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iPhone 5 Plans: Smart vs. Globe Compared

Now that both telcos have published their prepaid and postpaid plans for the upcoming iPhone 5, we’ve come up with a more detailed breakdown to see which of the two offers the better deal.

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We start off with the prepaid kit prices of the iPhone 5 with Globe and Smart. These handsets will be locked to their respective networks.

The most affordable price for the 16GB model is from Smart, which is Php33,600 compared to the Php35,400 from Globe. That’s a price difference of Php1,800 in favor of Smart.

We then look at the postpaid plans of the two carriers and compared the ones that offers a free iPhone 5 right off the bat (this is under the assumption that you want to get the unit free and is looking for the best/optimal monthly plan).

There are some qualifications we need to explain first between the plan offerings:

  • Smart’s Data Plan 3000 indicates that the free minutes and SMS are “All-Net” which means it includes other networks.
  • Smart’s iPhone Plan 2499 did not indicate that the free minutes and SMS are “All-Net”, unlike the Data Plan 3000, so we are to assume this is not free on when sending to other networks.
  • Globe does not offer free minutes or SMS under Plan 2499. However, there’s a consumable amount of Php1,500 which you can use to make calls or send SMS.
  • Under UnliSurf Plan 2499, Globe offers up to 5 free add-ons to the plan — unli calls & text to 1 Globe/TM number (up to 5), 10 min calls & 200 SMS to any Globe/TM number (up to 5x), and 5 min calls and 25 SMS to other networks (up to 5x).
  • Smart’s iPhone Plan 2499 has “unli internet” but is subject to 1GB cap (as indicated in their iPhone Postpaid Plan page and the previous iPhone 4S packages). This is the difference between the Data Plan 3000 which has true unlimited data but has higher MSF. Smart’s Plan 2499 used to be capped at 1GB for the iPhone 4S and uncapped for the Data 3000. They have now changed it to uncapped/unlimited for Plan 2499.
  • The iPhone 5 is not yet supported by the LTE network of Smart and Globe so it’s just HSPA+ for now. Once testing is done, a software update will activate LTE and “might” support it.

Based on the chart above, the Plan 2499 from Globe gives much more flexibility in plan usage and consumption. This is evident with the Php1,500 consumable credits tucked into it.

The free 32GB iPhone 5 from Smart gives you the lowest TCOA (total cost of acquisition) among the 3 plans, followed by the 16GB iPhone 5 from Globe. If you want a better deal for the unit and don’t really care much about the plan, then Smart’s got you with Plan 2499.

If you’re a heavy data user and want more storage, then the Unli Data Plan 3000 from Smart gives you the 32GB iPhone 5 for free. This puts the Data Plan 3000 into a very odd position of being more expensive but has less free SMS than the Plan 2499.

So this is basically a toss up between Globe’s Plan 2499 with 16GB iPhone 5 that comes with Php1,500 consumable credits or the 32GB iPhone 5 from Smart but with no consumable credits except for free minutes and SMS.

Depending on your usage behavior and priority, all three postpaid plans from Smart and Globe are very compelling offers. It’s really up to you which one fits your needs and lifestyle.

Complete plan and pricing for Smart iPhone 5 here.

Complete plan and pricing for Globe iPhone 5 here.

You can read our review of the iPhone 5 here.

Our recommendation for Globe iPhone 5 and Smart iPhone 5 is here.

Updated: Confirmed with a Smart rep that the Plan 2499 is now unlimited from last year’s 1GB cap. This means Plan 3000 is way more expensive but has less free SMS compared to Plan 2499. I think the adjustment was done to directly compete with Globe’s Unlisurf 2499 which created the plan discrepancy with Unli Data 3000.

