Yes, they are. In the US, at least. There's also the carrier financed phone you're talking about, but I've had good luck when switching carriers. The free phon

Yes, they are. In the US, at least. There's also the carrier financed phone you're talking about, but I've had good luck when switching carriers. The free phones aren't going to be the latest generation, but they often have partial subsidization when you switch, like maybe half the cost.