Nothing lasts forever.
Sprint on Monday confirmed it has ended its Samsung “Galaxy Forever” device lease and upgrade program.
“Like many of our programs and promotions, Galaxy Forever was available for a limited time,” a Sprint spokeswoman said. “Although this offer has recently expired, we are pleased to continue to provide annual upgrade options with many of our current rate plans.”
The move comes just over four months after the introduction of the program at the end of February. The carrier’s “iPhone Forever” program is still running.
The Galaxy Forever program was timed to coincide with the launch of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S7 and S7 edge devices. Galaxy Forever offered Sprint customers the opportunity to lease the new Galaxy S7 or S7 edge for $25.99 per month for 24 months or $30.50 per month for 24 months, respectively, and upgrade to the latest Galaxy smartphone any time after making 12 payments on their lease.
Sprint representatives did not immediately respond to questions about whether Galaxy Forever customers will still be eligible to upgrade after 12 payments. Samsung isn’t expected to launch a new flagship device until next year.
Thanks to offers like the Galaxy Forever program, Sprint’s buy-one-get-one half off promotion and other carrier creations, Kantar Worldpanel ComTech said the S7 became one of the most heavily promoted smartphones ever.
These promotions made the S7 the fifth best-selling phone in the first quarter of 2016, despite the fact that the device only became available in mid-March, Kantar Worldpanel said.
In the first quarter, Samsung pulled in $4.6 billion in profit on the strength of S7 sales. Last week, the company said it is expecting to post an operating profit of $7 billion in its second quarter earnings report later this month.