Verizon's phone contracts are now three years old

If you want to buy a new phone on Verizon, you now have only two options: buy the device outright, or pay monthly installments for three years. As reported by Droid Life (via Android Police), Verizon has gotten rid of 24- and 30-month contracts for all devices — including phones, hot spots, and smartwatches — and instead This has been extended to 36 months.

Verizon's Payment Program FAQ page states that there's no interest attached to the 36-month plan, and you can choose to pay off the phone in full whenever you want. What you can't do, however, is exceed your scheduled monthly installment—so unless you can pay off the equipment in full, you're locked into a three-year plan. If you agree to a 24- or 30-month plan before February 3, 2022, Verizon says you won't be affected by this change.

As phones get more expensive, some reaching in the region of over $1,000, it's not uncommon for us to want to keep our smartphones around for many years. Plus, many phone makers roll out updates even years after the phone's release, eliminating the desire (at least for some of us) to upgrade our devices. In short, Samsung phones get security updates for four additional years, Apple provides updates on devices for five to seven years, and Google provides updates on the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro for five years. But not all phone companies are so generous (looking at you, Motorola), so you might want to check your phone's software update policy before locking in a three-year contract.

That said, it's not clear exactly when Verizon shifted toward longer contracts, but it appears to be a little late in the game. AT&T has already shelved the idea, as the company only began offering three-year contracts last year. And when T-Mobile began experimenting with the idea of 36-month plans in 2018, it has since gone back to offering only 24- or 30-month plans.