Optus iPad Pro deals: Do they make sense?
Optus is offering Apple’s iPad Pro on contract, but does it make financial sense to buy Apple’s productivity tablet this way?
If you’re interested in Apple’s iPad Pro but can’t quite come up with the necessary $1699 for the top-end 128GB Wi-Fi+Cellular model, you’ve now got two carrier options for a contract iPad Pro.
Telstra is offering the iPad Pro 128GB Wi-Fi+Cellular on 24 month contracts only. You can find a breakdown of how those plans compare to outright purchase here. Optus’ approach is to offer the iPad Pro 128GB Wi-Fi+Cellular on either a 1 month, 12 month or 24 month contract basis.
A contract may make sense for you if you’re going to use the supplied data and want to spread out the cost over time, but can you do better buying outright and simply going on a SIM-only data plan? Here is how Optus' pricing compares against outright purchase and the same SIM-only plan for a full 24 month contract:
| Optus iPad Pro 128GB 24 Month Plans | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan | Included Data | Outright Purchase Cost | Monthly Plan Cost | Minimum Two Year Cost |
| iPad Pro $80 per month | 1.5GB | $0 | $80 | $1,920 |
| iPad Pro outright purchase plus $10 Plan | 1.5GB | $1,699 | $10 | $1,939 |
| iPad Pro $85 per month | 2.5GB | $0 | $85 | $2,040 |
| iPad Pro outright purchase plus $20 Plan | 2.5GB | $1,699 | $20 | $2,179 |
| iPad Pro $93 per month | 4GB | $0 | $93 | $2,232 |
| iPad Pro outright purchase plus $30 plan | 4GB | $1,699 | $30 | $2,419 |
| iPad Pro $106 per month | 8GB | $0 | $106 | $2,544 |
| iPad Pro outright purchase plus $45 plan | 8GB | $1,699 | $45 | $2,779 |
| iPad Pro $118 per month | 12GB | $0 | $118 | $2,832 |
| iPad Pro outright purchase plus $60 plan | 12GB | $1,699 | $60 | $3,139 |
As with Telstra’s plans, there’s some saving to be made with a contract plan, presuming you’re going to use that data.
Here’s the comparison data for the same plans on a 12 month contract, where the individual handset repayments make up a much larger proportion of the contract:
| Optus iPad Pro 128GB 12 Month Plans | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan | Included Data | Outright Purchase Cost | Monthly Plan Cost | Minimum Twelve month cost |
| iPad Pro $150 per month | 1.5GB | $0 | $150 | $1,800 |
| iPad Pro outright purchase plus $10 Plan | 1.5GB | $1,699 | $10 | $1,819 |
| iPad Pro $155 per month | 2.5GB | $0 | $155 | $1,860 |
| iPad Pro outright purchase plus $20 Plan | 2.5GB | $1,699 | $20 | $1,939 |
| iPad Pro $163 per month | 4GB | $0 | $163 | $1,956 |
| iPad Pro outright purchase plus $30 plan | 4GB | $1,699 | $30 | $2,059 |
| iPad Pro $176 per month | 8GB | $0 | $176 | $2,112 |
| iPad Pro outright purchase plus $45 plan | 8GB | $1,699 | $45 | $2,239 |
| iPad Pro $188 per month | 12GB | $0 | $188 | $2,256 |
| iPad Pro outright purchase plus $60 plan | 12GB | $1,699 | $60 | $2,419 |
Finally, Optus will also offer the iPad Pro 128GB Wi-Fi+ on a single month contract. Here the initial "contract" price is quite high, because you’re effectively paying for the device outright with a single month contract commitment:
| Optus iPad Pro 128GB 1 Month Plans | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan | Included Data | Outright Purchase Cost | Monthly Plan Cost | Minimum One Month Cost |
| iPad Pro $1690 plan | 1.5GB | $0 | $1,690 | $1,690 |
| iPad Pro outright purchase plus $10 Plan | 1.5GB | $1,699 | $10 | $1,709 |
| iPad Pro $1700 plan | 2.5GB | $0 | $1,700 | $1,700 |
| iPad Pro outright purchase plus $20 Plan | 2.5GB | $1,699 | $20 | $1,719 |
| iPad Pro $1710 plan | 4GB | $0 | $1,710 | $1,710 |
| iPad Pro outright purchase plus $30 plan | 4GB | $1,699 | $30 | $1,729 |
| iPad Pro $1725 plan | 8GB | $0 | $1,725 | $1,725 |
| iPad Pro outright purchase plus $45 plan | 8GB | $1,699 | $45 | $1,744 |
| iPad Pro $1740 plan | 12GB | $0 | $1,740 | $1,740 |
| iPad Pro outright purchase plus $60 plan | 12GB | $1,699 | $60 | $1,759 |
However, there’s an absolute bargain to be had here if you are keen on the 128GB iPad Pro Wi-Fi + Cellular. Apple’s asking price for that model is $1699, and most retailers don’t tend to discount Apple hardware to speak of. The entry level one month plan from Optus comes with 1.5GB of data to use and is only $1690, some $9 cheaper than Apple’s outright price.
You can find Optus' full range of deals here.
Apple iPad Pro from Apple Store
The iPad Pro touts a huge 12.9-inch Retina display, almost twice the CPU performance of iPad Air 2 and improved Multi-Touch. Combine this with the Apple Pencil and you get a designer's best friend.
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