Google Pixel Pass is a new subscription bundle designed to let US customers pay for a Pixel phone in monthly installments while also getting access to Google’s premium subscription services like 200GB of Google One cloud storage, YouTube Premium, YouTube Music Premium, and Google Play Pass.
Prices start at $45 a month for Pixel 6 or $55 for a Pixel 6 Pro, and Google says they’re available unlocked and should work with all major carriers. Pixel Pass subscribers are eligible for an upgrade after two years, Google says, and the subscription also includes an extra year of warranty coverage over the standard one-year manufacturer warranty (aka Preferred Care).
Pixel Pass, which is being announced today alongside the company’s new Pixel 6 phones, appears to combine elements of Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program (which lets customers pay for an iPhone via monthly payments and offers an extended warranty), as well as its separate Apple One services bundle. Apple One currently includes subscriptions to Apple Music, Apple TV Plus, Apple Arcade, Apple News Plus, Apple Fitness Plus, and iCloud. However, a key difference is that Pixel Pass only offers an upgrade after two years, while Apple offers an upgrade after just one to users on its upgrade program.
Google says if subscribers cancel before the two years are up, they’ll have to pay off the remaining value of the Pixel device early at its regular “non-discounted price” and will also lose access to the bundled services. Upgrading your device at the end of the two-year period may change the price you’re paying, the company cautions.
Google says its Pixel Pass subscription is available via Google Fi, as well as the Google Store. Google Fi subscribers can save an additional $5 off their monthly Fi plan with a Pixel Pass subscription.
