What is the Verizon One Unlimited for iPhone plan? Is it worth it?

Verizon Wireless has announced a new plan for Apple users. It’s the first cellphone plan explicitly made for iPhones, and it’s an interesting proposition for those well invested in the Apple ecosystem. Aside from including unlimited cellphone service, the One Unlimited for iPhone plan grants access to some of apple’s most useful services and applications through an Apple One subscription plan. Verizon promises a value of $480 in Apple services with these plans. Is it a good plan for you, though? Let’s dig into the details and see if you’re better off with your regular plan.

For starters, the One Unlimited for iPhone plan offers your regular unlimited cellphone services.

Regular plan features:

• Unlimited calling and texting.
• 5G access and no slowdowns, regardless of how much data you use.
• Calling, texting, and data usage when traveling to Mexico and Canada. Speeds are reduced to 2G speeds after 0.5GB of use a day.
• Unlimited texting from the US to over 200 countries and territories worldwide.
• 25GB of hotspot data.
• Verizon Up rewards.
• Call Filter spam blocker.

As you can see, this is a very full-featured plan as a smartphone plan, on its own. You get everything you expect from an unlimited plan, and then some. For example, it’s not common to get so much hotspot data included, and genuinely unlimited network access is also rare.

Additionally, you can get some added discounts with the plan, including up to 50% off watch, tablet, hotspot, or Hum plans. Additionally, you can get up to $800 off your phone and home internet for as low as $25 a month.

What about the Apple services and apps you get included access for?

What comes with Apple One:

Verizon isn’t technically giving you all these apps for free. Instead, they include a subscription to Apple One, the company’s existing bundle. Single-line users get the individual plan. Customers with two or more lines will get a family plan, which can be shared with up to five other users.

The Verizon One Unlimited plan for iPhone isn’t cheap. The price structure goes as follows.

• One line: $90 a month, or $100 without paper-free billing and autopay.
• Two lines: $75 a month per line, or $85 without paper-free billing and autopay.
• Three lines: $60 a month per line, or $70 without paper-free billing and autopay.
• Four lines: $50 a month per line, or $60 without paper-free billing and autopay.
• Five or more lines: $45 a month per line, or $50 without paper-free billing and autopay.

This sounds like a good plan. Everything is unlimited, and you get a free Apple One subscription. Nothing comes without its downsides, though. Depending on your needs, you can actually get more value out of Verizon’s regular unlimited plans.

Verizon’s 5G Get More plan is the most expensive offering from Big Red, and it’s only slightly more costly than the iPhone-specific plan. In fact, the single-line plan costs the same, and additional lines are only $5 more expensive.

For only a bit more (or possibly the same), you get Hulu, Disney Plus, ESPN Plus, Apple Music, and your pick between Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass. You’ll also get the connected device discount. And to top it off, Verizon will throw in a TravelPass per month for international data usage, as well as 600GB of Verizon Cloud storage. The streaming bundle alone costs $13.99 a month. Apple Arcade and Google Play Pass both cost $4.99 a month. Apple Music plans start at $5.99 a month. That’s at least $25 of value, which beats the $14.95-$19.95 Apple One plan. Verizon 5G Get More subscribers also get 50GB of hotspot data, which is twice what the iPhone plan offers.

Those who want to save a few bucks can opt for the 5G Play More, which still comes with Hulu, Disney Plus, ESPN Plus, and your pick between Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass.

Of course, which plan you go for will depend on your preferences. Some of you may not care for the general offerings the standard plans come with. And the iPhone plan sounds fantastic if you value the Apple ecosystem. Just know that dollar per dollar, it’s not offering as much value.

Are you an Android user? The good news is that you don’t need an iPhone to enjoy the Apple One. You will, however, need an iPhone with iOS 14.7 or newer, and an Apple account, to activate Apple One.

Once Apple One is activated, the other lines on the Verizon account can have any handset, including Android devices and even dumb phones. The account administrator will be able to share the Apple One account, and everyone can enjoy any Apple apps available on the Google Play Store, or enjoy any of the other apps and services on supported devices.

It’s also important to remember that you can’t just pick and choose which of your lines have the Verizon One Unlimited for iPhone plan. If one line has it, all devices in the family plan will have it. This is a significant downside, as you can mix and match any standard Verizon plans.