The best time to buy an iPhone – and when not to buy one

Macworld

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.

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.

Looking for to buy a new iPhone right now? Apple introduced a set of new iPhones in September 2025 including the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, and the iPhone Air. Apple continues to sell the iPhone 16e, which arrived in March 2025, and the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, which arrived in September 2024. Any of these phones would be a good purchase, although some more than other. For help deciding which model to buy read our Best iPhone comparison.

Also in this article: Should I buy an old iPhone? When is the worst time to buy a new iPhone? When does Apple update the iPhone? When do iPhone prices drop?

When does the iPhone go on sale?

When a new iPhone is launched Apple tends to reduce prices of the previous generation. So, when the iPhone 17 launched Apple reduced the price of the iPhone 16. This is the only time when Apple drops prices on the iPhone.

This is more pertinent in the U.K. where shoppers can buy an iPhone off contract and unlocked. If you are hoping to take advantage of some good discounts on a new iPhone, you should wait for an Amazon Prime Day sale (in July, October and sometimes in March), but we do see iPhone deals all year round in the U.K. Another good time to buy an iPhone is during the Black Friday sales in November. See our round up of the Best Black Friday iPhone deals.

In the U.S. where the iPhone is most frequently bought on contract the best times to switch to a new iPhone will be when certain sales events are taking place, such as Black Friday, when many of the networks will sweeten their contract deals with extra features.






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Is now a good time to buy? Yes.

With a larger screen, twice as much storage, a peek brightness of 3,000 on the ProMotion and Always-On screen, and 8 more hours of battery life, this is already shaping up to be a much better iPhone than the iPhone 16.

There’s also the new 18MP Centre Stage front camera and two 48MP rear cameras. The iPhone 16 is a good allrounder iPhone and we recommend buying one, unless you are desperate for a telephoto lens.


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Apple iPhone 17 review







Should I buy an iPhone 17 Pro?
























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Is now a good time to buy? Yes.

All the late 2025 iPhones offer 3,000 nits max, Pro Motion and Always On, so this is no longer a reason to buy the Pro iPhone models, now the main differentiator is really just the additional camera on the rear because even the iPhone Air features the A19 Pro chip.

The iPhone 17 Pro is the one to buy if you are into advanced photography and video. It is also the phone to choose if you consider yourself a power user, a professional creator, or if you are a gamer.


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Apple iPhone 17 Pro review







Should I buy an iPhone 17 Pro Max?
























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Is now a good time to buy? Yes.

The Pro Max is essentially the same phone as the iPhone 17 Pro, but with a larger display and better battery life (37 hours). If those are features that you need, along with additional camera lens, this is the model to buy.


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Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max review







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Is now a good time to buy? Yes.

The iPhone Air is for early-adopters who prioritize being on the cutting edge. It’s also for those who want an ultra-thin design.

There are trade-offs though, such as reduced battery life and a single rear camera, but this is a phone with wow factor and bragging rights.


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Apple iPhone Air (2025) review







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Is now a good time to buy? Yes. But expect a new model in spring 2026.

The iPhone 16e launched in February 2025 and brought the Apple Intelligence features and a faster processor to the budget end of the iPhone lineup. It’s the cheapest way to get a future proof iPhone so we recommend it.

We expect that Apple will launch the iPhone 17e in spring 2026, but we don’t expect much more than a chip update, and the changes to the front facing camera seen on the 2025 iPhones. If you see a good deal on the iPhone 16e it’s worth taking advantage.


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Apple iPhone 16e review







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Is now a good time to buy? Yes.

If you want a larger iPhone and the iPhone 17 Pro Max is too expensive for you then the iPhone 16 Plus is your best option. Apple hasn’t launched an iPhone 17 Plus, so there is no longer an affordable option for those who want, or need, a bigger iPhone.







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Is now a good time to buy? No.

We would avoid the iPhone 16 because it really doesn’t offer good value for money when compared to the iPhone 17, which offers twice as much storage as well as all the other additional features of the 2025 range.


Read our full

Apple iPhone 16 review







Should I buy an old iPhone?

What if you see an older iPhone model on sale? When Apple introduces the new range of iPhone each September it tends to keep some of the previous year’s models on sale, but not all of them. Each September we see Apple discontinue the previous Pro models of the iPhone.

In 2025 Apple discontinued the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. It also stopped selling the 512GB models of the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus. These are all good options should you see them on sale at a cut price, just make sure you compare them to the current generation and be clear about what you are missing out on.

Should I buy an iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro Max?

Is now a good time to buy? Yes.

If you are lucky enough to find one on sale at a good price we recommend buying it.









Apple iPhone 16 Pro












Read our review


















Should I buy a iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max?

Is now a good time to buy? Maybe.

If you find one on sale at a good price we recommend buying it, but it would have to be a really good deal and we don’t expect to find a new model now.









Apple iPhone 15 Pro












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Price When Reviewed:

1 229 €




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€1086 at RueDuCommerce FR |
€1229 at Apple |
€1559 at Darty FR







Should I buy a iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Plus?

Is now a good time to buy? No.

We would advise against buying the iPhone 15 or 15 Plus because they do not support the Apple Intelligence features.









Apple iPhone 15












Read our review







Price When Reviewed:

969 €




Best Prices Today:


€515 at Darty FR |
€849 at Cdiscount FR |
€849 at RueDuCommerce FR







When is the worst time to buy a new 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 Apple 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 months after the launch.

When does Apple update the iPhone?




Chris Martin / Foundry

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

See when is the next Apple event to find out if an Apple event is imminent.

Apple usually updates the iPhone range at an Apple Event in September although sometimes it will hold an Spring Apple Event – although sometimes it just announces the news via press release, as it did the launch of the iPhone 16e in February 2025. The iPhone 17e is expected to be introduced in spring 2026.

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 usually reduce the price of the previous year’s iPhone when it introduces the new model – so expect Apple to discount its older handsets in September.

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




Foundry

When Apple introduces new iPhones it usually keeps the prices the same as the previous generation, at least in the U.S. (elsewhere there can be currency fluctuations to take account of).

In 2024 Apple reduced the price of the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus by $100/£100 in September 2024 when the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus were introduced.

The price of the iPhone 16 also dropped in 2025 with the arrival of the iPhone 17, but crucially this time the iPhone 17 has twice as much storage at the entry-level, so at only $100/£100 less but with half the storage the iPhone 16 really doesn’t look like a good deal.

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 17 or iPhone 17 Pro you will probably be disappointed. See our round-up of Best Black Friday iPhone deals for more.

Nor should you expect to get a discount in an Apple Black Friday sale. 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.

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, which happens in July and October every year. 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: When is the best time to buy a new iPhone?

The worst time to buy is usually between 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.