Google’s Pixel 2 XL will go for as much as S$1,098 if you take up a basic Singtel plan to buy the much-awaited Android smartphone that is exclusive to the telecom operator in Singapore.
That’s the price for folks signing up for the Combo 1 plan, which costs S$27.90 a month with just 100MB of data, 100 minutes of talk time and 500 SMSes.
The S$1,098 price is hardly any discount over the US$849 (S$1,159) retail price in the United States. Of course, the phone is so in demand here the prices of parallel imports have already been marked up by several hundred dollars more.
At the other end of the spectrum, if you pay Singtel a princely S$239.90 a month, you’d get the phone for free.
For that, you get 12GB of data and unlimited SMSes and calls, along with S$35 worth of roaming data each month and a S$500 yearly phone voucher.
Is the phone worth paying so much for, and to lock yourself in with Singtel? Coming after the well-praised Pixel XL, the Pixel 2 XL has garnered rave reviews for its camera and tightly integrated Google services (read our review).
Unfortunately for Singapore, Google has chosen to deal only with Singtel, likely in exchange for a guarantee in the number of units shipped. That means users cannot buy it on the new Singapore Google online store, unlike in other countries that the phone has been launched.
Of the Singtel bundles out on Friday, one relatively value-for-money option appears to be the mid-end Combo 3 plan. Though the S$68.90-a-month plan offers only 3GB of data, it is the cheapest one that Singtel allows for an unlimited data add-on that costs S$39.90 a month.
That means a total of S$108.80 a month for a plan that has unlimited data, plus unlimited calls and SMSes. You pay S$598 for the phone, or roughly S$560 lower than the retail price.
That’s roughly what you’d expect for a popular model that a telco wants to promote to sign up users.
As of yesterday 28th Oct, can’t find it at Singtel branded store in City Hall.