Is Sprint's Galaxy Forever Upgrade Plan Worth It?

Sprint is trying really hard to entice customers to switch to its network, and is now serving up a Galaxy Forever leasing program to make it easy to get your hands on the new Galaxy S7. Starting March 11, you can lease the latest Samsung flagships at Sprint stores or Sprint.com starting at $26 a month.

The carrier is also offering a buy-one-get-one half off offer on the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, so if you and your friend both want to get the new handset, you could save hundreds of dollars. Those switching to Sprint can also get 50 percent off their AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon plans, meaning greater savings in the long run.

MORE: Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge - What We Like, What We Don't

On Galaxy Forever, you can get the Galaxy S7 starting at 24 monthly payments of $25.99 (and a second one for $12.99 a month) or the S7 Edge at 24 monthly payments of $30.50. You can only upgrade to a new phone after 12 payments, though.

Galaxy Forever, like its Apple counterpart iPhone Forever, is a leasing program, meaning you only rent the phone and don't own it. At the end of 24 months, you'll have to turn in the phone or pay off the balance to keep it. Sprint also offers an installment billing option that lets you pay to own the phone over 24 months, but you won't be able to upgrade after 12 months with this plan.

The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are already available for pre-order, and those who buy the phone between now and March 18 will get a free Gear VR headset with their purchase. Sprint's prepaid brands Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile USA will also carry the new Samsung phones.

Is Galaxy Forever Worth It?

If your top priority is to save as much money as possible, Galaxy Forever is the way to go. Not only is it one of the cheapest ways to get your hands on the Galaxy S7, Galaxy Forever also gives you more savings if you switch over from AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon. Plus, if you have a friend that wants to get a new phone as well, you could save even more money.

However, those looking for the best network performance might want to look elsewhere. Even though Sprint has made improvements to its 4G LTE network, the carrier is still not the fastest. According to the latest RootMetrics report, Sprint surpassed AT&T in call performance to take second place behind Verizon and finished third in overall performance.

Our network tests last year found Sprint to be the slowest of the four major national carriers, but Sprint's continued work may help the carrier garner a better result this year.

Cherlynn Low

Cherlynn is Deputy Editor, Reviews at Engadget and also leads the site's Google reporting. She graduated with a Master’s in Journalism from Columbia University before joining Tom's Guide and its sister site LaptopMag as a staff writer, where she covered wearables, cameras, laptops, computers and smartphones, among many other subjects.