Looking for a new phone this summer? Wait. By Eli Blumenthal , USA TODAY Students look at an iPhone at the Apple Store in the Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan. (Photo: David Chang, EPA) NEW YORK ' With summer and back-to-school sales fully underway, you may be tempted to by some of the deals buy a new phone. Wireless carriers, electronic retailers'and phone makers have come out with various promotions to lure summer shoppers, offering heavy discounts and buy-one-get-one-free deals. While on the surface they seem great,'don't be fooled. With the new Galaxy Note 8 set to be announced later this month and potentially three new iPhones on tap for September , now is probably the worst time of the year to buy a new phone. 'It is a terrible time to buy a new phone when you know new options are being brought to the table in a month,' says Avi Greengart, research director for platforms and devices at market researcher GlobalData. "Even if you have no desire to buy a new iPhone, there are also new Android phones coming," says Greengart. In addition to the aforementioned new Galaxy Note and iPhones, rumors strongly suggest LG and Google are planning new devices for the fall. Then'there are the price drops that follow new releases, creating a better deal for those who don't want or need'the latest and greatest. If history is any indication, many of today's'top phones will see their prices lowered when these new big name devices come out. In the case of the iPhone, last year's iPhone 7 would presumably drop to the cost of the iPhone 6S, allowing you to get a better deal on what is arguably a better phone (missing headphone jack notwithstanding). And the price drops and promotions are bound to happen regardless on if you are on Team iPhone or Team Android. As with recent years,'the promos are expected to be particularly strong around the launch of the new iPhone, which Apple has historically'announced during the first few weeks of September. The Galaxy S8, Greengart notes, may be one such device that will see better deals as carriers and Samsung may look to "raise the profile of a phone that was launched several months ago that is still quite spectacular. Other impressive Android phones, such as the HTC U11, may also see better deals available as the marketplace refreshes. If you are specifically looking to buy an iPhone 'you have to hold tight,' says Roger Entner, an analyst at Recon Analytics. What about those with a busted phone that needs to be replaced as soon as possible? "Get a refurbished phone," says Entner, "with the expectation that you would probably lose $100 when you trade it in again" for the new device. A refurbished 16GB'iPhone 6S phone generally ranges between $319 at Best Buy and Gazelle to $449 directly from Apple, with other options available from Amazon, eBay and others. Older models are even cheaper. You may not even lose that much money on the trade-in, as promotions around the iPhone are increasingly intense among the wireless carriers. "When the new iPhone comes out there will be intense competition'to capture iPhone customers, and they will make it in all likelihood'very attractive for customers to trade in their existing iPhone. Last year, all four major wireless carriers offered a free iPhone 7 to those willing to trade in their iPhone 6 or 6S (assuming the older devices were in good, working condition), with hundreds of dollars in'credits being offered to those trading in various Android phones or even older iPhone models. "In all likelihood, they will pay more the iPhone than they should," says Entner. "And that's the opportunity'for the consumer. Follow Eli Blumenthal on Twitter @eliblumenthal '
Original Article at: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2017/08/03/looking-new-phone-summer-wait /534753001/ -- The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor. You can reach mark at: macvisionaries+modera...@googlegroups.com and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.com The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries@googlegroups.com/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
