[UPDATE] The iPhone 4S tariffs compared
From £789.99 up to £1517
UPDATE: Since this story went live, UK telco Vodafone has contacted Pocket Gamer with news that it's lowered the up-front price for the iPhone 4S handset. Please note Vodafone's revised pricing structure below.
Since Apple announced the iPhone 4S this Tuesday, UK operators have been scrambling to get tariffs together to cope with the preorder demand.
Apple, as always, is offering the handset unlocked on its website at £499, £599, and £699 for the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB versions respectively. However, most of the better deals entail getting it as part of a contract.
Here are some of the first announced prices. We’ll be adding more as they appear.
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Vodafone | ||||||
UK minutes | 100 | 300 | 600 | 900 | 1200 | 3000 |
UK data | 250MB | 500MB | 500MB | 750MB | 750MB | 1GB |
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16GB iPhone 4S | £239 | £169 | £99 | £49 | Free | Free |
24 months | £26/m | £31/m | £36/m | £41/m | £46/m | £62/m |
18 months | £31/m | £36/m | £41/m | £46/m | £51/m | £67/m |
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32GB iPhone 4S | £359 | £269 | £199 | £139 | £79 | Free |
24 months | £26/m | £31/m | £36/m | £41/m | £46/m | £62/m |
18 months | £31/m | £36/m | £41/m | £46/m | £51/m | £67/m |
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64GB iPhone 4S | £449 | £379 | £269 | £219 | £159 | £29 |
24 Months | £26/m | £31/m | £36/m | £41/m | £46/m | £62/m |
18 Months | £31/m | £36/m | £41/m | £46/m | £51/m | £67/m |
All Vodafone plans but the most basic also include unlimited texts.
Vodafone also offers four 12 months plans starting at £36 a month and ending with £51, which is a good choice for those of you trying to get off your contract sooner.
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Orange: standard contract | ||||||
UK minutes | 50 | 100 | 200 | 600 | 900 | 1200 |
UK data | 100MB | 250MB | 500MB | 500MB | 750MB | 750MB |
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16GB Handset 24 month contract |
£309.99 | £239.99 | £169.99 | £99.99 | £29.99 | Free |
24 months |
£20/m | £25/m | £31/m | £36/m | £41/m | £46/m |
16GB Handset 18 month contract | n/a | n/a | £309.99 | £239.99 | £169.99 | £99.99 |
18 months | n/a | n/a | £31/m | £36/m | £41/m | £46/m |
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32GB Handset 24 month contract |
£449.99 | £379.99 | £269.99 | £219.99 | £189.99 | £139.99 |
24 months | £20/m | £25/m | £31/m | £36/m | £41/m | £46/m |
32GB Handset 18 month contract | n/a | n/a | £449.99 | £379.99 | £269.99 | £219.99 |
18 Months | n/a | n/a | £31/m | £36/m | £41/m | £46/m |
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64GB Handset 24 month contract |
£519.99 | £449.99 | £379.99 | £269.99 | £219.99 | £189.99 |
24 months | £20/m | £25/m | £31/m | £36/m | £41/m | £46/m |
64GB Handset 18 month contract | n/a | n/a | £519.99 | £449.99 | £379.99 | £269.99 |
18 months | n/a | n/a | £31/m | £36/m | £41/m | £46/m |
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Orange: iPhone extra | ||||||
UK minutes | 100 | 300 | 600 | 900 | 1200 | Unlimited |
UK data | 1GB | 1GB | 1GB | 1GB | 1GB | 2GB |
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16GB Handset 24 month contract |
£169.99 | £99.99 | £29.99 | Free | Free | Free |
24 months | £31/m | £36/m | £41/m | £46/m | £51/m | £61/m |
16GB Handset 18 month contract | £309.99 | £239.99 | £169.99 | £99.99 | £29.99 | Free |
18 months | £31/m | £36/m | £41/m | £46/m | £51/m | £61/m |
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32GB Handset 24 month contract |
£269.99 | £219.99 | £189.99 | £139.99 | £99.99 | Free |
24 months | £31/m | £36/m | £41/m | £46/m | £51/m | £61/m |
32GB Handset 18 month contract | £449.99 | £379.99 | £269.99 | £219.99 | £189.99 | £139.99 |
18 months | £31/m | £36/m | £41/m | £46/m | £51/m | £61/m |
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64GB Handset 24 month contract |
£379.99 | £269.99 | £219.99 | £189.99 | £139.99 | £99.99 |
24 months | £31/m | £36/m | £41/m | £46/m | £51/m | £61/m |
64GB Handset 18 month contract | £519.99 | £449.99 | £379.99 | £269.99 | £219.99 | £189.99 |
18 months | £31/m | £36/m | £41/m | £46/m | £51/m | £61/m |
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These two different tariffs from Orange offer different specialities. For those of you wanting to use your iPhone mainly as a phone for talking to other humans, the standard contract is definitely for you.
However, if you’re more interested in gadgetry and browsing – and don’t mind shelling out that extra little bit – the iPhone extra plan gives you a lot more flexibility with what you download.
It's also worth a mention that whether you choose a 24 month contract or an 18 month one, you'll still be paying the same amount month on month. The only difference is how much you're going to have to part with to get your handset initially.
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T-Mobile | ||||||
UK Minutes | 100 | 300 | 600 | 900 | 1200 | Unlimited |
UK Data | 500MB | 500MB | 500MB | 500MB | 750MB | 1GB |
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16GB iPhone 4S | £239.99 | £169.99 | £99.99 | £29.99 | Free | Free |
24 months | £25.54/m | £30.64/m | £35.75/m | £40.85/m | £45.96/m | £61.27/m |
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32GB iPhone 4S | £379.99 | £269.99 | £219.99 | £189.99 | £139.99 | Free |
24 months | £25.54/m | £30.64/m | £35.75/m | £40.85/m | £45.96/m | £61.27/m |
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64GB iPhone 4S | £449.99 | £379.99 | £269.99 | £219.99 | £189.99 | £99.99 |
24 months | £25.54/m | £30.64/m | £35.75/m | £40.85/m | £45.96/m | £61.27/m |
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T-Mobile is offering some of the cheaper ways to get the handset itself, along with slightly higher monthly charges.
However, be wary about the cheaper prices, as unlike the other two most of the T-Mobile plans come with a quite restrictive number of free texts per month.
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Three | ||||||
UK Minutes | 300 | 500 | 2000 | 2000 | 900 | |
UK Data | 500MB | 1GB | Unlimited | Unlimited | 1GB |
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16GB iPhone 4S | £129 | £49 | £99 | £49 | Free |
24 months | £30/m | £35/m | £35/m | £40/m | £43/m |
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32GB iPhone 4S | £219 | £139 | £189 | £139 | £90 |
24 months | £30/m | £35/m | £35/m | £40/m | £43/m |
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64GB iPhone 4S | £309 | £229 | £279 | £229 | £180 |
24 months | £30/m | £35/m | £35/m | £40/m | £43/m |
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Three offers a wide range of different plans, and it's worth remembering that its most expensive per month option (called Text 900) isn't the one that's going to give you the most in terms of service.
Having said that, their £40/m 'The One Plan' is one of the best deals we've seen. If you're hungry for that unlimited data, Three may be the way to go.