Outright or Plan for New Smartphone

ay-papii on 01/12/2018 - 11:15

My current plan with Virgin Mobile for a Samsung Galaxy s7 is in it's last months so now am on the lookout for a new phone, Virgin is closing it's mobile service next year so have to switch to a new provider.

My question is whether I should get on a leasing or buy plan or just buy a phone outright and get on a sim only plan/prepaid? I want to stick with Android phones and have been comparing/looking into Samsung Galaxy s9 and Google Pixel 3. What are your guys thoughts on these phones?

With a phone I want a good battery life, but also good content viewing quality, fast processing speeds, minimal bugs and obviously excellent data.
I have never been on a leasing plan before so am not sure how it exactly works apart from I know you can upgrade to a new phone after 12/18 months. What is the acceptable standard Optus or Telstra will accept the phone back if I do end up upgrading? Dents/scratches etc? I always put a case on a phone anyway so wouldn't be too worried about damaging it physically.

Your guys thoughts will be much appreciated.

Cheers

Mobile Phone Plan

Comments

  • DracoManX69 on 01/12/2018 - 11:32

    Currently writing this comment from a galaxy s7 edge in the exact same situation as you, phone's getting a bit old now and need to upgrade

    First and foremostly what kind of data usage/plans features i.e. international calls etc are you after, as it may be worth getting a phone on a buy plan depending on what you need.

    I recently moved from virgin to Optus when they had the click frenzy deal, but I also bought my phone outright about 2 years ago, I ended up with 50gb a month and unlimited credit for $33 a month.

    I'm personally gonna wait till Samsung releases they're S10 or SX or whatever because I don't think s7 to s9 is enough of an upgrade to justify buying it outright even if I get it cheap.

    • ay-papii on 01/12/2018 - 12:56

      I don't use international calling/texts but need a lot of data as I stream NBA, NFL, YouTube and Spotify frequently. Optus has a plan on leasing the pixel 3 for $69 a month which gets you 100gb a month. Tempting.

      Wow that's a great deal you're on!

      I did read that the s10/X or whatever will be releasing either Feb or March next year so that's definitely to consider.

      • dcep on 01/12/2018 - 14:56

        optus didn't offer you virgin switchover deals?

        • ay-papii on 01/12/2018 - 15:45

          They have but are actually not that good. It's disappointing

      • DracoManX69 on 01/12/2018 - 18:13
        +1

        I think optus actually has some no data usage streaming services for sports and I know you definitely don't use data for spotify, also the best way to calculate the value is find the cost of the plan that would get you the same amount of data or whatever then deduct that from the plan including the phone, and work out what just the phone payments are

        add it up over life of contract, and if it's cheaper than anything you can find outright go for it, but this only applies to buy plans not lease

        • ay-papii on 01/12/2018 - 22:56

          I will definitely look into that and work it out, thanks for your help!

  • Cheeper on 01/12/2018 - 13:01
    +1

    Outright normally beats contracts/leases and you own the phone. Then again, what overall suits your needs.

    Do some researching using Google..
    1. Find how much the plan "without" phone is that you like costs.
    If wanting Optus then check out the resellers, same product and service but usually with better customers service.
    One that has good deals is Catch Connect. Search Ozbargain for them. There are other Optus resellers.
    2. Work out exactly what specs you want in the phone then search for an Xiaomi phone that matches or betters them. They are as good a quality as some costing twice as much.

    Now take the cost of 1. and 2. above and compare the cost against whatever plan you were considering. Dont forget that you will OWN the phone at the end of that time. The cheapest option is the one most people would go for… simple as that.

    If you want a warranty or insurance against damage to the phone and a local shop you can go to for help/assistance then best to go to those places and get quotes.

    I have only ever had 1 contract phone.. never again.

    • savage bargain on 01/12/2018 - 17:51

      ^this

      In most cases, I've found 1+2 with the actual phone I want is still cheaper than a plan, especially if you keep an eye out on here for a bargain.

      Leasing I've heard mixed results at the end of the lease; I'd go outright or plan to reduce the risk of being out of pocket.

      • exulted on 02/12/2018 - 07:56

        For cheapskates in descending order
        1. Outright and byo gets u huge data and phone of your choice
        2. Telstra friends and family deal is a good and cheapish all rounder
        3. Phone on plan to own outright. Then you get a new phone every two years and can sell the old one to recoup a lot of your losses. But you get an impractical amount of data on lower plans
        4. Never go with the leaseplan option. For a saving of $10 a month there are no benefits and it's more expensive than option 3

  • altomic on 01/12/2018 - 14:04
    +4

    china droid + plan.

    check out the ozbargain mobile plan page

    for AU$325 you can get the Xiaomi Mi8 Lite 4GB/64G

    Snapdragon 660 AIE Octa Core 6.26" 19:9 Notch Full Screen 24MP Camera - MIUI 9 (Base on Android 8.1 OS)

    a lot of phone.

    • dcep on 01/12/2018 - 14:54

      no love for poco f1 ?

      • mbck on 01/12/2018 - 15:11

        No nfc?

      • altomic on 01/12/2018 - 17:35

        poco f1 is good as well. there are so many good inexpensive phones out there.

    • follow on 01/12/2018 - 18:39

      mi A2 64gb $230

    • ay-papii on 01/12/2018 - 23:01

      Have you had a play with Xiamoi? Am wondering if the phone starts bugging especially the battery deteriorating after having it for a while.

  • dcep on 01/12/2018 - 14:58
    +1

    if you need 100gb then go for phone plan

  • HeWhoKnows on 03/12/2018 - 20:07

    You always pay full price for a phone in any plan.
    They dont come free.
    I think OP knows this but may not be aware to the extent people are charged for a new phone.

    Just compare any Virgin/Optus/Telstra/Vodafone plan that comes with a new phone against the equivalent Kogan Pre-paid plan and you will quickly find out how much you are being ripped off.

    Why do people feel they need a new phone anyway???

    A 2 year old phone is still perfectly good - especially the Samsung Galaxy S7.

    Hence my advice to OP is to keep your wonderful Samsung Galaxy S7 and go with Kogan.
    You will save an absolute fortune!

    • ay-papii on 03/12/2018 - 20:34

      Well firstly my Samsung Galaxy s7 isn't as wonderful as it may seem, overtime it has slowed down for my needs that's why I would like to upgrade.

      If Kogan still uses Vodafone's network then I would not go with them as coverage of them around my area drop out on a regular basis as well as is not the quickest.

      Cheers anyway

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