Suppose Twice: Now Is a Horrible Time to Improve Your iPhone

Apple’s iPhone 16 lineup may very well be proper across the nook. Retaining this in thoughts earlier than upgrading your iPhone might enable you avoid wasting money — or forestall you from experiencing a severe case of purchaser’s regret.

Usually talking, shopping for a brand new iPhone proper earlier than the subsequent mannequin launches is not a clever transfer. Even in case you do not care about having the newest and biggest know-how, there are good causes to attend. Holding off means you will have a greater sense of whether or not it is price upgrading to the latest mannequin, or in case you’re higher off snagging the previous-generation iPhone for rather less cash. 

Apple by no means discusses new merchandise earlier than it is able to announce them, so it is unattainable to know the corporate’s future plans for the iPhone. However traditionally, Apple has launched new iPhones in mid-September, with availability starting the week following the corporate’s launch occasion.

This is a more in-depth have a look at Apple’s typical product launch timeline, what to anticipate from the iPhone 16 and extra.

Learn extra: iPhone 16 Design Rumors: New Buttons and Greater Screens

Watch this: iPhone 16: A New Button for the Greatest Improve Yr But

The most effective time to purchase a brand new iPhone

The iPhone 15 family lineup The iPhone 15 family lineup

The iPhone’s pricing does not change a lot all year long.

James Martin/CNET

There actually is not a “finest” time to purchase a brand new iPhone. Apple does not change its pricing construction fairly often, and carriers and retailers often supply comparable trade-in reductions all year long.

Nevertheless, the autumn is often a sensible time to buy an iPhone. Ready till the brand new model arrives lets you make an knowledgeable resolution about whether or not it is price upgrading or hanging onto your present cellphone for an additional yr.

Normally, we usually suggest upgrading in case your cellphone is greater than two generations previous. But it surely’s additionally price remembering that the brand new options Apple simply introduced as a part of Apple Intelligence will solely be obtainable on iPhones with new chips just like the iPhone 15 Professional and Professional Max.

In case you are making the change to the newest iPhone, it’s possible you’ll need to take into account ready till it has been in the marketplace for a few weeks or months if potential. Doing so might make it simpler to get the coloration and storage capability you need, since demand is often excessive instantly following the iPhone’s launch. Ready additionally ensures that you just’re conscious of any potential bugs or points earlier than upgrading, comparable to the iOS 17’s overheating problem that first impacted some iPhone 15 Professional items final yr.

The worst time to purchase a brand new iPhone

Apple iPhone 15 Apple iPhone 15

The iPhone 15 on show at Apple’s iPhone launch occasion in 2023.

Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Whereas there might not be a finest time to purchase a brand new iPhone, there definitely is a worst time: late July by early September. In different phrases, do not buy an iPhone proper earlier than Apple launches a brand new one.

New iPhones often embody digicam upgrades, a recent processor (particularly on the Professional fashions) and different options, such because the Dynamic Island, which debuted on the Professional in 2022 however made its technique to the common iPhone 15 in 2023. Shopping for the present mannequin proper earlier than Apple launches a brand new one means you are lacking out on these enhancements for basically the identical worth you’d pay for the next-generation iPhone.

You might not care about having the latest iPhone. Perhaps your present cellphone is 4 years previous, and also you simply need to improve to one thing that feels sooner with longer battery life. Both method, you must wait. Apple often reductions fashions from earlier years when launching new iPhones, because it did in 2023 with the iPhone 14, which it now lists for $699. The 2-generation-old iPhone 13 now sells for $599 by Apple, which is $200 cheaper than its $799 beginning worth when it arrived in 2021.

It is also price noting that Apple permits returns for 14 calendar days from the date you obtained the product. If Apple adjustments the value of a product, you can also additionally request to be credited again the distinction in worth so long as you accomplish that inside 14 days of the alteration. However Apple’s coverage notes that you will have to have obtained that product inside 14 calendar days of the value change.

I Took 600+ Pictures With the iPhone 15 Professional and Professional Max. Take a look at My Favorites

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What to anticipate from the iPhone 16

iPhone 15 Pro Max with modified camera lens and the neon number 16 on a black background iPhone 15 Pro Max with modified camera lens and the neon number 16 on a black background

The iPhone 16 (not pictured) is predicted to launch in September. 

Apple/CNET

With that in thoughts, you could be questioning whether or not it is price ready for the iPhone 16. It is unattainable to know precisely what to anticipate till Apple declares the subsequent iPhone. However rumors and experiences counsel the next adjustments may very well be in retailer for Apple’s subsequent batch of iPhones:

  • Bigger display sizes on the Professional fashions, in line with Bloomberg, MacRumors and analysts Ming-Chi Kuo and Ross Younger.
  • A devoted digicam button, doubtless only for the Professional fashions, and the Motion button on common iPhone 16 fashions, in line with Bloomberg and MacRumors.
  • A tetraprism 5x telephoto digicam on the iPhone 16 Professional, in line with Ming-Chi Kuo. This kind of digicam is at present solely discovered on the bigger and costlier iPhone 15 Professional Max.
  • A brand new processor, doubtless referred to as the A18 or A18 Professional.

What to think about when shopping for a brand new iPhone

iPhones in Apple Store iPhones in Apple Store

iPhones on show in an Apple Retailer.

SOPA Photographs/Getty Photographs

There are a number of components to remember when shopping for a brand new cellphone. Your funds is the most important consideration, since it’s going to dictate your choices. In any other case, you will need to determine what you are hoping to get out of your new cellphone.

Do you usually use your cellphone for images and videography tasks and wish the very best digicam in an iPhone? If the reply is sure, the Professional fashions are the way in which to go. Display measurement can also be vital. You probably have a desktop pc and a cellphone, however nothing that matches in-between like a private laptop computer or a pill, you may want a cellphone with a big display for studying emails and watching movies. If that is the case, take into account the Plus or Professional Max mannequin. (In actual fact, two analysts predict Apple will retire the Plus mannequin after releasing the iPhone 16 Plus.)

Then there are final yr’s fashions. Shopping for final yr’s cellphone is usually a worthwhile choice if you need a bigger display and do not need to shell out an additional $100 for the latest Plus mannequin. Proper now, for instance, Apple sells the iPhone 14 Plus for $799, the identical worth as the usual iPhone 15. Apple often helps its telephones with software program updates for about 5 years, so you must nonetheless be capable to get a superb period of time out of an iPhone that is a technology behind. However once more, do not forget that you will not get entry to a few of Apple’s new software program options which are part of Apple Intelligence.

General, when shopping for a brand new iPhone, you will need to keep away from purchasing proper earlier than the brand new one comes out and take into consideration your priorities and funds. We’ll have extra recommendation to share as we be taught extra about what to anticipate from the iPhone 16.


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