Best time to buy an iPhone in 2026: When prices drop & which model to buy

Apple typically announces new iPhone models in September. Carriers often roll out their most aggressive trade-in offers and promotional deals around this time to entice customers to upgrade.

New releases: Waiting for the September (or spring) launch window is generally a good strategy if you want the latest model at a potentially better subsidized price.

Check your contract cycle: Many carrier contracts today last 24 to 36 months. If you’re nearing the end of your contract, you’re in a strong position to negotiate or take advantage of upgrade offers. However, upgrading mid-contract may involve paying off the remaining balance, so it’s worth checking your specific terms.

Consider the iPhone Upgrade Program: Apple offers a scheme called the iPhone Upgrade Program, which works with your carrier and starts at $39.50/£42.95 per month. This program lets you upgrade to the new iPhone each time one is announced, staying on the same or a very similar plan.

Apple follows a well-established annual rhythm for its iPhone updates, with the primary event taking place in September each year.

Apple typically unveils its new iPhone lineup at a dedicated Apple Event in September. Pre-orders usually open on the Friday following the announcement, with devices shipping and arriving in stores a week later.

Apple also occasionally introduces new iPhones outside the September window and in the past it has held a Spring Apple Event at which more affordable iPhones have launched. The iPhone 17e, for example, arrived in March 2026, and the iPhone 16e launched in February 2025.

Compatible iPhone models also get a yearly operating system software update with new features than can make your old iPhone feel new again. The major iOS updates follow the September schedule.

Read our guide to the next Apple event to find out if an Apple event is imminent.

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.

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.

However, in 2026 Apple is expected to raise prices due to the increasing prices for memory.

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. 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 June or 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.

Yes, buying a refurbished iPhone is absolutely worth it for most people, especially if you want to save money without sacrificing quality.

Buying refurbished is a great way to “pick up a bargain” while still getting a premium device. You can typically save 15% to 30% compared to buying new, and sometimes much more on older models.

A common misconception is that refurbished is the same as buying a used phone from a stranger, though. It’s not. A used phone is sold “as-is,” with no guarantee it will work properly. A refurbished phone has been professionally inspected, tested, and repaired if needed, and it comes with a warranty.

If you want the highest quality, Apple’s own refurbished store is the gold standard.