AT&T Next Up Anytime lets you get three phone upgrades per year, but it’s not cheap

AT&T announced Next Up Anytime, a new early upgrade program for customers on an AT&T installment plan, which will be available starting July 16th. At $10 per month, it’s more expensive than AT&T’s existing $6 per month Next Up add-on but gives subscribers the option of upgrading their smartphone as soon as just one installment payment has been made, up to three times per year.

After the new program launches, the cheaper Next Up will no longer be offered to new customers, but people who already have it will be able to keep that until they upgrade their devices. With Next Up, customers were eligible to trade in and upgrade their devices as soon as they paid off half of it, either through monthly installment payments or sooner with a lump sum payment.

The new Next Up Anytime add-on now allows customers to trade in and upgrade a device after just 33 percent of it is paid off. For AT&T’s 36-month installment plans, that means customers can upgrade after the first year while still being able to take advantage of discounts through upgrade promotions.

For those who want a new smartphone more frequently than that, Next Up Anytime also allows customers to upgrade “as soon as one installment payment and the first Next Up Anytime payment is made.” However, customers choosing that approach won’t be eligible for upgrade promotions — they’ll be paying the full price for a new device — and are limited to three upgrades per year.

Update, June 28th: Added details status of the AT&T Next Up add-on.