The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus may be the most popular iPhones in some years, and while the outright pricing is clear and easy to read, comparing all the plans from the various Australia mobile phone companies makes finding the “best” deal a tough one – so – here’s what we reckon.
Having watched the iPhone 6 pre-sales on the Apple website it’s clear to me the iPhone 6 in 64GB flavour is the most popular of the bunch. People avoid where possible the 16GB because it’s just not enough space these days, and the 128GB is often a bridge to far for many people’s budgets.
So, middle of the road capacity of 64GB, let’s find the best value plan for the iPhone 6.
12 Month Contract
I’m going to eliminate the 12 month contracts from this comparison, mainly because – after the first 12 months, you’ve got to keep paying “something” for your phone to work, and those calculations are difficult because if you’re smart – you’ll pay less and get what you need.
The Options
It seems Virgin Mobile have knocked this one out of the park. If you take into account their “bonus 2GB of data” for new members, their plans offer some cracking good value. A 64GB iPhone 6 for a total cost of just $1440 with 2.3GB of data included (and $300 worth of call value).
Optus is the only one who gets close to that, with a $1,560 total contract cost, however you’re only getting 500Mb of data per month, so that’s no good.
Spending $79 a month for 2 years is around the sweet spot for many users out looking for a new iPhone this week. For that money you’ll get 4GB of data with Virgin (new customers only) and 3GB of data with Vodafone.
Spend $75 with Optus and you only get 1GB, while at $82 with Telstra you’re only getting 500Mb.
Telstra may think their soon to launch 700mHz spectrum will give them a super fast 4G network, but in reality, no matter how fast it is, it ain’t worth the money they are charging you.
If you’re up for a monthly spend closer to the $100 mark, Vodafone will give you 8GB of data for $100, Optus the same for $102, and Telstra will charge you $130 for 3GB.
At that level of spend, you basically get the choice of iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus for the difference of just a few dollars per month too.
It seems very clear to me that at the low to medium monthly spend level, your best value is Virgin Mobile and Vodafone.
Optus comes into its own from the $80 mark and up with Vodafone sticking with them for value.
Sadly, I see no plan where Telstra offers you “value” – if you’re sticking with Telstra you must love that network and do some serious rural travel.
Best High Data Plan:
It’s a tie: Optus $100 plan with 8GB of data, and the Vodafone $100 plan (plus $2 for the handset) for 8GB of data.
Best Low Cost Plan:
Virgin Mobile have you covered, for $60 a month you can get 2.3GB of data if you switch to Virgin from another carrier.
Best “average joe” Plan:
I’d sign up to the $79 Vodafone plan – $70 plan plus $9 for the handset, offering you 3GB of data per month, but scroll around the Virgin Mobile and Optus deals while you’re there for value – Vodafone wins by a nose because it’s offering Unlimited calls and texts at that price.
And remember
Remember – check your usage – know what you want, know what you need. If you sign up to a plan with loads and loads of data, you may never need it – and that money you’re spending every month? You’re wasting it.
