T-MOBILE is def not the same as Verizon. I have the T-MOBILE Note 7 and the only thing they did was add 4 apps that are T-Mobile related. And one you actually want since it is for T-Mobiles Free Tuesday giveaways. All their apps can be deleted or disabled though.
I will never use Verizon. They don't give two flying fvcks about their customers, which is why they are shedding millions of their customers every quarter. And those customers are heading for T-Mobile. Their coverage area and speed has improved drastically over the 2 years since they got the 700mhz spectrum and refarmed their old 2g antennas to LTE. Right now, I am sitting at a solar array in central California, with nothing but farmland for miles and approx 40 miles from the nearest semi-large town (Fresno) and still pulling in 25mbps download and 16mbps upload, while tethering to my tablet!
Verizon and ATT don't even come close around here.
Tmobile doesn't either IMO. This last announcement when they actually increased rates with their bs unlimited plans really opened my eyes. Before those announcements they had great plans, and if they had any kind of decent reception/coverage I would have switched in a second. If you think Legere cares more about you than money, then I've got some news for you. But hold onto that old plan for as long as you can, or as long as they let you keep it.
BTW I'm not defending Verizon. I was on ATT for 10 years and honestly they treated me very well as a customer. But in the end I had a dead spot in my home and I got sick of dealing with it and switched to Verizon. So far they've been great with customer service and reception is great. I don't mind paying a bit more for better reception, but with Tmobiles new plan they are actually substantially more expensive if you need data with their new plans. It's my understanding that ATT and Verizon are targeting customers who spend more, and much of their shedding are customers who want to save. This next year will be interesting because I think customers are going to realize what a rip Tmobiles new plans are and they may see some increased churn of their own.