t just apply to the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus — other popular smartphones, including the Galaxy S8 and iPhone 7, also qualify. AT&T hasn’t said if the offer will also apply to the iPhone X when pre-orders open in November.
As you’d expect, there is some fine print attached. The phones have to be purchased through AT&T Next, which means monthly payments rather than an upfront price; you need to have wireless service active on both devices; and you have to have “eligible DirecTV service,” which may restrict this to areas served by AT&T cable, unless DirecTV Now is counted as eligible service.
Those conditions are likely dealbreakers for anyone not already using AT&T’s service — signing up for an entire cable package just to get a free phone doesn’t make a ton of sense. But if you’re already on AT&T’s home cable package, switching over to the company’s new unlimited plans, tacking on free HBO, and getting a free iPhone 8 seems like a no-brainer.
