What is more positive about it is just that there’s no interest or money factor.

I do think it is ultimately an effort to shorten upgrade cycles. Lower the monthly payment enough and keeping the same payment will look appealing to many customers.

From a positive perspective, I think it’s preferable to trade-in programs if you were planning to do that sort of thing, and I think it wrestles a little bit of control back from carriers who have been very aggressive about upgrade deals that end up locking people in (even though there’s no “contract,” the effect is the same, since you lose your bill credits if you switch providers before the term is up).