We have always been paying full price for phones they just hid it inside the cost of the 2 year plans, now Verizon ( ATT started doing away with 2 year plans months ago ) are just doing what T-mobile and the rest of the world do which is you pay for the phone and just buy service from whatever provider.
What is funny to me is how they say no more contracts but if you buy a phone from them you still are in contract to pay off that phone. This is why you will see phones like the one plus two and new Moto X pure ( and other phones ) change the market, they are $3-400 cheaper than phones from Apple and Samsung, offer same or better specs and have ZERO bloatware from the phone provider. You just have to buy them out right vs payments. While some people wont be able to do that you will see a huge shift in the market over the next few years as tech gets cheaper and mid range phones ( $200 price range ) will offer the same specs as todays flagships.
Im glad the market is going this way, I get 20% off ATT from my work plus buying my own phone I will save a ton of money, win win for me.