Yahoo: Iphone 6 plans compared

quote:

---

Say you want an iPhone 6 with 2 gigabytes of data, which is about right for average North American customers. Here are your total costs over two years for a single-line plan, counting phone pricing and service charges but not taxes or other incidental fees:

• AT&T’s Mobile Share plan will cost you $2,120. But its Next pricing will add up to $2,210.

* At Sprint,you’ll pay $2,120 over a standard two-year contract. Or $1,850 if you pick a plan that gives no discount on the phone. Or, get this, just $1,680 for the “iPhone for Life” deal. Add a $10/month surcharge for tethering (the ability to share a phone’s broadband with a laptop over WiFi), or another $240 over two years.

• T-Mobile is $1,730. Simple.

• Verizon Wireless will run $1,640 on a Single Line Smartphone contract, or maybe $1,850 with Edge pricing — or, with tethering, $2,360 or $2,570.

Sprint ad for iPhone 6(Rob Pegoraro/Yahoo Tech)

If you think this math is crazy, it’s not just you; I’ve had to immerse myself in these details, and I’m still confused. But here are some cost-saving choices:

• If you don’t need tethering, get Verizon’s $60 Single Line Smartphone contract. That’s $1,640 for two years. Do not pay for the More Everything or Edge options.

• If tethering is a must but rural coverage is not, get T-Mobile’s $45 Simple Starter ($1,730 total).

• If you need both tethering and rural coverage, look at AT&T’s $80 Mobile Share option ($2,120 total).

• Sprint’s iPhone for Life $70 lease option has that low $1,680 total but comes without tethering and with weak coverage. Its other options yield a higher price, and you’ll still have the same issues.

---