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

72 Responses

  1. Avatar for Mat Mat says:

    I guess Globe clarified things about LTE on their iphone5. :) http://www.globe.com.ph/press-room/lte-on-their-iphone-5

  2. Avatar for dcruz dcruz says:

    Ive been to different platforms and i agree that we shouldnt argue about what are needs are. Yet, today i am going back to iphone for the sake of not paying twice for a certain app on ios and android. Coz i paid apple already for few apps in my apple id. Lol. Haha.

    A good combination suggestion would be having Blackberry 10 and an iphone 5 for rich guys. Haha

  3. Avatar for kuki kuki says:

    Apparently, with an EastWest CC, I was told at a Globe centre that I can only avail of a 12-month installment plan for the cash-out amount instead of the (fake) advertised 24-month.

  4. Avatar for rence rence says:

    ask ko lng po ano buh ma recomend nyo na plan min 2000 to max of 2500 monthly. then which is better getting the 64gb or ok na ang 32gb? thanks!

  5. Avatar for Dv Dv says:

    Just to let everybody know about Globe’s Fair Usage policy on internet:
    PREPAID: 800mb cap/day. You get cut-off when you consume that amount of data. It will be restored 12am the next day.
    POSTPAID (Tattoo, including Plan 999): same as Prepaid
    POSTPAID (My Super Plan Unlisurf 999): NO CAP AT ALL. TRULY UNLIMITED.

    FYI. :)

  6. Avatar for Yoyo Yoyo says:

    @Yuga

    Can you check with a SMART rep if their Unli Data Plans with iPhone 5 have unlimited data WITHOUT cap?

  7. Avatar for ponyong ponyong says:

    not sure why there are apple fan boys and fandroids arguing on the comments.

    Just let them decide what phone they want to buy, both sides don’t care what phones are you using. they don’t care how much or what ecosystem they have.

    They buy it because they want/need it. no arguments needed, just respect each other. No need to push iphone fan boys to droid phones, or try to pursuade droid users to buy iphones.

    They don’t care what you think, they only care on the phone they want to buy.

    nuff said

  8. Avatar for Naomi Naomi says:

    Smart says there’s Unlimited data plan for 999 but when I called, they said this is not true. Yet, the website says so: http://www1.smart.com.ph/postpaid/iphone5/register

    I called them and they said they will rectify the error. It’s disappointing tho. They should check their offers before posting.

  9. Avatar for im_eart im_eart says:

    WOW! its the same carrying worth:
    1 LED TV 42 inch (Skyworth) 25k
    1 Sofa 7k
    1 Ref 10k
    ===============
    iPhone 5 32GB

  10. Avatar for marvin marvin says:

    my gf got the 4s last week free @ plan 1800 (globe). kung walang support for LTE what is the additional 12k (@ plan 1800) for? bigger screen? lighter and scratch prone body? not worth it.

    an iphone 5 w/o the LTE is just a 4s w/ bigger screen IMO.

  11. Avatar for Jay Jay says:

    People wanting the iPhone 5, or any LTE enabled phone for that matter, for their LTE capabilities do not get the big picture.

    Think of LTE and 3G networks as “pipes” for “water”(INTERNET BANDWIDTH) to flow onto, if Globe and SMART cannot supply a decent flow of “water” to fill these pipes, again in this case INTERNET BANDWIDTH, they are WORTHLESS.

    Globe and Smart cant even provide enough internet bandwidth to their 3G networks(HSPA+), so think about how worthless their LTE networks are to us if they dont improve on this.

    Just saying.

    • Avatar for Ezy Ezy says:

      nice comparison.. Agree!

    • Avatar for marvin marvin says:

      yup the people who will buy this are the ones who dont understand what lte is. and believe me madami sila…

    • Avatar for eve eve says:

      yeah..right! so what device can u suggest for me, that much better than iPhone?

    • Avatar for Itimyon Reduta Itimyon Reduta says:

      .
      Upload/Download speed isn’t the only thing important about LTE. Not everyone loves downloading and watching youtube/porn over the internet and it’s very inefficient specially if you’re in a plan that is capped.

