Free's new mobile rental model: Free Flex

On Tuesday, July 6th, mobile phone operator Free launched a new offer, Free Flex. This offer is neither a broadband box nor a mobile plan. Free Flex represents a new type of service, still relatively unknown in France: rent-to-own.

What is the Free Flex offer?

According to the operator, the Free Flex offer is a new way to "own your mobile phone" and can be summarized through 5 important principles: Accessibility, transparency, flexibility, freedom and finally, responsibility.

The offer is simple: instead of paying for your mobile phone upfront, you lease it, and after a certain period, you can consider the accumulated funds as a purchase. In reality, the purchase is spread over 24 months, making it affordable for everyone. Furthermore, you don't accumulate multiple plans; your mobile plan payment and phone lease are separate, so there are no additional fees—it's all about transparency .

With the Free Flex offer, the customer has two choices: Either return their phone after 24 months and therefore choose another one, or proceed to the final purchase by paying the remaining monthly installments and the purchase option, thus you will own your mobile phone.

This possibility of choosing freely corresponds to the principle of flexibility emphasized by Xavier Niel, the head of Free mobile.

Of course, this plan is non-binding like all Free mobile plans, so you can end it whenever you want, principle of freedom .

So what does responsibility mean? It's simple: your mobile phones are simply recycled. What does that mean? All your personal data is erased, and the phones are refurbished to be put back on the market. Therefore, we don't have the equation of one phone = one user, but rather one phone = multiple users. In this way, Free consciously promotes the circular economy; this is the principle of responsibility.

Is this the best mobile phone rental offer on the market?

At the time of writing, it's still too early to know for sure. However, when comparing mobile plans currently on the market using a mobile plan comparison tool , for example, it's clear that Free is far from being the top choice. Indeed, the established operators still hold the advantage with millions of customers who have a mobile plan bundled with a subsidized phone.

The Free Flex offer is still new, and even if it seems appealing, it will probably take some time to gain the necessary perspective for an objective judgment. So, is it a publicity stunt or a genuine revolution in the smartphone rental market? Patience is a virtue!

Free Flex's objective

Breaking the competition in the mobile phone rental market. This approach can be summed up by the statement made by Thomas Reynaud during the presentation of the offer: "I challenge the competition to respond to Free Flex without losing 10 to 15% of their revenue." Moreover, Free is simply continuing the strategy the company has applied to the mobile market since its explosive entry in 2012 with its mobile offer for just €2.

Furthermore, the company also aims to end the smartphone subsidy policy that encourages consumers to upgrade their phones prematurely. This would reduce consumers' carbon footprint, as Xavier Niel (CEO of Free) explained in an interview with IFP: " The benefit is twofold: for the consumer, by giving them the freedom to no longer be bound by a contract, and for the environment, because it doesn't push consumers to replace their devices too quickly. "

However, a study by Arcep (the French Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Posts) on product obsolescence seems to contradict this. In fact, the average lifespan of smartphones increased between 2013 and 2019, from 6 to 12 months, for a total of 23 to 37 months.

The problem is that this duration remains significantly shorter than the potential lifespan of a mobile device, which is between 5 and 8 years. Normally, there are two risks that shorten this lifespan: software obsolescence and cultural obsolescence.

In conclusion: Free Flex, a revolution?

Free's smartphone rental offer seems very attractive, but UFC-Que Choisir warns us about the risks associated with this type of offer. It will therefore be up to each individual to decide whether this rental agreement is right for them or not.

This rent-to-own principle is certainly new, even revolutionary, for the French market, but as always, it's not really new from a global perspective. Indeed, the combined effects of planned obsolescence and cultural obsolescence have pushed some retailers to innovate by exploring the rental model.

Indeed, Apple already offers rentals of its Macs and iPhones with the idea of ​​frequently changing smartphones due to the marketing obsolescence that Apple intentionally creates.

However, what Xavier Niel is offering with Free remains unprecedented in France, and it's highly likely that, as with the €2 Free plan, most smartphone vendors will also start offering similar plans to avoid losing market share in the future.