Verizon today announced new "myPlan" customizable smartphone plans that essentially unbundle unlimited cellular service from the "perks" that Verizon has offered to subscribers in the past. Right now, for example, signing up for a Verizon "Get More" plan offers unlimited 5G service along with perks like access to Apple Arcade, Apple Music, Disney+, and more.
With the new "myPlan" options, Verizon is charging a base price for 5G access, and then an additional $10 for each "perk" that a subscriber wants to add.
There are now two plans, including Unlimited Plus and Unlimited Welcome. Unlimited Plus is the only plan with the faster 5G Ultrawide band connectivity, while Welcome Unlimited offers slower 6GHz 5G speeds. Unlimited Plus is priced at $80 for one line, while Unlimited Welcome is priced at $65 for a single line, with discounts for additional lines. Prices include a $10/line Auto Pay discount.
There are $10/month add-ons for the Disney/Hulu/ESPN+ bundle, 100 GB of additional hotspot data (Unlimited Plus comes with 30GB), Apple One (which includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 50GB iCloud storage), Walmart+, and Apple Music Family. Verizon also offers add-ons for +play (its answer to Apple TV Channels), 2TB cloud storage, and three TravelPass days.
Verizon says that subscribers can decide "exactly what goes in and what stays out" of a plan, to ensure that customers are not paying for what they do not want.
For comparison's sake, a single line $90/month "5G Get More" plan (with Auto Pay) at the current time includes 50% off an Apple Watch, free TravelPass access (1 per month), the Disney Bundle, Apple Music, Apple Arcade, 50GB of hotspot data, and 600GB of Verizon's cloud service.
Adopting the new plan would cost $80 per month with Auto Pay enabled, $10 for Apple One (with the same benefits), $10 for the Disney bundle, and $10 for three TravelPass days per month. It would also be limited to 30GB hotspot data and would include less Verizon cloud storage, so on the whole, the plan change is not ideal for existing Verizon customers who prefer to have access to the current add-ons.
Ok so Verizon has a new thing called myPlan and it’s maybe ok? Hard to understand Basically you get your data for either $80 or $65 for one line. No perks. (Per line pricing below) Then you choose the perks you want, $10 each. Some will be family plans so you only need one… pic.twitter.com/HPy9qM0Hu2 — Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) May 16, 2023
The new plan would benefit those who do not care for or use the add-ons as it would cut the price by $10 per month, but it will drop hotspot data by 30GB.
Verizon says that each family member gets to "customize their own plan," so savings will be more notable for those who share a plan with family, but for most people, these changes are likely to result in price increases and loss of perks rather than more choice.
Verizon's new myPlan options will be available starting on May 18. Existing customers will not need to change their plans, and can add additional perks to their current plans if desired.
