Who's got the best plan on the iPhone XR?
With Apple's more wallet-friendly iPhone XR releasing tomorrow we find our which telco has the best deal.
If you want to more about the iPhone XR, check out our coverage from the launch event. And if you're not sure which color to get, here's a closer look at all six colors.
There are three storage configurations available for the iPhone XR. If you buy directly from Apple, here's what you'll be paying:
- 64GB: S$1,229
- 128GB: S$1,299
- 256GB: S$1,469
Value plans comparison
Data Plan | M1 | Singtel | StarHub |
Name | Lite | Combo 1 | Lite |
Apple iPhone XR Price | 64GB - S$860 128GB -S$925 256GB - S$1,085 | 64GB - S$868 128GB - S$928 256GB - S$1,088 | 64GB - S$845 128GB - S$909 256GB - S$1,070 |
Monthly Subscription | S$28 | S$27.90 | S$30 |
Local Outgoing Mins | 100 | 100 | 100 |
Local SMS | 500 | 500 | 100 |
Local Data Bundle | 300MB | 100MB | 1GB |
Total Cost Over Two Years | 64GB - S$1,532 128GB - S$1,597 256GB- S$1,757 | 64GB - S$1,537.60 128GB- S$1,597.60 256GB - S$1,757.60 | 64GB - S$1,565 128GB - S$1,629 256GB - S$1,790 |
Basic plans comparison
Data Plan | M1 | Singtel | StarHub |
Name | Lite+ | Combo 2 | XS |
Apple iPhone XR Price | 64GB - S$735 128GB- S$795 256GB - S$955 | 64GB - S$728 128GB - S$798 256GB - S$958 | 64GB - S$681 128GB - S$745 256GB - S$906 |
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$1,743 128GB - S$1,803 256GB - S$1,963 | 64GB - S$1,757.60 128GB - S$1,827.60 256GB - S$1,987.60 | 64GB - S$1,833 128GB - S$1,897 512GB - S$2,058 |
Mid-tier plans comparison
Data Plan | M1 | Singtel | StarHub |
Name | Reg | Combo 3 | S |
Apple iPhone XR Price | 64GB - S$535 128GB - S$600 256GB - S$760 | 64GB - S$498 128GB - S$558 256GB - S$728 | 64GB - S$498 128GB - S$563 256GB - S$723 |
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$2,023 128GB - S$2,088 256GB - S$2,248 | 64GB - S$2,151.60 128GB - S$2,211.60 256GB - S$2,381.60 | 64GB - S$2,130 256GB - S$2,195 512GB - S$2,355 |
Mid-high-tier plans comparison
Data Plan | M1 | Singtel | StarHub |
Name | Reg+ | Combo XO | M |
Apple iPhone XR Price | 64GB - S$350 128GB- S$410 256GB - S$575 | 64GB - S$418 128GB - S$478 256GB - S$638 | 64GB - S$337 128GB - S$401 256GB - S$562 |
Monthly Subscription | S$82 | S$78 | S$88 |
Local Outgoing Mins | 400 | 300 | Unlimited |
Local SMS | 1,500 | 300 | Pay per use at 5.35 cents/SMS |
Local Data Bundle | 5GB | 18GB | 5GB+unlimited weekend data |
Total Cost Over Two Years | 64GB - S$2,318 128GB - S$2,378 256GB - S$2,543 | 64GB - S$2,290 128GB - S$2,350 256GB - S$2,510 | 64GB - S$2,449 128GB - S$2,513 256GB - S$2,674 |
High-tier plans comparison
Data Plan | M1 | Singtel | StarHub |
Name | Max | Combo 6 | L |
Apple iPhone XR Price | 64GB - S$210 128GB - S$275 256GB - S$435 | 64GB - S$258 128GB- S$318 256GB - S$478 | 64GB - S$160 128GB - S$224 256GB - S$384 |
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 | 8GB + unlimited weekend data |
Total Cost Over Two Years | 64GB - S$2,658 128GB - S$2,723 256GB - S$2,883 | 64GB - S$2,559.60 128GB- S$2,619.60 256GB - S$2,779.60 | 64GB - S$2,752 128GB - S$2,816 256GB - S$2,976 |
Premium plans comparison
Data Plan | M1 | Singtel | StarHub |
Name | Max+ | Combo 12 | XL |
Apple iPhone XR Price | 64GB - S$0 128GB - S$0 256GB - S$80 | 64GB - S$0 128GB - S$0 256GB - S$0 | 64GB - S$0 128GB - S$0 256GB - S$0 |
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 128GB - S$5,472 256GB - S$5,552 | 64GB - S$5,757.60 128GB - S$5,757.60 256GB - S$5,757.60 | 64GB - S$5,712 128GB - S$5,712 256GB- S$5,712 |
Analysis
Overall, M1 offers the best deal, with the cheapest monthly subscription prices, and the cheapest handset prices. Additionally, no matter which telco you're buying from, it's generally best to buy the 128GB version, as it's only S$60-70 more expensive than the 64GB variant for double the storage capacity. The 256GB doubles that storage capacity again, but is a lot more expensive at $160-170 more.
In the value plan category, while M1 has the cheapest overall price, it only offers 300MB data. As such, we would actually recommend StarHub for its 1GB data bundle.
In the mid tier, M1 and StarHub are fairly close in price, and while StarHub is more expensive overall, its unlimited free weekend data may offset the price.
In the mid-high-tier, Singtel offers excellent value with its new Combo XO plan, which has the cheapest monthly subscription, reasonable phone prices and includes a whopping 18GB local data.
At the high tier, Singtel has the overall lowest price, however it also has the smallest data bundle. If you're a heavy data user, you may want to consider StarHub thanks to its 8GB data bundle and unlimited weekend data.
Lastly, in the premium plan tier, M1 is easily the winner thanks to its much lower monthly subscription price. Even if you opt to top up $80 for the 256GB version, you're still saving a lot of money compared to Singtel and StarHub.
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