Feature Articles

iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X telco price plan comparison

By Liu Hongzuo - 10 Dec 2017

iPhone 8 telco price plan comparison

Note 1: This article was first published on 15th September 2017.
Note 2: Apple iPhone X telco price plans comparison and analysis updated on 30th October 2017.

 

Who's got the best plan?

With all three telcos announcing their price plans for the upcoming Apple iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X, now's the time to find out who offers the best deal.

Check out the following articles for a quick refresher on what the latest iPhones offer:

Buying the phones directly from Apple without a service plan will cost you the following:

  • iPhone 8 (64GB) - S$1,148
  • iPhone 8 (256GB)- S$1,388
  • iPhone 8 Plus (64GB) - S$1,308
  • iPhone 8 Plus (256GB) - S$1,548
  • iPhone X (64GB) - S$1,648
  • iPhone X (256GB) - S$1,888

iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are available in Silver, Gold, and Space Grey. iPhone X is available only in Silver, and Space Grey.

iPhone 8 with 2-year contract

 

Value plans comparison 

Data Plan M1 Singtel
Name i-Lite Combo 1
iPhone 8 Price (64GB) - S$790
(256GB) - S$1,015
(64GB) - S$788
(256GB) - S$1,018
Monthly Subscription S$28 S$27.90
Local Outgoing Mins 100 100
Local SMS 500 500
Local Data Bundle 300MB 100MB
Total Cost Over Two Years

(64GB) - S$1,462
(256GB) - S$1,687

(64GB) - S$1,457.60
(256GB) - S$1,687.60


 

Basic plans comparison 

Data Plan M1 Singtel StarHub
Name i-Lite+ Combo 2 XS
iPhone 8 Price (64GB) - S$665
(256GB) - S$885
(64GB) - S$658
(256GB) - S$878
(64GB) - S$606
(256GB) - S$831
Monthly Subscription S$42 S$42.90 S$48
Local Outgoing Mins 200 500 200
Local SMS 1,000 1,000 Pay per use at 5.35 cents/SMS
Local Data Bundle 3GB 2GB

3GB + unlimited weekend data

Total Cost Over Two Years (64GB) - S$1,673
(256GB) - S$1,893
(64GB) - S$1,687.60
(256GB) - S$1,907.60
(64GB) - S$1,758
(256GB) - S$1,983

 

Mid-tier plans comparison 

Data Plan M1 Singtel StarHub
Name i-Reg Combo 3 S
iPhone 8 Price (64GB) - S$465
(256GB) - S$690
(64GB) - S$428
(256GB) - S$648
(64GB) - S$424
(256GB) - S$648
Monthly Subscription S$62 S$68.90 S$68
Local Outgoing Mins 300 Unlimited* (10,000) 400
Local SMS 1,200 Unlimited* (10,000) Pay per use at 5.35 cents/SMS
Local Data Bundle 4GB 3GB 4GB + unlimited weekend data
Total Cost Over Two Years

(64GB) - S$1,953
(256GB) - S$2,178

(64GB) - S$2,081.60
(256GB) - S$2,301.60

(64GB) - S$2,056
(256GB) - S$2,280

 

Mid-high tier plans comparison

Data Plan M1 StarHub
Name i-Reg+ M
iPhone 8 Price (64GB) - S$275
(256GB) - S$500
(64GB) - S$262
(256GB) - S$487
Monthly Subscription S$82 S$88
Local Outgoing Mins 400 Unlimited
Local SMS 1,500 Pay per use at 5.35 cents/SMS
Local Data Bundle 5GB 5GB + unlimited weekend data
Total Cost Over Two Years

(64GB) - S$2,243
(256GB) - S$2,468

(64GB) - S$2,374
(256GB) - S$2,599

 

