There’s nothing so great about the new iPhone 16 models, which are available to buy starting Friday, that you need one. (Here are other options, including how to spruce up your current phone.)
But if you plan to take the plunge, we dug into data to find the best time to get the biggest deals on a new iPhone.
If your top priority is spending the least to own a phone, though, you might do best ignoring those device discounts and switching to a smaller cellphone company. You could save more than $800 over three years in one common scenario we analyzed.
Comparing your potential savings on cellphone plans will make your head hurt. I have some advice that can make it less awful.
The best time to buy is …
If you’re among the majority of Americans who buy new phones from a large cellphone carrier, the best discounts on the iPhone 16 for most people are likely right about now. That’s according to an analysis of iPhone discount trends by the price comparison site Navi.
Black Friday and the stretch around Christmas are also peak times for promotions on the latest iPhones, Navi data show, but you often need to switch cellphone carriers to get the best device deal.
If you wait until after Christmas, discounts on new iPhone models tend to be more modest. But Navi says you are likely to find good deals from large phone companies on the still-great iPhone 15 models from 2023.
Navi’s website has price trends for a bunch of phones to see if now is a good time to maximize discounts. The iPhone 16 data is not reliable yet. The price comparison pages do let you set alerts when phone prices drop from current levels.
The caveats you need to know
Navi analyzed discounts if you’re buying a new iPhone and are on a monthly unlimited plan from one of the country’s big 3 cellphone carriers — AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon — or two cable-and-internet companies that also offer cellphone service, Xfinity and Spectrum.
If you buy an iPhone from a smaller phone company or from Apple or have a low-cost cellphone plan, you will not get the top-tier discounts.
The cellphone Big 3 offer promotions and no-interest loans — with many strings attached — to let you pay off a discounted iPhone over two or three years. If you quit early, you give up a lot of your device savings.
Go the extra step: Consider switching phone carriers
It’s not necessarily the cheapest option to take a “free” new phone.
Let’s say you have one line on AT&T’s Unlimited Starter SL cellphone plan that costs about $73 a month including estimated taxes. AT&T is offering promotions for a free upgrade to an iPhone 16, if you trade in your current iPhone that’s up to four years old.
Over the three years you’re committed to AT&T’s terms, your cellphone bills come to $2,613, Navi says.
If you instead switched to Spectrum, Navi figures you’d pay nearly full price, or $715, for an iPhone 16. But over three years, your costs — including the phone and an unlimited plan at $30 a month for one line — work out to $1,795.
You just saved more than $800 over three years. (You can only buy Spectrum or Xfinity cellphone plans if you also have internet service from the company.)
In many but not all scenarios Navi examined, you’d save money ditching a Big 3 carrier for the typically lower-priced unlimited plans from Xfinity or Spectrum — even if you had to pay nearly full price for a phone.
If you have three or more mobile lines and especially if you’re buying new phones for them, Navi data suggests you might do better with a higher-cost Big 3 plan.
Your savings can be even bigger with a smaller cellphone company such as Consumer Cellular, Mint Mobile (owned by T-Mobile) or Google Fi.
The alternative cellphone carriers aren’t right for everyone. They may not have stores you can walk into to get help. Their plans often lack frills such as a Netflix subscription included. Some don’t give you unlimited data.
But if all you care about is having solid cellphone service at a low price, the cable companies and smaller cellphone carriers might be right for you. They all use the same mobile networks as the Big 3, though in theory your phone surfing might be slower if many people are using their phones at once.
There’s no easy way to find your ideal cellphone plan. Navi’s price comparison tools and the cellphone guide from Consumer Reports can help. You will probably also need to type options you’re considering into carriers’ websites.
Shopping around for cellphone plans is complicated on purpose. The pain might be worth it.