If Apple had its way, iPhones would be a strictly annual purchase: September comes, new models drop, everyone gets out their wallet. Instead, most customers upgrade their handset every two or three years, and plenty hang on longer than that. But eventually, whether because your handset starts to show its age or the new models become just too tempting, youll start to think about ditching the old phone and buying a new one.
Is that really the right decision? Here are three key factors you need to consider before splashing the cash on a new iPhone.
At the time of writing, its early June. The iPhone 17 will launch in three and a half months, at which point the rest of the range will get a price cut. Whichever model youre looking at right now is likely to be around $100 cheaper in September, and youll have an entirely new set of phones to choose from on top of that.
So you should wait, right? Probably. But the question is more complicated than that. When new phones come out, demand shoots up, and that often means its difficult to even find a vendor with stock. Its also very unlikely youll find a good deal within a month of the launch; worthwhile discounts start appearing later in the cycle.
Thats before we get into tariffs, and the possibility that Apple will raise prices at some point. Panic-buying is unwise for various reasons, but if you wanted to buy soon anyway, its worth keeping all potential factors in mind.
You can see its a tricky business, so weve got an in-depth article discussing the thorny question of when is the best time to buy an iPhone. But the short answer is that now is probably not the best timing.
Open the iPhone comparison page on Apples website and the table will default to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, 16, and 16e, all released within the past 12 months. Those are the phones Apple wants you to buy. But youll often find better-value options from older generations.
The iPhone 15 Pro from 2023, for example, comes with a super-fast A17 Pro chip, supports Apple Intelligence, and has very few functional differences from the iPhone 16 Pro. Yet, assuming you can find stock at this point, itll cost you a whole lot less. And the iPhone 15, which starts from a very reasonable $699 and is still available from Apples store and elsewhere, is a superb all-rounder.
The key is to unplug the part of your brain that craves the new, and focus on what you need and what you can do without. If youre determined to have Apple Intelligence, then the iPhone 15 wont do, but if you can take it or leave it, then buying the iPhone 16e, which sacrifices much in order to be AI-ready, would be an extravagance. Decide on your priorities: battery life, processing power, camera, design, dimensions? Then focus your expenditure on those areas and look for savings elsewhere. Our iPhone buying guide has in-depth advice.
And finally, dont ignore the substantial savings that can be made by buying refurbished or second-hand.
The iPhone 15 is still a good option. Dont discount it (but hope that retailers do). Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Frustrated that your iPhone isnt the slick speedster you remember from launch day? Smartphones do slow down as they age, but you might be surprised how long they can last without this becoming an issue. Try these tricks to rejuvenate your iPhone before you consign it to the landfill.
Check (and potentially replace) the battery: One of the most obvious signs of smartphone age is reduced battery performance, but this might be an illusion caused by changes in usage: charging less often than you used to, running more demanding apps, spending more time on the screen each day. Check your iPhones battery health for a scientific verdict; if thats the problem, you can replace the battery for much less than the entire phone.
Update iOS regularly: Bugs and behavioral peculiarities get ironed out in smaller iOS updates, while more major ones may contain optimizations to make your handset run more smoothly. If you havent updated your iPhone in a while, do so now and see if it helps. Update your apps regularly, too.
Free up storage space: iPhones can slow down if they run out of available storage; if your iPhone storage is almost full, its worth having a clear-out. You can manage this in Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
Monitor the temperature: This might sound odd, but iPhones run slower when theyre too hot or too cold. The weather could be the problem, not your phones age.
Turn off Low Power Mode: This mode is great for stretching battery life, but it does this by making some features run more slowly (or not at all). If the iPhone seems slow and this is activated, try turning it off.
Check if the iPhone is really the problem: Performance doesnt just depend on your iPhone hardware, and if the bottleneck is elsewhere upgrading would be a waste of money. If internet performance is slow, check your Wi-Fi. If one app seems particularly slow, try running it on a friends device to see if the problem remains. You need to be absolutely certain that the iPhone is the problem.
iPhones are seriously expensive, and its important to be sure that youre going to get full value for your money. Do you need a new iPhone, or do you just want one? Your wallet (and the environment) wont forgive you for upgrading before its really necessary.
If youre sure, however, the only question remaining is where to get the lowest price. And for that, wed recommend a visit to our best iPhone deals roundup. Happy shopping!
