Google Makes Fi Relevant Again

I was looking at canceling Google Fi and going with another Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), but thanks to some impressive service upgrades, I’m now considering paying them more instead.

“We started Google Fi Wireless 10 years ago to bring people wireless connectivity that’s simple and secure,” Google Fi head of product Alex Zheng writes in the announcement post. “Starting today, we are adding a new plan with a lower price, upgrading other plans with more data, more than doubling our international 5G network, and celebrating our 10th birthday with new promotions that you won’t want to miss.”

Well. That was unexpected.

Here’s what’s new.

New Unlimited Essentials plan. Google has introduced a new low-cost entry for Fi, the new Unlimited Essentials plan. This provides customers with unlimited data (unthrottled up to 30 GB per month), calls, and text in the United States for just $35 per month. What’s missing? There’s no hotspot capability, no data, calls, or texts within Canada or Mexico (as there is with the renamed Unlimited Standard plan) or any other countries (as there is with Unlimited Premium), and calls from the U.S. to other countries are “affordable” as opposed to free Canada and Mexico (Unlimited Standard) and/or free to over 50 countries (Unlimited Premium). “Unlimited Essentials is our newest unlimited plan designed for those who just want, well, the essentials,” Zheng says.

Simply Unlimited gets a new name, new capabilities. The Simply Unlimited plan I was subscribed to is being renamed to Unlimited Standard. It now offers 50 GB of high-speed data per month (up from 35 GB) and 25 GB of high-speed hotspot capabilities (up from 5 GB) for the same $50 per month as before. And as before, this plan offers unlimited data, calls, and texts in Canada and Mexico, full connectivity on select smartwatches (including the Pixel Watch 3 I’m currently using), VPN by Google, and Google AI-powered advanced spam call blocking functionality.

Unlimited Plus gets a new name, new capabilities. The Unlimited Plus is now called Unlimited Premium. It now offers 100 GB of high-speed data (up from 50 GB) and 50 GB of high-speed hotspot capabilities (up from 25 GB) for the same $65 per month as before. And as before, this plan offers unlimited data in 200+ international destinations, data-only connectivity for tablets and laptops at no extra cost (now with eSIM capabilities for the first time), and other perks. (The new data eSIM capability is available now on Google Fi’s Flexible plans, too.)

More international capabilities. Google Fi’s international 5G capabilities are expanding to more than 92 international destinations for those on Unlimited Premium and Flexible plans, thanks to the addition of 54 new countries. And for the first time, Google is making 5G available on iPhone in addition to Android when traveling outside the United States.

More iPhone capabilities. In addition to the 5G international data capabilities noted above, those using Google Fi with iPhone will now get a “streamlined and shortened” activation process so you can get up and running more quickly. Google Fi now supports RCS messaging on iPhone, too, allowing customers to share high-quality photos and react to texts with emoji. And “in the coming weeks,” iPhone users will finally be able to listen to voicemails with the native Phone app instead of being forced to use the Fi app.

New promotion for new customers. To celebrate Fi’s 10th anniversary, Google is now offering new customers the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel Watch 3 for free with a $300 discount at purchase time and $699 back spread evenly over 24 monthly payments. “After the phone ships, we’ll email you a code for Pixel Watch 3 to get $100 off instantly and $349 back over 24 monthly bill credits,” Zheng explains. “This offer is available until April 29, or while supplies last.” You can learn more here.

New promotion for existing customers. Google usually has some number of instant rebate discounts for Pixel series phones in the Fi app, but it’s now offering “even deeper” discounts than usual. Looking at the app, I see $200 off Pixel 9a, plus $450 off Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL. But the Fi website also lists $450 off Pixel 9 Pro Fold, $350 off Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, S25+ and S25, and several other deals.

I do struggle a bit with the local wireless carrier that Fi uses here in Mexico, but the Unlimited Plus plan is suddenly quite interesting. For $15 more per month than what I’m paying now, I’d get double the high speed data (100 GB vs. 50), double the hotspot (50 GB vs. 25), unlimited data in over 200 countries, but the ability to get data eSIMs for other devices. And that is quite compelling.

We’ll see. For now, I’ll stick with what’s now called Unlimited Standard. But I may just upgrade.

You can compare all the plans–most of which support 1-6 users–on the Google Fi website.