iPhone 5 – Malaysia’s Best Plans Compared
Thinking of getting the newly launched Apple iPhone 5? The official release date in Malaysia is 14th December 2012, the major networks have already release some plans but you can rest assured that we will be updating this article when any new plans come out in the market, so keep checking this guide to make sure you are getting the best deal out there!
What is the Apple iPhone 5?
The Apple iPhone 5 is the latest smartphone released by Apple as a successor to the very successful iPhone 4S. The announcement was made on 12 September 2012 (13th for us in Malaysia) by the boys at Cupertino, California and the initial batch of countries will be getting it on the 21st September 2012. Some new features of this new iPhone are:
- Larger 4 inch display (the iPhone 4S had a 3.5 inch screen)
- Aluminium back, glass front
- New Lightning connector (smaller than the previous 30-pin)
- compatible with nano-SIMs
- New faster A6 chip with the latest iOS 6
- 4G LTE Connectivity (but LTE services probably not yet ready in Malaysia)
- 8MP rear-facing camera (1080p); 1.2MP front-facing camera (720p)
For the full technical specs and some more nice photos of the Apple iPhone 5, you can go ahead to the Apple website here.
If you’re totally not bothered about anything Apple, why not have a look at our Best Samsung Galaxy S3 Plans in Malaysia article, where we compare the top plans for Malaysia’s top-selling phone (and Apple’s main competitor in the smartphone market) this year.
Comparison of the Top Apple iPhone 5 Plans in Malaysia
At the time of writing (December 2012), the major networks have released their prices for getting the device with a long term contract plan. As usual, the networks promise you a discount off the phone if you sign up for a long term contract. If you’re the non-commitment type, you can always buy your iPhone 5 from the Apple store directly for RM2,199 (16GB) (RM2,499 for 32GB and RM2,799 for 64GB) and put in a SIM-card from a non-contract plan. Even if you are the commitment type, depending on your usage, you could be making savings over the 12/24-month period by going on a non-contract plan!
Apple iPhone 5 Plans Quick Navigation
Cheapest Non-Contract Plans
Cheapest Contract Plans
What if I take usage into consideration?
Any other option to save more?
Cheapest Non-Contract iPhone 5 Plans (No Specific Usage Assumption)
We’ll start by reviewing the cheapest non-contract iPhone 5 plans, basically any plan in the market which has 3G Mobile Internet Data included, combined with buying the phone outright at RRP (here we assume the 16GB version for RM2,199), you can get that at the Apple online store.
|Provider||Plan Name||Device Price||Contract Period||Minimum Monthly Fee||12 month Cost of Ownership (inc. usage)||Data Quota|
|U Mobile||UMI18||RM2,199.00||1 month(s)||RM18.00||RM2,415.00||250MB|
|U Mobile||UMI28||RM2,199.00||1 month(s)||RM28.00||RM2,535.00||500MB|
|U Mobile||U28||RM2,199.00||1 month(s)||RM28.00||RM2,535.00||1GB|
|Tune Talk||Cun Plan||RM2,199.00||1 month(s)||RM38.00||RM2,655.00||1GB|
|DiGi||DG 48 Plus||RM2,199.00||1 month(s)||RM43.00||RM2,715.00||1GB|
|Maxis||TextMore28 +100MB||RM2,199.00||1 month(s)||RM46.00||RM2,751.00||100MB|
|Maxis||TalkMore28 + 100MB||RM2,199.00||1 month(s)||RM46.00||RM2,751.00||100MB|
|Maxis||Value FIRST + 100MB||RM2,199.00||1 month(s)||RM48.00||RM2,775.00||100MB|
|Maxis||SurfMore 50||RM2,199.00||1 month(s)||RM50.00||RM2,799.00||2GB|
As you can probably guess, for people who really do not call or SMS much, and just want the cheapest possible plan with data to go with their shiny new iPhone 5, the offerings from U Mobile do come up on top, mind you the UMI18 and UMI28 are pre-paid smartphone plans. We’ve shown you the comparison of the total cost over 24 months (ie. phone price + plan for 24 months), but the results are similar regardless of your comparison period (1month/6month/12/month etc.)
