Samsung Galaxy S5: Australian Telco Pricing Revealed

The Samsung Galaxy S5 was launched in Australia this evening, and now we have prices! In what should be unsurprising to just about everyone, it’s jolly expensive.

What Is It?

Here’s everything you need to know about Samsung’s latest smartphone. The Galaxy S5 was released at Mobile World Congress in February. In terms of specs, it runs a Qualcomm 2.5GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB and 32GB storage variants (expandable with MicroSD). Keeping it alive is a 2800mAh battery.

The screen itself is a 5.1-inch Full HD SuperAMOLED, with a resolution of 1920×1080. On top of it is Android 4.4 with Samsung TouchWiz.

It’s packing a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2.1-megapixel front facing camera for video calls, and packs a USB 3.0 charging port which is backwards compatible with USB 2.0 ports.

It weighs just 145 grams.

Here’s what you’ll pay for it.

Telstra

Telstra will be selling the Galaxy S5 on its Mobile Accelerate plans.

That means you can get Samsung’s new flagship for an extra $12 per month for 24 months on the $70 Mobile Accelerate Plan.

Said plan gets you $700 worth of calls and MMS, unlimited text messaging within Australia and 1.5GB of data, all on a 24-month contract.

Jolly expensive indeed.

Telstra will also be flogging Samsung’s latest wearables.

The Gear Fit, that excellent curved OLED wrist-wraparound will cost $10 per month when connected to an eligible mobile plan. It’s sort of a bolt-on. Alternatively, you can just pay $249 for it outright.

The Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo smartwatches will cost $369 and $249 respectively.

Optus

Optus is offering the device on its MyPlan structure.

The cheapest you’ll be able to get the S5 on an Optus plan is for an extra $26 per month on the $35 MyPlan, which includes 200 minutes of calls and 200MB of data.

That’s not something normal people would be down with, so the other plans on offer include:

• $50 MyPlan: $21 extra for the device over 24 months, including 450 minutes of calls and 500MB of data;
• $60 MyPlan: $16 extra for the device over 24 months, including 600 minutes of calls and 1.5GB* of data;
• $80 MyPlan: $11 extra for the device over 24 months, including 800 minutes of calls and 2GB of data;
• $100 MyPlan: $7 extra for the device over 24 months, including unlimited calls and 3GB of data;

All plans get free, unlimited SMS and MMS within Australia.

*Optus customers who pre-order between tomorrow (27 March) and April 10 will score an extra 500MB of data on the $60 MyPlan, taking the total offering up to 1.5GB. That makes it just slightly cheaper than Telstra for relatively the same amount of inclusions.

Here’s all that in a handy chart.

Click to enlarge

Optus is also offering wearables, with the Gear Fit priced at $10 per month for 24 months on top of your plan, or for $240 outright.

Unlike Telstra, the Gear 2 can be attached to a plan on Optus, costing an extra $15 per month on contract or just $360 outright.

Vodafone

The cheapest way you can get a Galaxy S5 on Vodafone is via the $30 plan, which includes $200 of calls and texts and 200MB of data. The phone costs an extra $28 per month on a 24-month contract.

There are tonnes of other 24- and 12-month contract options on Vodafone, almost too many to list. Many of them also have double-data included.

To make it easier, here’s all that in yet another handy chart.

Click to enlarge

Virgin Mobile

Pre-orders are up on Virgin Mobile’s website now, and the phone itself goes on sale online and in stores from April 11.

Virgin’s selling the Galaxy S5 for $13 a month on its $60 per month plan, with double data available on any new phones until a month after the launch date. You’ll get 3GB of data under the doubled plan — it’s usually 1.5GB — and $700 worth of included calls, texts and other Virgin-only benefits.


Finally, Lifehacker has a full run-down of all the pricing, on all the plans, on all of the networks, for the Galaxy S5 — so head over there if you’re confused about how to get the best value out of your purchase.

Will you be buying the GS5? Outright or on plan? Let us know in the comments.


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