When is the best time to buy an iPhone?

In this article, we answer all of your questions about when you should and shouldn’t buy a new iPhone – including advice on when Apple is likely to discount the price of older iPhone handsets. There are certain times of the year when buying a new iPhone is a bad idea, and there are certain times of the year when you can get a bargain on a new handset. The trick is knowing when you should buy a new iPhone. Luckily we are here to help.

Should I buy a new iPhone right now?

• Our advice is to wait, unless it’s an iPhone 15 Pro or 15 Pro Max you want and you don’t care about the features coming to the iPhone 16 Pro or 16 Pro Max. Read on to find out why.

Those who are in the market for a new handset are probably wondering whether now is a good time to buy a new iPhone. Is there any danger that a new model will be released in the near future? Will prices drop or increase?

To answer the first question: the iPhone 15, 15 Plus, Pro and Pro Max were introduced in September 2023. We are now almost a year later, so Apple will likely introduce a new set of iPhones very soon. Expect Apple to unveil the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max in September 2024.

Read about Apple’s plans for the iPhone 16.

You may be thinking that if you don’t want one of the upcoming iPhones, buying a iPhone 15-series handset now might be a good idea. It depends on which iPhone you want.

Should I buy a iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Plus? When Apple introduced the iPhone 15 in 2023 it dropped the price of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, which were introduced in September 2022. Therefore it follosw that Apple is very likely to drop the price of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 14 in September 2024. Wait until September and save money on a new iPhone 15.

Should I buy a iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max? When Apple introduced the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max it is likely to discontinue the previous generation, as it did in 2023. Apple will stop selling those phones, but it’s likely that the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will utilize the chip from that generation, but you won’t get all the features of the pro handsets, such as the extra camera. So if you want the iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Mac you may be running out of time to buy one–unless you are lucky and old stock is sold off, perhaps during Black Friday.

Should I buy an iPhone 14? You might be considering buying the cheaper iPhone 14. Like the iPhone 15 you can expect a price drop in September. In September 2023, Apple dropped the price of the iPhone 13.

Should I buy an iPhone 13? Apple is likely to stop selling this iPhone in September 2024, so if it’s the handset you want now’s the time to get one–but bear in mind that soon the iPhone 14 will have a similar price.

Should I buy an iPhone SE? We almost forgot to add this one. The iPhone SE is Apple’s smallest phone and the only iPhone with a Home button. If you want small and a home button you need to buy one now because we don’t think Apple will be selling them for much longer. Read about Apple’s plans for the iPhone SE 4.

It is worth noting that it is always worth holding on for the big sales if you can, we often find some good deals on older iPhone handsets, though not usually the newest models. There is an Amazon Prime Big Deals Day coming up in October at which we may see some savings on iPhones, and at the end of November we expect to see even more stores cutting the prices of iPhones for Black Friday.

We do see good deals all year round though, so take a look at our round-up of the best iPhone deals this month. We have also collected the best deals for the iPhone 15-series in the U.K. and the best deals for the iPhone 15-series in the U.S. in separate articles. Also read: iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro deals and Best iPhone SE deals.

When is the best time to buy an iPhone?

It’s easier to say when the worst time to buy a new iPhone is. That is without a doubt in the months leading up to September. So don’t buy a new iPhone in August, unless you want to be kicking yourself a month later when the price of that model drops and a new model arrives.

The only reason to buy an iPhone in the run-up to an event is if it is likely to be discontinued. Apple tends to discontinue the Pro and Pro Max models of the previous generation when it introduces the next generation, so if you want to buy one of those models you may want to buy one while you still can. However, we’d suggest that it would be wise to wait for the next-gen version which is likely to present you with more for your money. Or take advantage of discounts as vendors sell off old stock after the new models arrive.

The best time to buy an iPhone isn’t necessarily when a new model launches either – unless you’re desperate to have the very latest hardware. You might be happy to wait a month or two after the launch and wait for supply to catch up with demand, and for any problems with the new phones to be identified and (hopefully) fixed. The other advantage of buying around the October/November time frame is that is when shopping events, like Black Friday, take place, but as we said above, we don’t tend to see the newest iPhone models discounted much, or at all, at these events.

We’d say that it’s fine to buy a new iPhone at any time within nine months of it launching, but if you are hoping to save some money on your purchase we’d recommend waiting a few more months.

When does Apple update the iPhone?

Knowing when the latest iPhones came out should help when making a judgment on whether there will be an update soon.

Apple usually updates the iPhone range at an Apple Event in September.

However, the iPhone SE is on a different schedule, with Apple introducing the iPhone SE models during the spring months (most recently March 2022), so a spring launch is possible. With rumors that a new larger iPhone SE could one day launch perhaps it’s worth waiting until the spring if that handset might suit you. 

When do iPhone prices drop?

We know based on past experience that Apple is very unlikely to drop the price of an iPhone in the first year of sales.

However, Apple does tend to reduce the price of the previous year’s iPhone when it introduces the new model – so expect Apple to discount its handsets in September (and potentially in the spring if it introduces a new handset at that time).

How much do prices drop when a new iPhone comes out?

When Apple introduces new iPhones it sometimes raises the starting price of the handset compared to previous years, but in 2023 it dropped prices for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus compared to the previous year. In the U.K. shoppers also got a price drop for the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max compared to the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.

At the same time as Apple introduces a new iPhone, it also reduces the price of existing models.

• Apple knocked $130/£150 off the price of the iPhone 14 in September 2022.
• Apple also knocked $100/£150 off the price of the iPhone 13 in September 2022. That cut came on top of the $130/£30 reduction in the price of the iPhone 13 when Apple introduced the iPhone 14 series in September 2022.

Apple’s not the only place you can buy an iPhone and it certainly isn’t the only one to discount the handsets. From time to time you will see deals from other resellers. We track these in our Best iPhone Deals round-up, so check that page regularly.

Will there be Black Friday iPhone discounts?

The earliest you could expect to get a discount on the newest iPhones is around Black Friday at the end of November, so you might be planning to hold out until then. However, the deals we tend to see, if any, are usually for older handsets so if you are hoping for a discounted iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Pro following their launch you will probably be disappointed.

Nor should you expect to get a discount from Apple on Black Friday. Apple’s Black Friday sale usually only takes the form of vouchers with select product purchases, rather than a discount, and it is unlikely that the newest iPhone would qualify as in previous year’s new iPhones haven’t been included. See our round-up of Best black Friday iPhone deals to see what could be in store.

Note that while shopping events like Black Friday gets all the attention, that’s not the only time you can get discounts on Apple products: we see discounts all the time. Another event where we see good iPhone deals is Prime Day, so take a look at the iPhone deals for Amazon Prime Day sale to see what you might be able to save.

In our experience, we don’t tend to see discounts on the newest handset until the spring–and these are always from third-party resellers, never from Apple. In fact, we don’t tend to see the iPhone discounted in the U.S. very often, most of the discounts we see are in the U.K. where unlocked iPhones are often sold off-contract at a good discount.

Conclusion: Is now a good time to buy a new iPhone?

The worst time to buy would be July or August, mainly because with new iPhones on the horizon the price of the older handsets are likely to drop very soon.

If you want the newest iPhones then the best deals don’t tend to come before the spring and summer months. If you are happy to buy an older iPhone then you will probably see decent deals around Prime Day and Black Friday – but deals happen all year round. 

We hope this article has proved helpful in reaching an informed buying decision. Remember that good prices can be found all year round, if a retailer is feeling generous and you know where to look: read our guide to the best iPhone deals for more on that.

Wondering how long Apple supports iPhones for? Read How long do iPhones last.

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