If you don’t feel like venturing beyond the big 3 providers (Maxis, DiGi, Celcom), DiGi have a handy prepaid plan called the DG Prepaid Smart Plan, which gives 60 minutes, 60 SMS and 600MB of data for RM30 (this lasts 30 days). Maxis also have the SurfMore50 for people who don’t call and text much but need heaps of data (2GB).
The table above makes no assumption about your actual usage, but just goes on the basis that you want the cheapest plan (with 3G internet enabled). To find the best plan for your specific usage, you can use our brand new updated iPhone Plan Comparison Tool.
Cheapest Contract iPhone 5 Plans (No Specific Usage Assumption)
At the time of writing (early December 2012), only Maxis, DiGi and Celcom have released plans for discounted phones along with their contract plans, and here they are compared over 24-months:
|Provider||Plan Name||Device Name||Device Price||Contract Period||Minimum Monthly Fee||24 month Cost of Ownership||Data Quota (GB)|
|U Mobile||UMI18||Apple iPhone 5 16GB||RM2,199.00||1 month(s)||RM18.00||RM2,631.00||0.25|
|U Mobile||UMI28||Apple iPhone 5 16GB||RM2,199.00||1 month(s)||RM28.00||RM2,871.00||0.5|
|U Mobile||U28||Apple iPhone 5 16GB||RM2,199.00||1 month(s)||RM28.00||RM2,871.00||1.00|
|Maxis||SurfMore 75 (New Year Promo)||Apple iPhone 5 16GB||RM1,188.00||24 month(s)||RM75.00||RM2,988.00||5.00|
|Tune Talk||Cun Plan||Apple iPhone 5 16GB||RM3,111.00||1 month(s)||RM38.00||RM3,111.00||1.00|
|DiGi||DG 48 Plus||Apple iPhone 5 16GB||RM2,199.00||1 month(s)||RM43.00||RM3,231.00||0.00|
|Maxis||iValue Simple||Apple iPhone 5 16GB||RM2,079.00||12 month(s)||RM50.00||RM3,279.00||1.00|
|Maxis||TextMore28 + 100MB||Apple iPhone 5 16GB||RM2,199.00||1 month(s)||RM46.00||RM3,303.00||0.1|
|Maxis||ValueFIRST + 100MB||Apple iPhone 5 16GB||RM3,351.00||1 month(s)||RM93.00||RM3,351.00||0.1|
Cheapest Contract iPhone 5 Plans – UMI 18/ at RM18 for 250MB Data, 25 Minutes and 25 SMSes
Device: iPhone 5 16GB
|Go To U Mobile|
Ahoy data users, great news! U Mobile has recently introduced a cheaper variation of their Unlimited Mobile Internet Plan 28 into the market. Aimed specifically for lower data users, the UMI 18 comes with 250MB of free data bolted on with the flexibility of 25 minutes of free talk time and 25 free SMSes to all networks. Once you exceeded your 250MB quota, you can still use the internet without extra charge but download speeds will be throttled down to 64kbps.
This plan is comparable with the DiGi Postpaid Tablet Plan, the Tablet 500MB SuperSIM. Although only RM15 for 500 MB, you have to factor in the fact that the price is only valid for existing Postpaid DiGi subscribers (non subscribers have to pay RM25), does not include any free Minutes or SMSes. As such, when compared, the UMI18 makes it one of the cheapest plans in the market right now for people who want minutes,SMSes and data (albeit in small quantities).
While other prepaid plans normally burn unused talk time and SMS, the new UMI 18 plan lets you carry forward a maximum of 50 minutes of calls and 50 SMS at any one time. If you need more data and talk time, there’s always the UMI 28 which offers 500MB of data, 100 minutes of calls and 30 SMS for RM28/month.
