Verizon’s announced iPhone Handoff price adds $120 for 12 months, or $240 for 24 months, if the stated $10 monthly price stays unchanged. That is an additional cost to consider when choosing a second iPhone, rather than a reason to change an otherwise suitable phone.
What Verizon has confirmed
Verizon says Handoff will let customers switch the active device for one phone number between two compatible iPhones running iOS 27. Its announcement names iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro as examples and prices the service at $10 a month. It describes availability as coming soon; the announcement does not give a service start date.
The cost of keeping both phones
The calculation below isolates the announced Handoff charge. It is not a quote for a complete phone plan: hardware, the underlying service plan, taxes and any other applicable charges are outside these totals. It also assumes the monthly rate remains unchanged and you keep the feature for the full period.
| Time using Handoff | Calculation | Additional announced charge |
|---|---|---|
| 1 month | $10 × 1 | $10 |
| 12 months | $10 × 12 | $120 |
| 24 months | $10 × 24 | $240 |
If you were going to sell or trade in your current phone, keeping it has another cost: you give up the money you would have received for it. That amount depends on your device and offer. Add your own actual quote rather than assuming a trade-in value from an advertisement.
Who should consider it?
Someone who already owns two compatible phones and regularly wants to alternate between them has a clear use case. Before paying, work out how often you would switch and whether avoiding a manual number transfer is worth the recurring charge to you.
For a person buying only one phone, Handoff is not part of the comparison. Choose the device around the screen, cameras, battery claims and price that matter to you. You do not need to budget for switching between two phones you will not own.
Buying an extra phone just to use Handoff is a much larger decision than adding a $10 feature. Compare the complete ownership cost, including the second device, against the problem you are trying to solve. We have not tested the service, so we cannot claim how smoothly switching will work in daily use.
What to check before ordering
- Ask Verizon for the service start date and eligibility for both exact models and your plan.
- Confirm the final monthly price and any applicable taxes or additional charges.
- Check what switching active status means for the apps and services you depend on. Do not assume that one shared number means both phones are active simultaneously.
- If you use another carrier, check its own terms. Verizon’s announcement does not establish a price or availability elsewhere.
How this changes the Duo versus Pro decision
A shared-number feature does not remove physical differences between the phones. The Duo’s folding screen and the Pro’s slab shape still suit different tasks. Use the Duo and iPhone 18 Pro comparison to see their dimensions and specifications, then add recurring service costs to your own budget.
Our view: choose your primary iPhone first. Consider Handoff afterwards if keeping a second compatible device solves a recurring need. Recheck the carrier announcement before purchase, since coming soon is not a promise that the feature will be available on the day your phone arrives.