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T-Mobile Offers The Best Apple Watch 3 Financing Deal Of All The U.S. Wireless Carriers

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As all the top four U.S. wireless carriers unveil this week their special offers for the iPhone X official launch next week - with pre-orders starting this Friday - we looked at each one of them to see which actually has the best deal for the cellular edition (LTE) of the Apple Watch 3 which lets you receive and place calls without a phone, a-la Dick Tracy.

While sales of Apple's current flagship smartphone, the iPhone 8, are disappointing if not abysmal, our contacts in the supply chain are telling us that the world's most popular wearable is about to have its iPod moment, after striking a near perfect balance between design, health-tracking features, connectivity, and business productivity.

Apple Watch 3 data plans in Europe are about half the price than in the U.S.

For our research, we focused on the cheapest version of Apple's cellular smartwatch - the 38 mm at $399.99 - that is directly available at AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon since last month.

All the carriers above have waived the customary one-time activation fee (which usually cost between $20 to $35) and are offering three months of free cellular service once you connect the smartwatch to their network.

After the 3-month trial, the smartwatch data plan costs $10 a month. However, you must already have an existing plan with the same carrier and an iPhone 6 or newer to make that work. and the lack of international roaming will be a bad surprise for frequent travelers.

But that still pales in comparison to what wireless carriers in Europe, like Orange in France, Deutsche Telekom in Germany or EE in the U.K. are offering their Apple Watch 3 customers: a 6-month free trial and then just 5 euros (about $6) or £5 (about $7) a month.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile offers the best financing deal without interest

Sprint had no financing deal at all, so you'll have to pay the full price upfront, plus taxes and a $10 shipping fee if you order online.

While Verizon will charge you $66.66/month for 6 months (no, it's not a  joke), or $20/month for 20 months at AT&T - if you have an excellent credit, of course. Makes you wonder how the carriers' sales department choose the amounts for their installment plans.

But at just $16.67/month for 24 months, T-Mobile offers the best financing deal without interest, even if you decide afterward not to subscribe to its smartwatch data plan.

However, if you don't intend to get a Apple Watch 3 data plan from any of the official U.S. carriers - weird, but you have that choice too - Apple also offers to finance your purchase without interest - again, if your credit is good - through its partnership with Barclays.

 

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