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Get an iPhone 8 Plus and 3 months of service for $299

The phone is new, not refurbished, and the service comes from Red Pocket Mobile.

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
2 min read
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With this deal, the iPhone 8 Plus is now a budget phone. 

Óscar Gutiérrez/CNET

Looking for a budget iPhone? You might be thinking the iPhone SE is the way to go, what with its $399 starting price. However, there's a case to be made for the iPhone 8 Plus , which has a larger screen (5.5 inches, to the SE's 4.7) and -- for a limited time -- lower price.

Read more: iPhone XR vs. iPhone 8 Plus: Which iPhone should you buy?

Indeed, while supplies last, Red Pocket Mobile is offering the iPhone 8 Plus (64GB) and three months of service for $299. That's about $150 less than you'd pay for the phone elsewhere (Best Buy, for example), and the service is worth $90. You can get a new line or port in an existing number. The deal is also available for existing Red Pocket customers.

The included service plan nets you unlimited talk, text and data, though high-speed data tops out at 8GB per month (more than enough for many users). You don't necessarily have to continue after the initial three months, but Red Pocket will unlock the iPhone only after you've been a paying customer for at least 12 months.

Red Pocket offers service on all four of the Big Four networks, but notes that this particular deal will be on GSMA (which is code for "AT&T"). MMS, FaceTime Over Cellular and all other iOS features are fully compatible.

It may be a few years old, but let's remember the iPhone 8 Plus was a flagship model that originally sold for $799. (Here's CNET's iPhone 8 Plus review if you want to learn more.) You'd be hard-pressed to find a refurb for $299, let alone a new one. As budget iPhones go, this is definitely worth a look.

Your thoughts?

Watch this: iPhone 8, 8 Plus or X: Which should you get?

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