alt Hacker NewsAre you sure it is your whole country or it's you?
I mostly buy my phones outright too, but I am under no impression that everybody else does it as well.
Replies
grishka • today at 12:40 PM
In my country, for example, buying phones from carriers as part of your plan just isn't a thing. As in, you couldn't do it even if you wanted to. Same for postpaid plans and contracts.
As a result, quite a lot of people use the "I can't believe they could make and sell an entire phone at this price" Xiaomi and similar phones.
pjmlp • today at 2:21 PM
The planet is full of such countries, it isn't only me.
I've only seen the carrier locked phones and long-term contracts in a handful of countries. I've lived in a lot of countries on three continents.
In many places the default is prepaid SIMs with separately purchased phones. Sometimes the prepaying can be automated (e.g. in Russia), sometimes it involves you physically going to a shop once a month or so (e.g. in Egypt).