Are you interested in the iPhone price without plan in Singapore? Yes, it is worth your while, though you would have to understand clearly why as well, in order to truly get the best value for money. To better understand the background of the iPhone as a whole in Singapore, let us first cover a little history of the legendary fruity smartphone itself.
iPhone in Singapore
With the very 1st generation iPhone launched just 4 years ago back in June 2007, it first surfaced in Singapore a year later in August 2008 under SingTel; which made it the 1st mobile carrier in Singapore to launch the iPhone 3G, since this 2nd generation iPhone 3G was just launched a month ago in July 2008 in the US. The 3rd generation iPhone 3GS that is still being popularly sold worldwide today was launched a year later by SingTel and M1 in July 2009, and it was only a year ago in 2010 when SingTel launched the iPhone 4 alongside both the other major carriers, M1 and StarHub. More recently on 28 October 2011, the much-awaited iPhone 4S was launched by all 3 carriers.
iPhone without contracts in Singapore
Let us now take a closer look at the iPhone price without any contracts or plans under these carriers. The best official and legitimate source of the unlocked iPhone that is not tied to any plan is directly from the Apple Online Store itself.
iPhone prices by Apple Singapore
Today, while both the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S are available in Singapore under the mobile plans of SingTel, M1, and StarHub, the Apple Online Store sells the unlocked iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and the latest iPhone 4S. The iPhone 3GS is available in a black 8GB model for S$548.00.
This is the very same model that is still being sold worldwide, since Apple is still maintaining it as the oldest iPhone model that still supports the latest iOS 5.0 release, which is a very powerful operating system upgrade. The iPhone 3GS was previously launched in full-size 16GB and 32GB memory sizes in black and white, and Apple only reverted to making the downsized 8GB model available since June 2010 when the iPhone 4 took over as the mainstream product.
The newer iPhone 4 is now also available as an 8GB model in black or white without plan for just S$788, which is S$240 more than the iPhone 3GS. While also previously available in 16GB and 32GB variants since its launch in June 2010; similar to its predecessor the iPhone 3GS, the iPhone 4 was downsized to 8GB to make way for its superior, the latest iPhone 4S. The unlocked iPhone 4S is sold at S$948 for the 16GB model, S$1,088 for the 32GB, and finally S$1,238 for the largest 64GB model.
By getting the iPhone without any plan, you benefit from the freedom of not being tied down to any of the typical 2-year contract commitments. While the iPhone by its nature requires both a voice and data plan to activate its full smartphone features that is rich in internet access functions such as web browsing, email, GPS, and the App Store apps, sometimes having the freedom of getting the iPhone first before choosing a plan of your liking is refreshing.
In actual fact, buying an unlocked iPhone makes it easier to give as a great gift idea for this coming Christmas season, since the lucky receiver of the iPhone can go out and choose their own plan accordingly, since it is likely they would already have existing plans under their existing phones with one of the carriers. But if that is not the case, fret not as we will cover the iPhone price plans from Singapore’s 3 carriers below.
iPhone Price Plans by Singtel
Now to do a full comparison of the iPhone price under plans, SingTel offers the iPhone 4 in all 3 sizes of 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB, and the latest iPhone 4S in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB under 4 price plans. The cheapest is Flexi Lite at S$39.90/month, with the 3 models of iPhone 4 going at $400 (8GB), $480 (16GB), and $620 (32GB), and the iPhone 4S at $498 (16GB), $668 (32GB), and $798 (64GB).
The 2nd plan is Flexi Value at S$59.90/month, which brings down the prices of all the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S models in about the range of a $200-$300 discount. Moving on to the 3rd Flexi Plus plan at $99.90/month, the iPhone 4S 16GB, iPhone 4 16GB, and iPhone 4 8GB become free, while the most expensive Flexi Premium plan at $205/month makes all the iPhone models free, except for the largest iPhone 4S 64GB at $108. With all plans lasting 24 months, the total cost of the 64GB iPhone 4S under the cheapest Flexi Lite contract is $1,755.60 ($798 + $39.90 x 24 months).
iPhone Price plans by M1
Meanwhile under M1, there is also a similar structure to SingTel, with 6 iPhone models and 4 plans offered under 2-year contracts. It starts off with iPhone Value at $36/month, iPhone Lite at $56/month, iPhone Extreme at $98/month, and maxing out at $198/month under iPhone Max. The iPhone 4S starts out at prices of $505, $630, and $770 for 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models respectively, while the iPhone 4 starts out at $400 (8GB), $480 (16GB), and $620 (32GB). The 3rd plan iPhone Extreme renders all models free except for the iPhone 4S 32GB ($70) and 64GB ($210), while the Max plan only leaves the 64GB at $115, with all other models free. The total cost of the 64GB iPhone 4S under iPhone Value is $1,634 ($770 + $36 x 24 months), which is over $100 cheaper than SingTel.
iPhone price plans by Starhub
Finally under StarHub, there are also 4 plans ranging from monthly subscriptions of $38-$205, with the 3 iPhone 4S models starting out at $498 (16GB), $678 (32GB), and $818 (64GB) and only the iPhone 4 8GB offered starting from $400. Under the 3rd plan costing $98/month, the iPhone 4S 16GB and iPhone 4 8GB is free of charge, while the final $205/month unlimited plan only leaves the iPhone 4S 64GB at $128. The cost of the iPhone 4S 64GB under the cheapest $38/month plan is $1,730 ($818 + $38 x 24 months), which is in between M1 and SingTel.
Starhub iphone 4s price plans in singapore
To get the iPhone with or without plan?
To conclude, the iPhone price without plan is always more pricey on its own due to the rebates offered by mobile carriers, to make it more attractive for you to sign up under their plans. Though the upfront rebate on the iPhone is attractive, the carriers make their back-end money by tying you down for 2 full years or 24 months.
As compared above, the unlocked iPhone 4S 64GB costs $1,238 in the Apple Store, and only $798, $770, and $818 under SingTel, M1, and StarHub respectively. While M1 has the cheapest overall cost of $1,634 thanks to the economical $36 monthly plan, do consider carefully your needs in using both voice and data, the quality of network coverage of these 3 mobile carriers, alongside the benefits of unlocked phones covered above in selecting a plan that best suits your needs.
