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

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iPhone X telco price plan comparison

iPhone X with 2-year contract

Value plans comparison

Data Plan	M1	Singtel
Name	i-Lite	Combo 1
iPhone X Price	(64GB) - S$1,245 (256GB) - S$1,470	(64GB) - S$1,248 (256GB) - S$1,468
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$1,917 (256GB) - S$2,142	(64GB) - S$1,917.60 (256GB) - S$2,137.60

Basic plans comparison

Data Plan	M1	Singtel	StarHub
Name	i-Lite+	Combo 2	XS
iPhone X Price	(64GB) - S$1,115 (256GB) - S$1,340	(64GB) - S$1,108 (256GB) - S$1,338	(64GB) - S$1,061 (256GB) - S$1,285
Monthly Subscription	S$42	S$42.90	S$48
Local Outgoing Mins	200	200	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$2,123 (256GB) - S$2,348	(64GB) - S$2,137.60 (256GB) - S$2,367.60	(64GB) - S$2,213 (256GB) - S$2,437

Mid-tier plans comparison

Data Plan	M1	Singtel	StarHub
Name	i-Reg	Combo 3	S
iPhone X Price	(64GB) - S$920 (256GB) - S$1,145	(64GB) - S$878 (256GB) - S$1,098	(64GB) - S$878 (256GB) - S$1,103
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$2,408 (256GB) - S$2,633	(64GB) - S$2,531.60 (256GB) - S$2,751.60	(64GB) - S$2,510 (256GB) - S$2,735

Mid-high tier plans comparison

Data Plan	M1	StarHub
Name	i-Reg+	M
iPhone 8 Plus Price	(64GB) - S$730 (256GB) - S$955	(64GB) - S$717 (256GB) - S$942
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$2,698 (256GB) - S$2,923	(64GB) - S$2,829 (256GB) - S$3,054

High-tier plans comparison

Data Plan	M1	Singtel	StarHub
Name	i-Max	Combo 6	L
iPhone 8 Plus Price	(64GB) - S$595 (256GB) - S$820	(64GB) - S$638 (256GB) - S$858	(64GB) - S$539 (256GB) - S$764
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$3,043 (256GB) - S$3,268	(64GB) - S$2,939.60 (256GB) - S$3159.60	(64GB) - S$3,131 (256GB) - S$3,356

Premium plans comparison

Data Plan	M1	Singtel	StarHub
Name	i-Max+	Combo 12	XL
iPhone 8 Plus Price	(64GB) - S$240 (256GB) - S$465	(64GB) - S$0 (256GB) - S$0	(64GB) - S$356 (256GB) - S$581
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$5,712 (256GB) - S$5,937	(64GB) - S$5,757.60 (256GB) - S$5,757.60	(64GB) - S$6,068 (256GB) - S$6,293

Quick analysis

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 - especially for the iPhone X (256GB) model.
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. While Singtel might seem to be the most affordable when getting the 256GB variant of the iPhoneX, it's still bested by M1 when you factor cost per GB of data. If you don't mind a higher overall outlay, StarHub easily comes out ahead when you consider the cost per GB of data for both the 64GB and 256GB iPhone X versions.