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Miami Herald
22-06-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
T-Mobile may be quietly planning a change customers will hate
T-Mobile has been losing customers left and right, with the company reporting a 5 basis point increase in customer churn year-over-year. This report came in the company's first-quarter earnings report for 2025, and it refers to the number of customers who canceled service. Rising prices on older rate plans, coupled with publishing plan prices that didn't include taxes, are some of the potential reasons why customer dissatisfaction with the uncarrier is growing. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Unfortunately, current and future T-Mobile customers may soon get some more bad news about the company's policies. This time, the issue is not with the cost of the monthly plans that consumers have to choose from, but is instead related to T-Mobile's payment installment programs. These programs allow consumers to finance smartphones, which most people choose to do because the upfront cost is simply too high. T-Mobile has offered installment plans on phones for over a decade, dubbing them "Equipment Installment Plans" or EIPs. But now evidence suggests the phone carrier is planning to change how these plans work, a move that could wind up being very unpopular. Image source: Bloomberg/Getty Images Since T-Mobile began offering phone financing, the company has always allowed customers to pay off their phones over a 24-month period. But a listing glitch on the company's site, coupled with information from internal sources, suggests that this will be changing very soon. According to The Mobile report, an internal T-Mobile document revealed that at least some devices would soon shift to a 36-month EIP. The website also temporarily showed a 36-month EIP plan for certain Samsung Galaxy Watches on the site's product pages. Related: T-Mobile's new partnership will ease major customer concern Both the internal document and the website changes have been removed, but they are still fueling rumors that longer payment plans are on the way. Of course, stretching out the financing time for phones and other devices would help the company to keep its customers for a longer period of time. When you finance a phone, you can't leave the carrier until the device has been paid off, unless you come up with the cash. This means T-Mobile could effectively lock in plan users for a whole extra year. While the change may be good for the company's bottom line and could offer cheaper prices for those financing their equipment, there are also some big downsides for users. If T-Mobile makes this change, the company will undermine the value proposition it offered to consumers years ago with "Phone Freedom," which allows customers more flexibility in what they do with their devices. A key part of "Phone Freedom" was a "New in Two" guarantee, which promised customers that they would be able to upgrade their devices every two years on select plans. If T-Mobile makes financing a phone a three-year commitment, users will not be able to upgrade the device or leave the carrier as quickly. Related: T-Mobile's new free phone deal is hard to beat A T-Mobile shift to a 36-month financing plan would bring the company's policies more in line with competitors, as both Verizon and AT&T lock users into financing their phones over 36 months. AT&T made the change to longer financing periods in mid-2021, and Verizon followed along eight months later. It remains to be seen whether the new T-Mobile policy will eventually go into effect, or if the internal document and website glitch were just test cases. It's also unclear whether this change will apply to all devices - some plans do offer the New in Two promise, so the company may honor that commitment. More Retail: Costco quietly plans to offer a convenient service for customersT-Mobile pulls the plug on generous offer, angering customersKellogg sounds alarm on unexpected shift in customer behavior Ultimately, making this big change might give customers another reason to be dissatisfied. Of course, they may not be able to act on that anger if they get stuck in one of the new 36-month contracts that lock them in for the next three years. Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
The Hindu
14-05-2025
- The Hindu
Samsung Galaxy Watches and Galaxy Buds to get Google Gemini integration
Samsung on Wednesday (May 14, 2025) announced the integration of Google Gemini on Samsung Galaxy Watches and Galaxy Buds for users to perform hands-free tasks like voice command to their personal assistant. These new Google Gemini features on Samsung's Galaxy wearables are likely to come as updates. Although, the company has not given any timeline of their arrival in India. Samsung also said that when used along with Galaxy Buds, the smartwatches will be able to become more seamless in action. (For top technology news of the day, subscribe to our tech newsletter Today's Cache) By using voice or pinch and hold controls, they can activate Gemini on Galaxy Buds and interact with their Galaxy smartphone.
Phone Arena
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Phone Arena
If you like wearable tech and running, you'll probably love the new Suunto Run smartwatch
Have you ever heard of Suunto? Headquartered in Finland, and believe it or not, founded back in 1936, the company is primarily focused on manufacturing and selling dive computers, precision instruments (also for diving), and because it's 2025, smartwatches centered on various types of physical activities. As its name suggests (in a very unsubtle manner), the newly unveiled Suunto Run timepiece is mainly aimed at runners (be them first-timers or seasoned athletes), providing pretty much everything you might need to get in shape, stay in shape, or push your body to the limit without breaking the bank or making your wrist hurt during your lengthiest training sessions. At 36 grams, this thing is a lot lighter than the existing Suunto Race and Race S sports watches, and yet somehow the advertised battery life still reaches unimaginable peaks for the best Apple Watches or Samsung Galaxy Watches out there. We're talking "up to" 12 days of endurance between charges in "daily use", although tools like the GPS connectivity (at the highest possible accuracy) will reduce that number to no more than 20 hours. Those are excellent figures (yes, even 20 hours) for a device with a large and decidedly high-quality 1.32-inch AMOLED touchscreen with 466 x 466 pixel resolution in tow, especially when you also take the continuous heart rate monitoring technology, blood oxygen sensor, sleep tracking, and altimeter into consideration. Of course, the key selling points are all the "run-specific features" included (which are pretty serious energy drainers too), the most useful of which will keep an eye on your training stress levels, post-exercise heart rate, training load, and training recovery. The main idea is to take your performance to the next level without destroying your body, which is more or less what the best Garmin smartwatches available today can also do with similar functionalities and proprietary technologies. But the Suunto Run is priced at 450... Australian dollars, which might sound like a lot until you realize that only means $288 in US currency. Unfortunately, the new sports watch doesn't have an official US release date or price tag attached to its name, but with the Suunto Race S normally available for $350, there's definitely a good chance the Suunto Run will cost $300 or even $250 stateside when it inevitably reaches these shores. $300, mind you, is what the Garmin Vivoactive 6 costs... with a smaller and lower-quality AMOLED display and a comparable 11-day battery life rating.
