Those queuing to buy a new iPhone could be in for a shock - it's actually cheaper to go with a plan than a BYO option if you use lots of data.
According to research from comparison website, finder.com.au, mobile internet users would get more bang for their buck with a post-paid 24- month bundle contract than buying a handset outright and adding pre-paid payments.
The comparison website found that of the 90 contracts and 126 month-to-month deals offered across the four main telcos, Telstra, Optus, Virgin and Vodafone, users who needed more than 3GB of data per month saved hundreds of dollars if they went with a contract.
With the base 16GB iPhone 6s model, customers could save an average of $223 on 3GB of data or $504 for 10GB on a contract compared to stand-alone data packs.
However for those who only needed about 1GB of data, buying a month-to-month service from a provider like Boost could save you up to $720 compared to a 24-month Telstra plan.
finder.com.au's tech expert Angus Kidman said that the notion of customers traditionally saving dollars by buying the iPhone outright no longer held water.
"Buying a mobile phone outright used to always be the cheapest option, but with more people now using greater amounts of data each month, some big brands are offering more competitive deals for data-heavy plans."
Making the contract option more attractive is the fact that Apple's new iPhone 6s series models are also the most expensive ever sold in Australia.
The introductory 16GB iPhone 6s phone retails at $1079, a steep 25 per cent increase on the former iPhone 6 model's launch price of $869.
CONTRACT v BYO MONTH-TO-MONTH COSTS
For an 16GB iPhone 6s
3GB
$2,076 v $2,279 = $223
6GB
$2,244 v $2,447 = $203
10GB
$2,704 v $3,208 = $504
Source: Finder.com.au
