We’ve hit the midway point in the summer, which means it’s officially time for corporations to start plugging the back to school promotions. No one has ever explained why kids need a shiny new cellphone in order to be functioning students, but luckily, T-Mobile’s back to school deals work whether you’re a student or not.
The promotions include a bunch of standard buy-one-get-one-free deals that we’ll get into in a moment, but the two deals I think are particularly worthwhile are actually on phones that are a few years old. T-Mobile is offering an iPhone 6s for $99, or a Galaxy S8 for $199 to anyone willing to buy them on a two-year installment plan. Sure, those phones are both missing out on a handful of features that newer phones have, but look on the bright side: The iPhone 6s is $99 rather than the iPhone X’s $999, and unlike the more expensive phone, the iPhone 6s still has a headphone jack.
The iPhone deal isn’t available right this second, but a teaser is already up on T-Mobile’s website, which indicates that the deal should go live soon. The wording says that it’s for people who “join” T-Mobile, so the deal might only be available if you port in a number from a different carrier. You do also have to buy the phone on a 24-month installment plan, which technically costs $360 ($15 a month for 24 months). The difference will be made up to you in bill credits, bringing the total price down to $99, but you lose those bill credits if you ditch T-Mobile for another carrier.
A nearly identical promo is also being offered on the Galaxy S8, but the price is $199 rather than $99. You’re getting a more modern phone if you choose the Galaxy S8 over the iPhone 6s, which explains the price difference.
In addition to the two cheap-but-older phones, T-Mobile is also selling a bunch of Android phones on buy-one-get-one-free deals. The headline deal is on the Galaxy S9, but there’s also deals on the LG G7 and LG V30, as well as the Samsung Galaxy S9+ and Samsung Galaxy S8 Active. As per usual, those deals also require a 24-month installment plan and a new line of service to qualify.