High-tier plans comparison 

Data Plan M1 Singtel StarHub
Name i-Max Combo 6 L
iPhone 8 Price

(64GB) - S$140
(256GB) - S$365

(64GB) - S$178
(256GB) - S$408
(64GB) - S$85
(256GB) - S$309
Monthly Subscription $102 $95.90 $108
Local Outgoing Mins 800 Unlimited* (10,000) Unlimited
Local SMS 2,000 Unlimited* (10,000) Pay per use at 5.35 cents/SMS
Local Data Bundle 7GB 6GB +
S$20 roaming data /month
8GB + unlimited weekend data
Total Cost Over Two Years

(64GB) - S$2,588
(256GB) - S$2,813

(64GB) - S$2,479.60
(256GB) - S$2,709.60

(64GB) - S$2,677
(256GB) - S$2,901

 

Premium plans comparison 

Data Plan  M1 Singtel StarHub
Name i-Max+ Combo 12 XL
iPhone 8 Price

(64GB) - S$0
(256GB) - S$0

(64GB) - S$0
(256GB) - S$0
(64GB) - S$0
(256GB) - S$126
Monthly Subscription S$228 S$239.90 S$238
Local Outgoing Mins Unlimited Unlimited* (10,000) Unlimited
Local SMS 5,000 Unlimited* (10,000) Unlimited
Local Data Bundle 13GB 12GB 15GB + unlimited weekend data
Total Cost Over Two Years

(64GB) - S$5,472
(256GB) - S$5,472

(64GB) - S$5,757.60
(256GB) - S$5,757.60
(64GB) - S$5,712
(256GB) - S$5,838

Both M1 and Singtel have S$500 handset vouchers at this tier, among other benefits. 

 

Quick analysis (iPhone 8)

Almost across the board, M1 has both the lowest priced monthly plans and the cheapest phone price. The high-tier Singtel plan is where it gets interesting, since Singtel's recent price plan reconfiguration saw Combo 4 removed entirely, the refreshed Combo 6 plan took a price cut and added S$20 worth of roaming data free.

Having said that, it's worth considering StarHub's new plans if you're a heavy data user, as StarHub's new plans provide unlimited weekend data, which could make up for its higher monthly subscription prices. While Singtel and M1 have "unlimited data" alternatives, the former is a S$39.90/month add-on, while the latter is a separate, SIM-only mobile plan altogether. 

The above observations are purely based on total outlay and who's the cheapest offering. But what if you divide the total outlay against the amount of data you get? Now that sparks an interesting set of recommendations (in some cases):-

  • At the mid-high tier section, StarHub's overall asking price is only a tad more than M1, but it nets you unlimited weekend data and unlimited talk time that comes in handy if you make a lot of phone calls in your line of work. So both M1 and StarHub are tied in this tier.
     
  • The high-tier segment is the most interesting as the price point is strongly in favor of Singtel. However, if you tear down each telco's per GB data cost for two years,  StarHub comes out to offering the most value as it's massive 8GB data allotment really helps bring them per GB data cost. Not to mention you still have unlimited weekend data that's not accounted for.
     
  • Lastly in the premium plan tier, it's the same story again as M1 appears cheapest from a total outlay perspective. Once you factor the per GB data cost, StarHub comes out ahead easily.

 

Circles.Life plan with iPhone 8

There's the Circles.Life route as well. The virtual network operator offers a 6-month, 12-month, and 24-month installments for certain phone models, but you are required to have at least one Circles.Life mobile plan in order to utilize their S$0 upfront installment plans. Circles.Life phone-less plans start from S$28 per month, which works out to S$672 for two years. The Circles.Life mobile plan isn't bounded to a 24-month contract cycle.

  • Apple iPhone 8 (64GB) - Phone price S$1,148 from S$47.83 per month for 24-month installments with Circles.Life plan = S$1,820 in 24 months at S$75.83 per month.
  • Apple iPhone 8 (256GB) - Total price S$1,388 from S$57.83 per month for 24-month installments with Circles.Life plan  = S$2,060 in 24 months with Circles.Life plan at S$85.83 per month.
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