Why is Tmobile charging for phones on a monthly basis now?

I have been with Tmobile for about 3 years or so now. I was originally drawn to them for their true "unlimited" internet (speeds kick down to 3G instead of 4G after 7GB). However, the last time I got a couple of phones from them, the Nokia Lumia 810 was one of the top of the line models. A lot has changed in 3 years.

I see the "upgrade" option for each phone and I have two phones on my plan. Problem: every single phone that I see on their website now seems to have you "leasing" the phone for xx.xx dollars per month for xx months.

Do they not do the free phones with contract anymore. I see nada on their website. My 2-year contract was up about a year ago. However, most of the garbage that they have now doesn't appeal to me (Iphones, huge Samsung tablet-like phones, etc.)

I don't even see a phone that is even like $50 outright like they used to have. Everything is either renting it on a monthly basis until you pay it off (most are $600+ at about $30 per month on average) or outright purchase at many hundreds of dollars.

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