Cheapest Contract iPhone 5 Plans : U-Mobile U28
Device: iPhone 5 16GB
Inspite of having only 24-month contracts, U Mobile’s U28 has the lowest monthly contract among all the other network providers. We dislike the advanced payment of RM168 even though it is rebated over the cost of contract.
What if I take Usage into Consideration?
The best plan will differ from person to person because of their own circumstances such as whether they want to go on a long term contract or more importantly, their usage! You can see an example of such an analysis for a ‘heavy’ user below.
Let’s say you use about 300mins, 200 SMS & 1GB of data every month (an ‘Average” user), below are the plans vying for your consideration.
|Provider||Plan Name||Device Price||Contract Period||Minimum Monthly Fee||Monthly Cost (inc. Call/SMS Usage)||24 month Cost of Ownership (inc. usage)||Call/SMS Quota||Data Quota (GB)|
|DiGi||iDiGi 88||RM2,012||24 month(s)||RM60||RM75||RM3,812||200 any-net Mins
200 any-net SMS
20 any-net MMS
|Maxis||TalkMore78 + 1GB (Online Offer)||RM1,088.00||24 month(s)||RM126.00||RM126.00||RM3,992 (including RM120 rebate)||600 any-net Mins,500 any-net SMS||1|
|Maxis||iValue Simple||RM2,079||12 month(s)||RM50||RM85||RM4,119||200 any-net Mins
100 any-net SMS
|DiGi||iDiGi 138||RM929||24 month(s)||RM138||RM138||RM4,241||450 any-net Mins
400 any-net SMS
40 any-net MMS
|Tune Talk||Cun Plan||RM2,199||1 month(s)||RM38||RM86||RM4,272||60 any-net Mins||1|
|Maxis||iValue 1||RM1,399||24 month(s)||RM100||RM120||RM4,279||333 any-net Mins||2|
|DiGi||DG Smart Plan 88||RM2,199||1 month(s)||RM88||RM88||RM4,311||300 any-net Mins, 300 any-net SMS||4|
|U Mobile||U28||RM2,199||1 month(s)||RM28||RM88||RM4,311||200 any-net SMS||1|
|Celcom||Celcom First Prime + mAdvance||RM1,788||24 month(s)||RM98 (RM73 for 20 months)||RM133.00 (but RM25 off for 20 months)||RM4,490||RM40 commitment (15 sen / Min / SMS / MMS etc.)||4.05|
Featured Cheapest Contract iPhone 5 – iDiGi 88 24-Month Contract – From RM2,012 Onwards
|Go To DiGi|
DiGi are the only provider (at the time of writing in December 2012) that lets you pre-order and purchase the Apple iPhone 5 with a DiGi long term contract and have the device sent straight to your door. If you’re an iPhone 5 enthusiast and want to pre-order and purchase with DiGi, there’s two ways for you to do it: By making your booking at selected DiGi outlets or through the DiGi website!
The RRP price is RM2,199, but DiGi is offering a subsidized price at RM2,012 for the iPhone 5 16GB. Basically, this brand spanking new iPhone will be bundled up with either three of these plans : iDiGi 88 (RM60 / month), iDiGi 138 (RM90 /month), iDiGi 238 (RM161 / month).
You get to choose your most preferred plan (the phone price remains the same at RM2,012, mind you), but all of these plans are strictly bounded to a 24-month contract. So how much would your iPhone 5 cost for the whole 24 months contract duration? if you’ve chosen the cheapest iPhone 5 model available in DiGi, the iPhone 16GB, and combine it with the cheapest monthly contract plan of iDiGi 88 at RM60 per month, your total cost would be RM3,462.
Featured iPhone 5 24-Month Plan (Online Offer) : Maxis TalkMore78 + Monthly 1GB Pass
Maxis offers a decent discount off the iPhone 5 at RM1,088 with its TalkMore78 plan. While geared towards heavier users, it does come up quite highly on our Average User comparison.
