Freedom Mobile to launch iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X on December 8, pre-orders start November 24

December 8th will be a historic day for Freedom Mobile: it marks the first time the Shaw-owned operator will sell brand new Apple iPhones.

Freedom has confirmed to MobileSyrup that it will launch the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X on December 8th across its entire coverage footprint. Additionally, the carrier will go live with pre-orders on November 24th.

Additionally, in its western Canada retail locations, Freedom will sell the full range of in-market iPhones, including the iPhone 6, 6s, 6s Plus, SE, 7 and 7 Plus starting December 8th.

In its eastern Canadian stores, it will carry those older devices once it completes necessary network upgrades — specifically, deploying newly-acquired 2500MHz spectrum and refarming a portion of its AWS-1 spectrum — in ‘early 2018.’

Perhaps most intriguing for potential customers — Freedom will offer all devices at $0 down, depending on the plan.

Pricing details are as follows:

• iPhone 8 — 64GB: $929 CAD outright, $0 down on a $50/10GB Big Gig plan with $15 MyTab Boost
• iPhone 8 — 256GB: $1,139 outright, $0 down on a $50/10GB Big Gig plan with $35 MyTab Boost
• iPhone 8 Plus — 64GB: $1,059 outright, $0 down on a $50/10GB Big Gig plan with $25 MyTab Boost
• iPhone 8 Plus — 256GB: $1,269 outright, $0 down on a $60/10GB + Talk with $40 MyTab Boost
• iPhone X — 256GB: $1,529 outright, $0 down on a $60/10GB + Talk with $50 MyTab Boost
• iPhone X — 64GB: $1,319 outright, $0 down on a $60/10GB + Talk with $40 MyTab Boost

Those with a keen eye will notice that the two-year contract pricing includes some pretty hefty discounts for the devices. For instance, the 64GB iPhone 8 is $929 outright, but $15 per month over the span of a 24-month contract amounts to only $360. That’s a savings of $569 on the device’s overall price if the customer manages to stick out their entire two-year contract.

The rest of the MyTab savings are indicated in the chart below, provided by Freedom Mobile, alongside pricing.

Freedom revealed it would carry iPhones in early October, 2017. 

The ability to carry Apple’s smartphones opens up a larger market for Freedom Mobile, which has never stocked brand new iPhones before — though in its Wind Mobile days it briefly sold second-hand Apple handsets, before the Cupertino-based tech giant requested it stop.

The additions come at an opportune time, as Freedom Mobile fights to gain a stronger foothold in the Canadian wireless market with the expansion of its still relatively young LTE network.

Back in September 2017, Scotiabank’s telecommunications analyst Jeff Fan wrote in a letter to clients: “We estimate that the addition of multiple iPhones with Band 66 and the ability to cater to BYOD subscribers could expand Freedom’s addressable market by over 12 million (note there are approximately 30.7 million total wireless subscribers in Canada).”

In case you’re wondering why older iPhones are only launching in certain parts of Canada: it all comes down to spectrum.

The carrier launched its LTE network with just Band 66 spectrum, which is new to the North American market — so new that when Freedom first launched its LTE network in November 2016, it carried only one compatible device, the LG V20.

After launching its LTE network, Freedom managed to purchase four 2500MHz spectrum licenses and three 700MHz spectrum licenses from Quebecor’s Videotron — both of which contribute to three of the four main bands for LTE in Canada: Band 12/17, Band 13 and Band 7.

Once that spectrum is added to Freedom’s LTE network, older LTE devices that don’t support Band 66 — such as all Apple smartphones before the iPhone 8 and iPhone X — will work on Freedom’s LTE network.

The carrier has already reported that the new spectrum is at work in western Canada. To keep abreast of the network upgrades for the rest of its footprint, customers can check Freedom’s dedicated page here.

Source: Freedom Mobile