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Google's 'Project Fi' Cellular Service Now Supports iPhone

Starship67 said:
Seem a bit of a rip off to me. I get unlimited everything including taxes from Tmobile for $85 iPhone, iPad and a Series 4 watch.
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I think most of you are missing the key point that it works internationally. I've been using Google Fi almost exclusively for the past 3 years on my iPhone and iPad while traveling around the world. Haven't found a place yet that it didn't work (and I've been to some relatively obscure places...Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Georgia, Colombia, etc), and I usually get LTE wherever I'm at.

> Calls or texts cannot be made over WiFi with Google Fi

That's not true. Using the Google Hangouts app, they certainly can be.
 
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kodos said:
I can only IMAGINE the stuff Google harvests from you. They don't go into any business without slurping some of your data. That's their entire business model.
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Not to sound like a Google apologist, but it's worth nothing that the complete Fi experience includes a built-in VPN that even Google can't monitor.
 
groadyho said:
Haha! Not hardly. Its a dirt road in a natl park with no name. We have p.o box 10 miles in town. Fi needs a verifiable address.
I bet most smokers/growers know me as Jerry Garcia once said my strain was the best he ever smoked live on stage after purchasing directly from me... witness protection hahaha,,, good one
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Not a toker, but appreciate your efforts. Much better to use natural medicines!
 
snebes said:
Came here to say just this. Not sure why anyone would use Google Fi with an iPhone.
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Yup. I am a bit surprised how good some MVNOs have become over the last few years. They have all the features the name brands have. The only difference is data priority (in some cases), and unbundled fees. Whereas, the name carriers are bundling a bunch of random features (Netflix, Hulu, Canada/Mexico Free Data, etc.) to justify their higher price. The big four have been creeping up their costs using this bundling method.

Never would have dreamed of using one 5-10 years ago. But given my usage, I would literally be wasting $50+ on any other carrier.

Will be interesting to see how 5G affects MVNO services. If they will start to charge more or if they will be forced to stay on 4G LTE for a longer time.
 
My biggest concern is that Google goes down this road and then decides it's not "strategic" and backs off
in a couple of years... remember Google Fiber? 🙁
 
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I dig the international coverage as i have upcoming oversea (spain, france, Belgium) trip coning. Is there a better option than this? Ive heard people getting a new sim (new number) in Europe for a short trip, if so is there any recommended european carrier / plan for a one week trip?
 
keysofanxiety said:
Yeah but if you use Google Assistant, this is really useful. Remember those phone conversations you had and you're thinking, "damn, what did we talk about again?" Luckily they'll have that information stored, so it's great for a scatterbrain like me.
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Yay! google will archive all of my private conversations. And at no extra cost!
 
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$10 a GB is too expensive. I pay $30/month for 5 GBs of high speed with Boost Mobile, taxes and mobile hotspot included.
 
Starship67 said:
Yea Im sure, probably not the only data they are keeping either.
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This is an awesome extension of their google number plan I’m sure. They use those numbers to listen and transcribe what you talk about and to who so their advertisers can better target you.
 
I am waiting until they have eSIM support to get this as a backup for my international travel.
 
yg17 said:
I've been on Fi with a Pixel 3 for awhile. I use around a gig a month and travel internationally. Fi saves me money versus an unlimited plan from T-Mobile that only offers slow 2G roaming.

Fi isn't intended for heavy data users.
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As yg17 points out, it depends on each individual's use case as to whether this is a good option or not.
 
It sucks it isn't fully compatible with iPhone (yet) but regardless, it's good for consumers when there's more competition to help drive down prices or expand features.
 
ssspinball said:
So therefore we should be willing to PAY google while giving them even more of our data to monitize. Because that makes sense? 😵
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All I'm saying is to put your money where your mouth is. If you're not okay with Google collecting your data, why are you okay using Google's search engine, or their mail app, or their cloud services. People love to be hypocritical about what outrages them. This one thing that everyone uses I'm okay with, but this one specific less reaching thing that only a few use I'm not okay with. Collecting data via Google Fi crosses the line, but not the twenty other Google services you currently use where the data collection is even more responsible for the company's profit. That's okay. Everyone likes to think they are a part of the resistance when they're actually just a part of the machine.
 
what? lame? not smooth with texts and no visual voice mail??
and its way more expensive than T-mob.... does it have better coverage ???
 
S3R6i0 said:
$10 a GB is too expensive. I pay $30/month for 5 GBs of high speed with Boost Mobile, taxes and mobile hotspot included.
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You guys really need to stop comparing everything to Sprint and Sprint MVNO’s. Sprint will always be cheap because it is garbage. They can’t even give a year of service away for free.
 
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bpeeps said:
All I'm saying is to put your money where your mouth is. If you're not okay with Google collecting your data, why are you okay using Google's search engine, or their mail app, or their cloud services. People love to be hypocritical about what outrages them. This one thing that everyone uses I'm okay with, but this one specific less reaching thing that only a few use I'm not okay with. Collecting data via Google Fi crosses the line, but not the twenty other Google services you currently use where the data collection is even more responsible for the company's profit. That's okay. Everyone likes to think they are a part of the resistance when they're actually just a part of the machine.
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For a lot of people this is the case, agreed. It is quite frustrating to see people rage against Google and have a Facebook account or vis versa. Ignorance is prevalent everywhere.

Starting mid last year I began my move away from Google and all social media. It hurt really bad and took a lot of time, I went back and forth a lot. But now, being 98% Google Free, not having a Facebook account or Twitter account … it's freedom. Using Office 365 (OneDrive) and Bing with Edge / Safari isn't as nice as chrome but with AdGuard I know I'm not helping to "feed the machine" in a way.

That includes not using Google Maps, Waze. I only use Apple Maps. I miss Waze's traffic assistance, but like you said, it is easy to be a hypocrite.

I've moved to FastMail 9+ months ago and moved everything I could but still have to check my gmail (via FastMail) for a few items. Google Photos and YouTube are my last Google holdouts.

Amazing how difficult it is to pull the plug once you're connected - like the Matrix. 😛



I remember when Google Fi first came out. I was so excited for it, but when I found out it was Android only, made me so sad. Several coworkers got it and had less than stellar experiences with it. Text messages forever messed up, calls didn't always go through, but they had control over their data down to the GB and international travel was easy. I wouldn't give my cellphone to Google. Not anymore. And no, just cuz you're paying Google for something doesn't mean they aren't harvesting everything they can out of your data (to another poster).

- Former Google Fan and Apologist
 
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ssspinball said:
So therefore we should be willing to PAY google while giving them even more of our data to monitize. Because that makes sense? 😵



They are the largest global advertising company the world's ever seen and they derive 97% of their revenue from their ad business. Their entire history is filled with examples of trying to tie your data together from various sources in order to make that bundle more attractive to their real customers. The latest scandal was Google tracking location of Android owners even when they explicitly disabled that feature. It's not like it takes a leap of faith at this point to assume when Google is offering something, they have their real customers in mind, not you.
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I’m not a big fan of how Google operates but some here are quick to make bold claims because it’s the trendy thing to do.

I’m asking for sources about the claims in which Google will be tracking conversations and texts. All you provided are assumptions.
 
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