As a card-carrying member of the “grass is all the time greener on the opposite facet” membership, I can all the time really feel once I’m about to alter my day by day driver from a Pixel to an iPhone and vice versa. My day by day driver has been an
iPhone 15 Professional Max and I had my
Pixel 6 Professional related to Wi-Fi as a restricted backup so I may get screenshots and take a look at new options on Android. My Pixel was presupposed to lose Android help after the discharge of
Android 15 however
Google added two extra Android updates permitting me to maintain utilizing the cellphone as much as the discharge of Android 17.
I nonetheless did not really feel the decision of Android till I put in
Android 16 QPR 1 Beta 1 on my
Pixel 6 Professional. The software program turned the
Pixel 6 Professional into a unique cellphone that’s extra responsive. It additionally utterly fastened any points with the in-display fingerprint scanner, elevated the battery life, and total it made the cellphone not solely usable however fascinating. However I am not but able to utterly drop the iPhone for my Pixel, nor did I really feel like spending for a brand new line in an effort to make calls, ship and obtain texts, and even take the machine with me out of Wi-Fi vary.
Flip that backup cellphone accumulating mud right into a helpful smartphone with Helium’s Zero Plan
Working by the apps on my Pixel, I discovered the answer once I stumbled throughout the icon for Helium Cell. I bear in mind
doing a narrative on the T-Cell MVNO in February which famous that Helium supplied the primary free 5G wi-fi plan within the U.S. So I made a decision to enroll in Helium’s Zero Plan which provides 3GB of 5G information, 100 minutes of calls, 5GB of hotspot information, and 300 texts every month for the low, low worth of zero.
Helium Cell’s Zero plan in comparison with low-priced service from the competitors. | Picture credit-Helium Cell
Signing up for the service on the
Pixel 6 Professional took about 5 minutes and I used to be given a brand new cellphone quantity. Since I nonetheless will in all probability use my Pixel inside, I can maintain off on utilizing an excessive amount of information till I’ve a Wi-Fi connection. The cool factor is that I now can take my Pixel out with me at occasions once I’d reasonably have it accompany me and it is not costing me a dime. Helium makes use of
T-Cell‘s nationwide 5G service (extra on that later).
Helium’s Cloud Level program rewards you for private information that the opposite wi-fi companies take from you with out providing you with something in return. For instance, for those who comply with take part in anonymized location sharing, referrals, and surveys, you’ll be able to earn factors. These factors might be redeemed for reward playing cards to sure shops, streaming companies, rideshares, meals, and extra.
To this point, I have not had a problem in any respect with the 5G service which lately ran at a obtain information velocity of 109 Mbps and an add information velocity of 4.06 Mbps. That signifies that Helium makes use of T-Cell‘s low-band 600MHz nationwide 5G service versus its 5G Extremely Capability service that makes use of 2.5GHz mid-band to ship a typical obtain information velocity of 200 Mbps to 500Mbps. Nonetheless, the service was quick sufficient to make use of on the go and calls sounded nice.
Helium additionally provides low-priced 5G service utilizing T-Cell’s nationwide 5G community
Helium has different plans too. All three plans embrace:
- Zero Plan ($0/month): 3GB of knowledge, 300 texts, 100 minutes
- Air Plan ($15/month): 10GB of knowledge with limitless discuss and textual content
- Infinity Plan ($30/month): Limitless information, discuss and textual content
