iPhone 16 and 16 Plus preorders start today — these are the best deals
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While we were aware of the iPhone 16’s upcoming release for quite some time, the ability to find iPhone 16 preorder deals has just begun. But where should you order yours from? We’ll take a look at all of the places offering the new iPhone, highlighting the best preorder deals available. Here, we’re tackling the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, which are grouped together on Apple’s site. We’ll cover the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max preorders separately. The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will be available on September 20th.
Please note that getting the best deal from the Apple store is, in fact, tricky. Follow along with our guide to get your best price.
iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus — Apple preorder guide
When you arrive at the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus order page you’ll see the most important info at the top of the page (bordered in red in the image above). But, the “save up to” number on some of these deals is higher than the price of the phone itself. That means fine print. Here’s our analysis of what things mean based on what we’re seeing. Tap the button below to follow along with our guide.
Apple’s iPhone 16 and 16 Plus carrier deals — AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile
Getting your new iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Plus with a carrier deal from AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile can be done easily from the store, but isn’t necessarily straightforward. To do so, you need to start with a trade-in. Do this under the “Apple Trade In.” menu and select the model you want to turn in, assessing its value based on its condition. You’ll get the best value if it is completely functional, but even if you tell Apple that your phone is not in good condition (for example, it might have a dent or two) then you’ll still be able to answer a questionnaire and get some value. Please note that Verizon gives the same value for any phone in any condition. Also note that you may quality for the iPhone Upgrade Program, in which case you should follow the relevant steps to get more information.
Here’s where it gets awkward. There’ll be a quote for an “up to” price on your trade in. If you finance through a carrier, it won’t be accurate. The good news is you’ll be getting more if you follow these steps to get the best deal. You might even get extra if you get the iPhone 16 Plus over the regular iPhone 16. The bad news is that you’ll need to press some buttons to check.
Once you’ve selected your phone to trade in and done the self-assessment, tap ‘Finance’ under payment options and then tap ‘Carrier’ for the best special deals. Your screen should look similar to the image above. Then, scroll down to select between AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon. You’ll see your individual offer based on the phone version, data size, and phone you intend to trade in. They’re even better than the “Only at Apple” deals, which want you to choose a carrier as well.
Under each carrier, you’ll see the real total trade credit amount in orange, as well as the monthly payment. If you’re on a budget, you can go up and change the version of the phone or the storage amount to compare prices. You won’t have to re-enter your trade-in phone, but you will need to tap the “Carrier” button again as it resets (this is not entirely obvious).
We were able to find the best deals from this process with T-Mobile. With T-Mobile, trading in an iPhone 15 Pro Max gave us an iPhone 16 Plus with 256GB of data for $0.00/month.
Apple’s iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus deals — Boost Mobile
If you want to get your new iPhone signed up under Boost Mobile, however, you won’t have to do a trade-in. Right now you can get the iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Plus with Boost Mobile for as low as $0.00/month over 36 months, though you’ll still owe $5.53/month on the 512GB iPhone 16 Plus. Additionally, you’ll get between $799 and $1,000 in Boost Mobile bill credits, depending on the options you choose. Note that you’ll need to be on the Boost Mobile Infinite Access Plan for the duration of the term. This plan costs $65/month, or $780 per year. This phone is free but you’ll still be paying for service, just like with any other carrier-based plan.
If you don’t have a phone to trade in and aren’t tied to a carrier, Boost Mobile is one of the best ways to get an iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 preordered on the cheap.
AT&T’s iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus preorder deals
AT&T’s iPhone 16 deals are very straightforward. At this time you can get an iPhone 16 for free with a trade in or save up to $830 off of the iPhone 16 Plus with an eligible trade-in. To put that into perspective, it drops the monthly payment on the phone from $25.84 over 36 months to just $2.78 over those same 36 months. Tap the button below to see AT&T’s full iPhone lineup and choose the appropriate offer for you.
Note: While we’re covering the iPhone 16 Pro elsewhere, you should also know that you can get the iPhone 16 Plus for free with a trade in, just like the iPhone 16.
Boost Mobile’s iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus preorder deals
The first thing to note about all Boost Mobile offers is that they require no phone trade ins. You’re just good to go with what you have.
One offer that we’re seeing is for you to get a full year of Boost Mobile wireless service for free when you purchase an iPhone 16 at full price. This is a total value of $300, $600, or $720 respective to their Unlimited, Unlimited+, or Unlimited Premium plans. You can also get $1,000 off any iPhone 16 (including Plus, Pro, and Pro Max) with Boost Mobile’s Infinite Access Plan. This $65 per month plan gives unlimited 5G data, global roaming, and have access to their annual iPhone upgrade plan (a value of up to $830 per year). Which route you take depends on how much you value a robust plan with more data usage allowed.
Tap the button below to check out iPhone deals on Boost Mobile’s website. You can also find the Boost Mobile iPhone 16 deal and Boost Mobile iPhone 16 Plus deal on Amazon.
Verizon’s iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus preorder deals
No matter the condition of your current phone, you can walk away with enough credits to get a free iPhone 16 from Verizon. Here’s how their deals work:
For the standard iPhone 16, just enter your old phone model in the store page to see if it qualifies. Again, condition doesn’t matter. Then, sign up with a new Unlimited plan from Verizon and you’ve got the newest iPhone 16 coming your way and (at least for the 128GB model) enough credits to pay for it over the next 36 months.
Surprisingly, we’re finding a very similar deal from Verizon for the iPhone 16 Plus. The big difference? You’ll need to sign up for an Unlimited Ultimate plan instead.
To make this plain, if you’re going to get an iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Plus from Verizon, it all boils down to which plan you want. If you want the Unlimited Ultimate plan, go for the Plus. Likewise, if you want the Plus, go for the Unlimited Ultimate plan. Otherwise, the standard iPhone 16 might be for you. Tap the button below for Verizon’s full selection and make the choice you want.
T-Mobile’s iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus preorder deals
The best way to get a new iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Plus is if you’re on or ready to get 5o5G Next. 5o5G Next is a wireless plan that offers consistent annual phone upgrades and promises that existing customers will always get the same deals as new customers. It also comes with extra goodies like Apple TV+ and Netflix at no extra cost. So, let’s see how signing up with 5o5G Next can help your purchase, and what you can do if you don’t have it.
If you’re eyeing a regular iPhone 16, you can get up to $1,000 off (enough for an iPhone 16 with extra storage for free) if your trade in an eligible device on your Go5G Next plan. If you don’t have 5o5G Next, you can switch to it now to get the deal. If you’re not interested in 5o5G Next, you can still get a lower storage version of the phone with a Go5G Plus plan and a trade in. You can also get an iPhone 16 from them with a trade in and a new standard Go5G plan.
Meanwhile, the best deal you can get on the iPhone 16 Plus is for the trade in with 5o5G Next, but again you can switch to it to get the deal. Other offers exist to explore as well, with the best being $830 with a new standard 5o5G line and a trade in or with a trade in on 5o5G Plus. Be sure to tap the button below to check out these and all other T-Mobile iPhone offers.
Best Buy’s iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus preorder deals
Finally, though Apple and carrier sites are the unsung heroes of iPhone preorder deals, Best Buy is tipping their toes into the fray. At least a little bit. You can get an iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Plus via AT&T or Verizon from their site at the moment, saving up to $1,000 on trade ins.
Why go with Best Buy over other retailers? Their acceptable trade in brand list is pretty huge. This means if you have something that isn’t eligible on another site, it might still fetch you something on Best Buy. Plus, if you’re still floating some Best Buy credits from a previous deal or have something from a return, now is a good time to use it up.
