The best iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro plans and deals

It’s probably the most anticipated iPhone release in years, and orders for two of the four iPhone 12 series devices are live. If you want to get your hands on Apple’s newest iPhones, now is the time to start comparing plans for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro.

There is some good news if you’re looking to pick up either of the 5G iPhones on a plan with one of the big three telcos — Telstra, Optus and Vodafone all have some great deals on offer.

Whether you’re looking to save a bit of money, or you’re after some bonuses, we’re taking a look at the best deals and discounts on offer from the big three telcos when you buy the newest iPhones on a phone plan.

Telstra iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro deals

Telstra deals summary:

• $50 off Extra Large plans bundled with the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro for your first year, saving you $600
• 45,000 bonus Telstra Plus Points on Medium, Large and Extra Large plans

If you’re looking for some serious savings and big data inclusions, Telstra’s iPhone offer might be the deal you’ve been looking for. If you sign up to Telstra’s Extra Large postpaid plan when bundling your new iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro, you’ll save a huge $50 off your monthly plan fee for the first 12 months of your plan (in the form of bill credit) – that’s a total saving of $600 over those 12 months. Terms apply, this offer expires November 16, 2020.

That brings the $115 Extra Large plan price down to $65 per month — the same as Telstra’s Medium postpaid plan price. The Extra Large plan comes with a huge 180GB of fast-speed data, plus no excess data charges in Australia, so you can continue using your data but at capped speeds of 1.5Mbps. You’ll also get unlimited standard national calls and SMS, along with access to Telstra’s 5G network.

As a bonus, Telstra Plus members will score 45,000 bonus Telstra Plus Points (signing up to the Medium and Large plans will also get you bonus Telstra Plus Points), in addition to earning 50% more points when you’re on the Medium, Large or Extra Large plans. Plans also include data-free streaming of Apple Music, data-free streaming to sports including NRL and AFL, and access to Telstra Air WiFi hotspots.

You can pick up a new iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro over a 12 or 24-month device payment period, then bundle with your choice of postpaid month-to-month plan. While you’re able to switch between postpaid plans (keep in mind that switching from the Extra Large plan within those first 12 months could forfeit your discount), cancelling your plan altogether requires you to pay out the remainder of your device.

The following table shows a selection of published 24-month Telstra plans for the 64GB iPhone 12 and 128GB iPhone 12 Pro on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of cost, from the lowest to highest and then by data allowance, largest to smallest. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a range of providers. This is a selection of products with links to referral partners.

Vodafone iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro deals

Vodafone deals summary:

• 20GB bonus data and $5 monthly discount on $40 Lite plan when bundled with iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro
• 10GB bonus data and $5 monthly discount on $45 Lite+ plan when bundled with iPhone 12 or iPhone Pro
• $10 monthly discount on $55 Super and $65 Super+ plans when bundled with iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro
• $20 monthly discount on $120 Ultra plan when bundled with iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro

Curious to see what deals Vodafone has to offer if you’re looking to pick up a new iPhone? Well, Vodafone is offering discounts on all of its new postpaid plans that are bundled with a device, plus bonus data is available on the two cheapest plans.

If you pick up your new iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro bundled with the $40 Lite plan, you’ll get 20GB bonus data (30GB in total) and save $5 per month on plan fees, while the $45 Lite+ plan includes 10GB bonus data (40GB in total) and a $5 per month saving on plan fees. Both of these plans include unlimited 2Mbps capped-speed data.

Both the $55 Super plan and $65 Super+ plans have a $10 discount on monthly plan fees, with both of these plans including unlimited data at the capped speed of 10Mbps. The $120 Ultra plan has the biggest monthly discount with a $20 per month saving on your plan fees. You’ll also get unlimited data at the capped speed of 25Mbps. Discounts for all plans are applied as monthly recurring credit for the duration that you stay with that plan, with the discount forfeited if you swap or cancel. The bonus data and discounts expire November 12, 2020, unless offer is extended.

You can pick up the iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro phones on a plan from Vodafone over 12, 24 or 36 months, and bundle with your choice of month-to-month postpaid plan. While Vodafone is building a 5G network and has stated that some 5G sites are now live, coverage is quite limited with the telco claiming that 5G is rolling out in selected areas. If you want to use 5G with your new 5G iPhone, you might have to wait a while if you choose a phone plan with Vodafone.