      For me, being a gamer on the go, the most important feature of LTE is its short Latency. Compared to 3.5 & 3.75g that has a ping value at a minimum of 200ms, the LTE has a ping value of below 100ms and i even get 17ms ping value since im somewhere near smart tower.

      For me, as a gamer, I wont be consuming much from my bandwidth allocation if i tether my LTE to my gaming laptop since it’s just going to carry communications between the game server and the game client in my laptop. I’ll probably just chunk up bandwidth when there’s a client update of sorts. So, for this logic, LTE phone plan 2000 with 2.5 GB cap can certainly sustain me for online gaming on the go and normal surfing/FB needs.

      But such a plan cannot sustain my endeavors of leaving my laptop @ home and playing my games @ at my Ipad from a cloud-hosted virtual machine since the desktop view refresh stream will eat up most of my bandwidth.

  12. Avatar for free? free? says:

    seriously, why do these telcos keep calling them “free”??? i don’t get it, they’re not “free”.

    • Avatar for Ezy Ezy says:

      It’s called “marketing strategy”.. also costumers will be paying for the plan subscription not the actual unit so technically its FREE

    • Avatar for free free says:

      yeah, why not just change the word “free” to inclusive or included.

      free = costing nothing.

  13. Avatar for Tbone Tbone says:

    I guess they are still building their LTE network. The last time I heard on the news, they just finished setting up their 3G networks full blast. :)

    http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/
    It also states in the above website of apple the different countries and providers that supports LTE on their devices.

    • Avatar for dane dane says:

      in NCR,

      SMART uses Nokia for LTE
      GLOBE uses Huawei for LTE

      see which is better???

      smart already roll out 350 pilot site for LTE and a thousands more to go this 2013

      Check this out!!!!

  14. Avatar for Androidfantards Androidfantards says:

    Bakit andito ang mga android fantards? Chupi! Wag niyong ipagmalaki ang android niyo dito, walang bilang :)
    Sa bangketa niyo sambahin ang mga android devices niyo :)

    Nuff said :)

  15. Avatar for wtf69 wtf69 says:

    WHy not wait for the Nokia Lumia 920 with its real innovation coupled with Windows Phone 8. Maiba lang. IOS, Android, good choices, but if you want to get out of the ecosystem what every people has been using and be unique try Windows PHone. :p

    Eitherway, all OS’s are good…Peace

    • Avatar for nexusboy nexusboy says:

      i’m a fan of apple, android and just recently, Windows Phone! haha. i’m all set for Lumia 920 which is set to release in the middle of January. next month na yan!

  16. Avatar for juan juan says:

    will have to postpone upgrading to ip5 until these networks become capable of supporting LTE. Heck, I am getting an ip5 for LTE – just one of the few reasons that apple has added after i4s. if not, i think my i4s suits me well for the meantime.

    • Avatar for nexusboy nexusboy says:

      one could possibly avail the Plan 2499 and only to find out soon when LTE service is available, u need to pay additional 1,000 per month to use it, of course merong cap yan. kawawa tlaga tayo pag duopoly lang.

  17. Avatar for viral viral says:

    Now this just a purely idiotic comment

  18. Avatar for Ron Ron says:

    Go ahead and weep Fandroids. You simply can’t afford to buy one. We iSheep also have way better things to do than customize our phones all day and feel the need to “stand out” via our phones.

    • Avatar for x x says:

      Hahaha, fandroids would rather spend their money on other things aside from a phone that has half the functionality for twice the price of their droid phones.

      Apple maps.

  19. Avatar for TopherV1 TopherV1 says:

    Man, these prices are just criminal. No matter how good this phones is (which a lot of us know its not the best) simply doesn’t justify the price. Thank goodness for Google, Android and its partners.

    • Avatar for Mr.Sinister Mr.Sinister says:

      Good observation. S3 and Nexus4 are far much better than iphone5 (hardware and software). Agree good thing, we got better options with Android.

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