First of all, this plan comes with a bundle consisting of 600 minutes worth of any network talk time and 500 any network SMSes. 600mins + 500 SMS actually costs around RM126 month with Maxis plans (assuming you were on the Value Plus 50 and you made 50% Maxis to Maxis calls/SMS and 50% Maxis to other networks), but you only have to pay RM78 a month with this plan. This puts it among the top postpaid plans in the market for ‘Heavy’ users (that is, people who use around 500 minutes and 500 SMS a month). Another perk is that as soon as your bill hits RM150 (credit limit is RM200), calls and SMS to any Maxis number will be charged at only 3 sen per minute / SMS, which makes it similar to the high commitment plans offered by Maxis.
Obviously not everyone will fall into the “Average User” category, and thus the best plan for you will depend heavily on your own individual usage! For this, you should use our iPhone Plan Comparison Tool.
Any Other Option to Save More? (iPhone 4s/4!)
Actually there is, provided that you don’t mind settling for the older iPhone 4s/4. Apple try their hardest to keep their old models up to date with the latest software, and the design of the phone doesn’t change a big amount, so if you absolutely want an iOS device and are willing to get the older models, there are savings to be made! It’s also available in black and white. If you’re convinced by that argument, why not have a look at our Cheapest iPhone 4S Plans in Malaysia Compared article.
Previous Version of Article (pre-launch)
When will the Apple iPhone 5 be available in Malaysia? When is the Malaysia Launch Date? UPDATED
Only Apple (and probably the networks in Malaysia know)! If past releases are anything to go by, we can expect Malaysian networks to offer the phone sometime in December 2012, especially since Apple themselves have said that this will be the fastest iPhone rollout they will have had. Having said that, we will be right there when they do, comparing plans offered by each provider to find out which one of them offers the best deal for you!
UPDATED 3rd December 2012 - Apple have officially announced the Malaysian launch date for the iPhone 5 to be the 14th of December 2012 (just in time for Christmas!). We expect the local networks to follow suit with their prices and plans in the coming days, so bookmark this article now to be updated!
The first batch of countries that got the iPhone 5 on 21 September 2012 are:
- Hong Kong
The next batch (no Malaysia we’re afraid) which got it at the end of September are:
- Czech Republic
- New Zealand
How much will it cost in Malaysia?
No word yet, but judging by previous releases again, the prices in other countries look to be similar to the prices of the iPhone 4S when it launched last year, so we can expect the RRP in Malaysia to be something like RM2,190 with most of the networks offering similar levels of discounts as of right now (early September 2012).
If you’re convinced by that argument, why not have a look at our Cheapest iPhone 4S Plans in Malaysia Compared article to see roughly how much you might need to fork out when it does launch here in the coming month(s).
Will the Apple iPhone 5 work in Malaysia?
While the phone has not yet launched in Malaysia, we tested a working model on hand to work with the major local network carriers micro-SIMs (Maxis, DiGi, Celcom, U Mobile) reduced-by-us to nano-SIMs. Maxis and DiGi are the only ones that have announced they will issue nano-SIMs for a small fee, but based on our initial tests, if you are willing to do something fiddly with your Mini-SIM or Micro-SIM then any provider should work.
Have a look at a snapshot we did with one of the working models that we tested it with:
I can’t wait for the Malaysian release date, how do I get an Apple iPhone 5 now?
We’ll we would probably say you could pick it up next weekend from one of the first batch of countries, and we’re pretty sure some ‘grey’ market models (ie. bought overseas and sold here for an unsavoury amount of money!) will be available in places like Low Yat, Queensbay and Digital Mall.
Keep in mind that you may have to do something fiddly with your local network SIM card (except Maxis) as the iPhone 5 is only compatible with nano-SIMs (iPhone 4/4S used micro-SIMs, iPhone 3G used regular Mini-SIMs).
Alternatively, you could sign up below for the latest updates, we at SaveMoney.my might just be doing something exciting in the coming days/weeks!