Pros and cons of getting a phone through T-Mobile or an unlocked phone elsewhere

[lemon40]

After almost 5 years or so, it's time for me to get a new phone. Right now I'm on T-mobile with an old Samsung Gravity Smart. I love the slide out keyboard, but unfortunately, it looks like the trend is going away and I'll have to use a screen keyboard.

So the wife is assuming I'll just get something from T-Mobile since that's who our service is through, but it looks like at the store, their options are limited and the ones I'd be interested in are pretty pricy. I began looking online for some unlocked phones and there seem to be similar spec'd phones for much less.

So I'd like to know the pros and cons of getting something through T-Mobile or through a third party. Here's what I've come up with, but I'm sure I'm missing things. BTW, I'd like something that if it doesn't have Marshmallow could be upgraded to get it along with updates even further out since I don't like getting new phones very often.

Pros:
Convenience - just stop in, and they'll set it up the same day and transfer everything over.
Support - I can go in and they'll take care of pretty much any problems
Payment - they'll add it to my bill
Less likely to screw things up since it's locked down more.

Cons:
Seems pricy for what they have
Stuck with all of their pre-installed software that can't be removed without rooting
Lack of options

Just wondering your thoughts?
Thanks!

-d

 

[Ry]

Pro - getting a phone directly from T-Mobile almost guarantees you'll have features like WiFi calling and VoLTE (including Band 12 LTE) out of the box.