The following table shows a selection of published 24-month Vodafone plans for the 64GB iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of cost, from the lowest to highest and then by data allowance, largest to smallest. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a range of providers. This is a selection of products with links to a referral partner.

Optus iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro deals

Optus deals summary:

• Double data on Large, Extra Large and Optus One plans for 12 months when bundled with iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro
• Optus 5G Price Match Guarantee on all 5G iPhones
• Use of 5G network at no extra charge

Optus is stocking both the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro, with pre-orders now available. Rather than offering big discounts on plans, Optus has a different approach to its iPhone deals.

First up is the ‘Optus 5G Phone Price Match Guarantee’. If you see a 5G phone from an authorised Australian retailer with a better price than what Optus is offering, Optus will match any competitor’s upfront retail price for the same 5G phone. While no retailer is currently offering big discounts on the RRP of the new iPhone 12 series phones, Optus does offer the new iPhone 12 and 12 Pro devices at a slightly cheaper overall price, but only by just under 50 cents.

With Optus, you can score bonus double data for the first 12 consecutive months on the Large, Extra Large and Optus One plans, which might come in handy considering Optus does not offer unlimited capped-speed data like Telstra and Vodafone. On the $59 Large plan, you’ll get 100GB of bonus data (200GB in total), on the $79 Extra Large plan, you’ll get 120GB of bonus data (240GB in total) and on the Optus One plan, at $119 per month, you’ll get 500GB of bonus data (1000GB in total). Terms apply, offer available until withdrawn.

If you’re not quite grabbed by the double data offers, one benefit to Optus is that it includes access to its 5G network at no extra charge and on all of its postpaid phone plans. That means that no matter which postpaid plan you choose to bundle with your new 5G iPhone, you’ll be able to access the Optus 5G network (where available). While the 5G network from Optus has been a little slower than the Telstra 5G network roll out, Australia’s second largest mobile network does have expanding 5G coverage in major cities and populated areas (such as the Central Coast in NSW), with wider coverage to come.

You can pick up the iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro on a device payment plan over 12, 24 or 36 months, then bundle with your month-to-month postpaid plan of choice. All plans include unlimited standard national calls and SMS, while all plans (excluding the $39 Small plan) include access to Optus Sport and Fitness. International call and text inclusions are available on the $49 plan and above, with roaming included on the $59 plan and above.

The following table shows a selection of published 24-month Optus plans for the 64GB iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of cost, from the lowest to highest and then by data allowance, largest to smallest. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a range of providers. This is a selection of products with links to referral partners.

Is it cheaper to buy the iPhone 12 series outright or on a plan?

If you’re unsure about whether it’s better, or cheaper, to buy an iPhone outright, keep in mind that the telcos that offer iPhones on plans (Telstra, Optus and Vodafone), generally don’t charge more for the device itself.

What makes it ‘cheaper’ to buy an iPhone outright, is that all you are paying to Apple – or the retailer you’re buying from – is the overall device price. In the case of the iPhone 12, the 64GB model is $1,349 RRP, while Telstra charges a total of $1,348.92 over 12 months, or $1,348.80 over 24 months. Optus charges $1,348.56 for the same device over the 12, 24 and 36-month payment periods, while Vodafone’s minimum total cost is $1,349.

The costs from the telcos exclude any plan fees, and each figure listed above is the full amount you’ll pay for the device alone. Buying a phone on a plan can be seen as more ‘expensive’ than buying the device outright, because you are forced to sign up to a postpaid phone plan to bundle with your phone. Often, these phone plan costs can be quite expensive compared to cheap phone plans from smaller providers.

Keep in mind that if you decide to buy your iPhone outright and you’re looking for a phone plan — whether it’s a postpaid or prepaid SIM-only plan — the small providers known as mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), might not have access to 5G mobile networks. Currently, Optus is the only network operator to offer its 5G mobile network to smaller providers, with SpinTel the only MVNO currently offering access to Optus 5G on mobile plans.

If you want to buy one of the new 5G-compatible iPhones to use with a 5G network, you should keep this in mind. However, if you’re not fussed about accessing a 5G network right now, or there is no coverage in your area, there is a huge range of SIM-only plans to choose from.

iPhone 12 5G range: features at a glance

Related articles

• Telstra iPhone 12 & iPhone 12 Pro plans and prices
• Optus iPhone 12 & iPhone 12 Pro plans and prices
• Vodafone iPhone 12 & iPhone 12 Pro plans and prices