Galaxy S6 Phone Plans: Actually Cheaper Than Last Year

Despite a rise in phone prices, it’s actually cheaper right now to pick up the Galaxy S6 on plans than it was for its predecessor, the S5, last year.

The difference in RRP (recommended retail price) between the two phones is $70, with the 16GB Galaxy S5 originally debuting for $929 and the new S6’s 32GB entry model hitting the market today at $999. You would expect phone plans to go up accordingly, but where the S6 is concerned many plan options are either cheaper, or their increase is under $70 over the life of the plan.

The Galaxy S6 is available today. The cost may go up over the coming weeks, but for now it seems that some Aussie telcos are taking the hit for you.

The plans

Both Optus and Telstra are the heroes of today’s tale, with specific regards to their higher-tier plans. Each offers cheaper prices on almost every plan over 24 months than they did 2014’s Samsung flagship. Some of the differences are slim pickings, but remember that the Galaxy S6 is a more-expensive phone than was its progenitor, so any saving is good news.

It's easy to think that, for example, $4 per month doesn't amount to much. In reality, over 24 months it would mean you'd end up paying $96 more for a device worth around $1000. That's a saving of almost 10%. You wouldn't pass that up if you were buying the phone outright, and you shouldn't ignore it here, either.

We took the plan pricing of the Galaxy S5 on April 2 of last year and compared it to the current preorder pricing of the Galaxy S6 today on April 10.

Telstra

Telstra’s best effort is on its $95 Accelerate plan, which you’ll end up paying an impressive $144 less over the life of your contract for the Galaxy S6 than you would have for an S5.

Optus

Optus is even better. The $80 New My Plan Plus will save you a whopping $264 in comparison to the GS5 twelve months ago. The $100 plan is also well under its past counterpart by $168.

Virgin Mobile

Virgin manages to work in some savings by default. Here, the plans themselves have become cheaper and subsequently adjusted their monthly allowances. Where once you had a $90 and $140 plan, there are now only $80 and $100 options. There's not too much point comparing these to last year's fare so we've left them out.

Even so, on no plan has Virgin raised the 24 month price high enough to hit that $70 mark. On the $40 plan you'll pay $72 less than you would a year ago, making for a $142 swing.

Vodafone

Every tale has a black night and this one’s is Vodafone. Voda’s prices are almost all higher for the GS6 than they were for the GS5. In one instance – the $50 Classic Plan – you’ll end up paying a full $216 more over 24 months.

HTC gets love, too

Also aboard the Savings Wagon is the recently-released HTC One M9. This $1099 phone is a good $200 more than its One M8 predecessor, which hit shelves for $899 in early 2014.

The M9’s story is not as successful a one as that of the GS6, but with such a hike in price that’s no surprise. At least we’re not seeing too many upward adjustments in the vicinity of $200.

Telstra

On Telstra the One M9 is either cheaper than, or the same price as the M8 was a year ago. On the $95 Accelerate Plan it’s a good $144 under. That’s a swing of $344 once you factor in how much more expensive the new phone is.

Optus

On Optus the M9 will cost you more on the lowest three plans, but on the top two you’ll save heaps - $192 and $168 under 2014's original M8 plan pricing, respectively.

Vodafone and Virgin

Virgin was late to release the One M8 so there’s nothing to compare it to, and once again Vodafone’s prices have risen to make up for the increased RRP. Nothing to see here.

Bad news for iPhone buyers

iPhones are a very different story. Recently, the RRPs of both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have gone up significantly. These hikes range from $130 to $200, depending on model.

Comparing the new plan prices of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus plans to what they were like when they were released in September last year is a chilling tale.

In many cases current plan prices leave you paying far more than the raise in RRP once your contract is done.

Telstra

Almost all Telstra plans have you paying above and beyond the recent RRP price-hike. In some cases it’s over $300 extra over 24 months, while that particular model iPhone has only gone up between $130 and $200.

Optus

Optus is the only carrier that isn’t currently charging you more than the new iPhone RRPs warrant. Costs have still gone up on every plan, but they’re all smaller changes than the extra you’d now pay if you bought an iPhone outright.

Vodafone

Vodafone is a mixed-bag of over-and-under the new RRPs. For the most part, the 16GB plans have managed to keep their pricing increases below the rise in RRP of their respective iPhone models, but plans are still almost universally increased.

Virgin

In general, Virgin’s new higher prices are acceptable, given Apple’s increased iPhone RRPs. During this period Virgin's $90 plan turned in to a $100 plan, so we can't draw a comparison between these two.

Alex Angove-Plumb

Digital Content Editor

Alex Angove-Plumb is a Digital Content Editor at WhistleOut and an award-winning journalist. He's been in the tech publishing industry since 2010, putting him a few short years away from the title of Grizzled Ancient in his chosen profession. He was an original WhistleOut-er before running NBN Co's corporate blog for two years, then moving on to a lengthy stint at CHOICE. Now he's come home.

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