AT&T Launches Elite 2.0 Smartphone Plan With 250GB Of Mobile Hotspot And Included Tablet And Wearable Lines

A month ago, AT&T rolled out new consumer and business smartphone plans, and we noted that the top consumer Premium 2.0 plan was not competitive with the top plans from rivals T-Mobile and Verizon, coming with only 100 GB of mobile hotspot data.

Now AT&T has launched a fourth plan, the Elite 2.0, which becomes the premium option in AT&T's lineup, priced at a hefty $110 per line. Are the benefits and features worth it? Read on for the details...

Elite 2.0 Video

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Elite 2.0 Plan Details

Here is the summarized features list for Elite 2.0:

• $110 for a single line, $75 for 4+ lines (including the $10 Autopay discount)
• Unlimited talk/text/data in the US, Canada, Mexico, and 20 other Latin American countries
• Unlimited Premium Data (no deprioritization)
• 250 GB of hotspot/tethering data (then unlimited at 128 Kbps)
• 4k streaming (with video management feature turned off)
• 20 GB of international data in 210+ countries (then unlimited at 512 Kbps)
• Includes one tablet and one wearable line
• Turbo add-on included (provides higher network priority)

At $110 for a single line, this is the most expensive consumer postpaid smartphone plan available - $10 more than T-Mobile's Experience Beyond, and $20 more than Verizon's Unlimited Ultimate.

This specific plan is also not eligible for any of AT&T's signature and appreciation discounts, which are available on other plans. These discounts can range up to 25% and are given to members of certain organizations and professions, such as teachers, unions, students, and the military.

Existing customers with one of these discounts should be aware that upgrading to this new plan will result in losing that discount.

Hotspot and Priority

Despite the high price, the plan includes some compelling features but offers limited customization and flexibility.

Notably, AT&T finally offers a competitive amount of mobile hotspot data on its consumer lineup - 250 GB compared to 100 GB on the Premium 2.0 plan. Compared to the top plans on other carriers, T-Mobile also offers 250 GB, and Verizon offers up to 300 GB with an optional add-on.

The plan also comes with the AT&T Turbo feature - normally a $7/month addon - included. Turbo increases data priority, which greatly improves performance in congested areas.

Tablet and Wearable Lines

Interestingly, the plan includes a tablet and a wearable line, offering one of each at a 100% discount. However, taxes and fees for these free lines are still charged, so these are not entirely free.

The tablet line uses AT&T’s standard tablet Unlimited Your Way add-on terms: Unlimited on-device data subject to deprioritization, 30 GB hotspot, HD video (with Video Management feature turned off), U.S./Mexico/Canada included, but no other international usage without an add-on, and no Turbo or smartphone-only international Elite features. Normally, adding this tablet line costs $20.99.

The wearable is also the standard add-on, which normally costs $10.99.

Together, these two options provide almost $32 in extra value, and for those using a tablet and watch line anyway, may make the high plan price more attractive.

International Benefits

Elite 2.0 also improves international terms, though it may come with downsides for some.

First, the plan does include AT&T's Roam Latin America feature, like several other AT&T plans. Roam Latin America is a smartphone-only feature that lets you use unlimited talk, text, and data in AT&T’s included Latin American countries, without roaming charges. This has always been a great feature and an AT&T advantage over T-Mobile and Verizon for travel in the 20 countries this feature supports.

What's new is that AT&T now includes 20 GB of high-speed global data in 210+ countries.

Once the 20 GB of data is used up, data is unlimited at 512 Kbps, which is slow, but usable for basic tasks.

AT&T terms don't state whether this data is on-device-only or includes hotspot data too. If it works for hotspot, it should be treated as part of the same international data usage, meaning the 20 GB international threshold and 512 Kbps post-cap slowdown would apply.

While the included 20 GB of data is great to see, this comes with a potentially major downside for some international travelers. The plan specifically does not allow any option to buy additional high-speed international data, and it is NOT eligible for International Day Passes.

So if you need more than 20 GB of high-speed international data in a month, you'll likely need to purchase an additional data-only eSIM plan from another provider.

Comparison To Verizon and T-Mobile

The biggest news here is that AT&T has finally caught up to the competition for mobile hotspot data on a consumer plan. 

However, when it comes to mobile hotspot/tethering use, it's important to note that AT&T still trails both rivals in one key area for heavy tethering users: after the included hotspot allotment is used, AT&T drops to 128 Kbps, while Verizon and T-Mobile remain far more usable at 600 Kbps for T-Mobile, and from 600 Kbps to 6 Mbps on Verizon depending on the specific plan and network.

For both consumer and business options, there are other differences you might want to consider, including international usage, perks, and optional add-ons. The new Elite 2.0 comes with several features you may or may not need, and doesn't offer the same level of flexibility to add (or remove) the options you specifically want.

Also absent from this AT&T Elite 2.0 plan are any entertainment perk options, such as Netflix for T-Mobile or the variety of add-on options Verizon offers.

Here's a quick chart comparing the smartphone options from all three carriers with the new Elite 2.0 plan added.

Note that we only track/cover plans that have at least 50GB of mobile hotspot data, so we don't include the lower-tier plans in this chart:

 

Concluding Thoughts

AT&T has this weird habit of revamping its smartphone plan lineup, then adding a new plan to it later. Elite 2.0 comes a month after AT&T revamped its consumer and business lineups, and it's not clear why it wasn't included from the beginning.

Regardless, it finally addresses a major shortcoming of AT&T's consumer smartphone plans: lackluster mobile hotspot data.

Elite 2.0 also offers some interesting benefits and includes many extras by default, including the AT&T Turbo feature and a table and watch line. Together, these features would normally cost $39 as separate add-ons.

The 20 GB of international data is also a nice addition, but we wish there were the option to buy more data or purchase international day passes.

The plan is very expensive at $110 with autopay, and once taxes and fees are added, not only for the main phone line, but also for the tablet and watch lines, the total monthly cost could easily approach $130 for a single line, depending on the taxes and fees where you live. However, if you're a customer who would already be purchasing the included features, then Elite 2.0 is worth a look. 

Business eligible customers may also want to consider the Business Unlimited Premium 3.0 plan, which is $15 cheaper and comes with 300 GB of hotspot, a 50% discount on tablet/watch lines, and 7 days each of Latin America coverage and international day passes.

While Elite 2.0 has a high price and inflexible options, we still consider it a Top Pick for our nomad audience.

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