iPhone 5s/5c Australian Telco Pricing: More Expensive Than Ever

Seriously, has anyone else noticed that the prices for the iPhone 5s and 5c are freakishly high ahead of the launch date on Friday? Why is that?

The iPhone 5s and 5c were announced last week to much fanfare, with the 5c touting itself as a colourful reskin of the iPhone 5 we all know and love, while the 5s heralds in as the phone of the future. Either way, you’re going to be paying out the nose for these new phones.

So far, we have Telstra and Vodafone pricing, however we haven’t seen Optus or Virgin Mobile pricing yet. Given what you’re about to read, it’s a fair bet that the new MyPlan system will carry with it similar high pricing to that seen on Telstra and Vodafone.

Telstra’s cheapest price on the iPhone 5c is $71 per month on a 24-month contract. That includes $60 for the plan and an extra $11 per month in handset repayments for the 16GB iPhone 5C, and gets you $600 in eligible nation call credit, unlimited text and MMS as well as 1GB of data.

If you compare that to last year’s pricing for the iPhone 5, it’s actually more expensive for what is essentially the same phone. Last year, you’d pay $67 per month for a 16GB iPhone 5. That’s the same $60 plan with the same inclusions, and $7 extra for the phone. If anything, the 5c should be cheaper thanks to the plastic construction. Last year’s model was metal on metal, which should have upped the cost.

Swing over to number three carrier, Vodafone, and you’ll see that the iPhone 5c will run you $67 per month. That’s $65 for the new Red Plan which includes unlimited standard calls, texts and voicemail in Australia plus 1.5GB of data and an extra $2 for the phones.

And these are just the prices on the 5c. The 5s is even more expensive! You’ll get on plan with an iPhone 5s for a minimum of $72 on Vodafone and a minimum of $78 on Telstra.

We’ve chastised carriers before for tweaking and changing plans to suit “the average customer” rather than offer bespoke gear for those at the top-end of the usage spectrum, while rousing on them for slashing our data allowances while hiking prices. The price hikes for mobile continue unabated.

Bottom line: there’s nothing cheap about these new iPhones.

Will you buy the new iPhone outright or on a plan?


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