In April of this year, T-Mobile announced an aggressive new campaign. In an effort to get more people to use its 5G network, the wireless operator offered to give away 5G phones to everyone in exchange for a working phone of any type from each year. The campaign runs until the end of 2021.
See also: OnePlus Nord N200 in the test: Little more than a cheap 5G entry point
At the start, the Uncarrier offered the Samsung Galaxy A32 as a free T-Mobile. As of today, however, the company is offering the OnePlus Nord N200 (via The T-Mo report).
What’s the catch? Of course, T-Mobile would like you to stick with its service. As such, you will receive this phone free of charge for the next two years through billing credit. If you leave T-Mobile before these two years have elapsed, you owe the remaining amount to the mobile operator.
Note that this promotion applies to new and existing subscribers. If you’re already at T-Mobile this is a no-brainer: you can literally walk into the store with an old phone and walk into the store with a brand new one.
Free T-Cellphone: Good News and Bad News
This phone switch brings both good and bad news. The good news is that the OnePlus Nord N200 offers better hardware than the Galaxy A32. It has a better display with a higher refresh rate, a higher quality selfie camera, and loads a little faster. However, the N200 has a weaker rear camera setup and is only available in one color.
Notably, the Nord N200 will also receive a weaker update plan than the Galaxy A32. OnePlus would only commit itself to an Android upgrade (to Android 12) and then to three years of “maintenance updates”. In the meantime, the Galaxy A32 will receive the same upgrade plan as other Samsung phones: three years of upgrades and four years of security patches.
Connected: Google Fi vs. T-Mobile: Which One Is Right For You?
Regardless, the idea of trading in any phone you have in a drawer in your house and getting a brand new OnePlus device is pretty great. As already mentioned, the free T-Mobile mobile phone campaign will run until the end of this year, although the range of telephones could change again. So if you really want to have a Nord N200, then sooner rather than later you should try to take advantage of the program.