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Would you buy an $800 phone like the Note5 or Galaxy edge+ without carrier subsidies?

By Daniel Petrov

Updated: Aug 14, 2015, 9:03 AM

75comments

Would you buy an $800 phone like the Note5 or Galaxy edge+ without carrier subsidies?

Samsung just outed not one, but two unique and innovative phablets, for the first time choosing the first half of the slow month of August to bring a new Note handset to market. The phones are undoubtedly breathtaking, with one of the best screen-to-body ratios that a brand name manufacturer currently offers, futureproof hardware, and unique features like an auto-eject S Pen stylus, or a dual-edge curved display.

The fly in all that sweet honey Samsung poured over us yesterday from the New York scene? The Note5 and Galaxy edge+ have pretty respectable price tags if you want to own their forward-looking technology outright. The cheapest you can get a Note5 for without a contract will be $696 from Verizon, and that's for the basic 32 GB version, whereas the 64-gigger will set you back about a Benjamin more. AT&T will start you off at about $814, while the S6 edge+ costs even more than the Note5.

Granted, these two handsets really pack the best that the mobile industry can currently offer, down to the svelte and premium design, but in the world of decked-out phones like Redmi Note 2 that go for less than $200, and the ever-elusive carrier subsidies, we were wondering how many of you would shell out about $800 for a handset. Verizon already did away with contracts and subsidies, following the Uncarrier lead of T-Mobile, so you can pay for the phones in installments, but you do have to swallow the whole cost in the end.

Not only are carrier subsidies going the way of the dodo, but $200-$400 midrangers now are so capable, that you will probably be able to do 80% or more of what you usually do with a phone on them for a half, or even a third of the price that the Note5 or S6 edge+ command. This is why we want to ask you whether you would shell the roughly $800 for such phones outright, if the soothing subsidies of US carriers are gone, and with them the usual contract prices of $200-$300 for even the most expensive flagships? Tell us in the poll below, and sound off in the comments.

Would you buy an $800 phone like the Note5 or Galaxy edge+ without carrier subsidies?

Yes

30.1%

69.9%

View Full Bio

Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.