What is the cheapest iPhone?

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Y'all're impressed past the iPhone's features. You honey its iconic design. You appreciate how Apple's control over both the hardware and software makes for an integrated experience envied by Android users. But fifty-fifty with all that, you nevertheless balk at paying the top dollar that Apple'due south iPhone commands.

Not to worry — information technology's pretty easy to discover the cheapest iPhone. The biggest question is whether that inexpensive model tin can run into your needs.

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iPhone SE: The cheapest iPhone Apple tree sells

Earlier this year, Apple rebooted the compact phone information technology starting time introduced in 2016, releasing a new model that mimics the iPhone 8's size and screen. The iPhone SE 2020 also inherited the iPhone viii'southward title of the cheapest iPhone you can buy from Apple at $399. And it's a title the iPhone SE retains to this day, fifty-fifty after Apple tree cut the prices on some existing devices afterward introducing four new iPhone 12 models in the fall. (More on those discounted older phones in a moment.)

The price of the iPhone SE may exist discounted, merely non all of its features are. Yous'll have to settle for just one camera — all four new iPhone 12 models have at to the lowest degree 2 — and like the iPhone 8 before it, the iPhone SE has an LCD panel instead of an OLED screen. In fact, at present that the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 both utilize OLED panels, the iPhone SE is the only telephone with an LCD screen released past Apple this year.

But the iPhone SE doesn't compromise in other areas. It's powered by an A13 Bionic flake, the aforementioned mobile processor Apple introduced final year for its iPhone xi lineup. Bottom line: you're getting a low price with the iPhone SE, simply the performance should top many of the best cheap phones. We've got an in-depth look that outlines what's changed in the iPhone SE 2020 vs. the iPhone 8.

Reasons for Getting the iPhone SE: Low price; Widely available from all carriers; Under 5-inch screen size volition appeal to fans of meaty phones; state-of-the-fine art processor.

Reasons for Avoiding the iPhone SE: Simply ane camera; LCD screen; Mesomorphic bezels relative to today's all-screen designs; Smaller battery than nearly every other available iPhone.

As for the iPhone 8 and iPhone eight Plus, you'll continue to observe them at retail outlets and via wireless carriers — hopefully at reduced prices.

cheapest iphone: iPhone XR — iPhone XR (Image credit: Future)

The side by side cheapest iPhone later the iPhone SE is still the iPhone XR, which came out in 2018 and features an A12 Bionic bit. Apple has kept it in the iPhone lineup fifty-fifty after the iPhone 12 release, but cut the price by $100. Yous can now become an iPhone XR for $499 — with some prices even lower depending on what deals are bachelor.

cheapest iphone: iPhone 11 — (Image credit: Future)

The 6.1-inch iPhone eleven is the only model from the 2019 iPhone xi family unit to withal be on offer at Apple. (The iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max are gone, though wireless carriers and retailers nonetheless sell those devices.) With the iPhone 12 mini now starting at $699, the toll of the iPhone eleven has been cut to $599.

Other cheap iPhone options: Used phones

Of course, the iPhone SE is only the cheapest iPhone on sale at Apple. Yous can find inexpensive phones elsewhere, typically older models sold by discount carriers. Equally of this writing, for instance, Verizon-owned Visible is selling a refurbished iPhone 10 for $350. The iPhone 11 Pro Max is on sale at Metro by T-Mobile for $799.

Going the refurbished route is one manner to get a discounted iPhone, and if yous want to buy a used phone with confidence, Apple has its ain pre-owned offerings. The selection isn't extensive, but you tin usually around $200 off an iPhone that's just a generation or two old. You won't find the cheapest iPhone here, but it is a overnice compromise betwixt paying full price for a new telephone and having to settle for a much older model.

Otherwise, retailers and reseller sites offer a selection of older iPhones at discounted prices. Over again, you won't be getting the nearly up-to-date models if you store for a used smartphone, but you can detect more recent iPhone models for prices that rival what Apple charges for a new iPhone SE. (Just be aware that the the steeper the discount, the less likely your "new" phone will make it in pristine condition.)

The cheapest iOS device isn't really an iPhone

In that location'south one other way to become an iOS device on the cheap, but information technology depends on how strongly you feel about the phone role of the iPhone. Apple continues to sell the iPod touch, now up to its seventh generation.

The $199 model essentially boasts the same specs equally an iPhone 7, only without the ability to connect over cellular networks. That means you'll be limited to using Wi-Fi for surfing the web, sending messages or using apps that crave some sort of internet connectivity.

cheapest iPhone: iPod 7th generation — (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

For some users, though, that may be enough, especially because that the iPod bear on supports the latest version of iOS. It also tin can download the very same App Store offerings bachelor to the iPhone. If yous don't conceptualize making telephone calls from your iOS device, the iPod touch represents a inexpensive way to stay connected to Apple'south vast iOS ecosystem, without having to pay big bucks for an iPhone.

Philip Michaels is a senior editor at Tom'southward Guide. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics and quondam movies. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.