Hi all. I'm visiting my parents in Kunming next month. Considering buying my dad an unlocked iPhone as a gift. Before I do, I just want to make sure it's not going cost him a lot to use it. He will likely use it for normal amount of calls and some data to text and WeChat with me when I return to the states.

Would appreciate some info on the cost of iPhone plans. Just want to make sure my gift will not turn into a financial burden.

costs the same as any other smartphone plans. China Unicom is the best option for using an unlocked phone since you'll still be able to get 3G speed. The plans aren't too expensive and there's a lot of flexibility depending on how much data you need (extra data usage doesn't cost a fortune either).

I'm actually getting my unlocked iPhone set up today on a plan. I'll let you know about what it runs me :)

Thanks guys! Lpompano, did you have to get a special type of unlocked iphone? Most ppl say unlocked iphone purchased in the US should work in China no problem. But I did see one post somewhere saying it needs to be a specific type? The phone I'm about to buy is an iPhone5c unlocked with GSM.

Thanks again for the info!

Around 50 to 100 yuan a month with telecom. Any iPhone from any carrier will work as long as it's unlocked from Apple or your carrier.

Wow, so the really old posts saying that China Mobile doesn't have 3G are still accurate. That's a shame.

They have 3G. You have to pay 5 yuan extra a month or get a data plan

I think Elisa is referring to the fact that China Mobile's 3G has "special characteristics" which traditionally has made it incompatible with most international phones. For example I know the US version of the iPhone doesn't support 3G on China Mobile. This is also the reason you see many special China Mobile versions in China.

If you're from the US think of Verizon... they do everything they can to sell their own "crappy/special" version of phones.

iPhone plan is not that expensive according to some of us since the amount you have to pay will be divided according to how many months it would take. However, before getting iPhone make sure to research some of its specification and quality since there is an iPhone that known to be fragile and the repair cost is expensive.Source: personalmoneynetwork.com/cash-advance/

Does anybody know the best place to be getting my iPhone unlocked in Kunming? I've had it here this whole time but just didn't bother getting it unlocked and bought a phone in china but thinking nowadays I'm missing my iPhone lol