You’ve all been on the edge of your seat for months, and now the wait is over: the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have been released by Apple. Despite the fact that untold numbers of people have rushed to purchase the phones for them and their families, is the purchase of a new iPhone really the best choice? It’s important to understand all the features and what cost considerations there might be before you commit. Based on what version of the iPhone you currently have, it may also not be necessary to upgrade right now: anyone with an iPhone 4S or older can reasonably consider an upgrade, however. For those who are ready to upgrade, we’ll discuss the costs of the new iPhones – both with a contract and without – in order to help you find the best overall deal.
Because owning an iPhone comes with a premium price tag attached, it makes sense that you’d want to find the lowest overall cost of ownership. Unfortunately, iPhones vary in price more due to the model than they do where you buy them. Because of these subtle and hard to spot differences, we’ve done our research to help you out in this regard. A variety of carriers and stores are now offering the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, with great deals available from sources like EE, Three and Vodafone on data, talk and text to go with it. Not only have we covered contract-based solutions, but we’ve looked around for the best pricing on SIM-only deals as well.
iPhone 6 SIM-Only Solutions
Because a new version of the iPhone releases almost every single year, many owners of Apple products will find themselves ineligible to upgrade to the newest device without forking over a large amount of cash. Other simply don’t want to be locked into a contract. In either case, purchasing the new iPhone 6 will cost you a hefty amount. Despite looking for and wide, the cheapest iPhone prices you’ll find (that are guaranteed to be legitimate, unlike some offers on eBay) are around £539 for the 16GB version of the iPhone 6. If you want to move up and get more storage space in the iPhone 6, then you’ll have to pay between £619 and £699 for the 64GB and 128 GB models. Taking advantage of the iPhone 6 Plus’ larger screen adds to your total cost, resulting in £619 for the 16GB model, £699 for the 64GB model and a whopping £789 for the 128GB model. More info on the SIM only solutions can be found at SIM Only Expert’s website.
iPhone 6 Contract Solutions
While you’ll only need a SIM card to begin using your new iPhone 6, you may wish to save more by entering into a contract with a major carrier. There are several options out there offered by multiple carriers; we’ve scoured for the best deals for those who use tons of data, those who love to talk and those who use their phones on a relatively minimal basis.
With Vodafone, you can find a £26 per month contact for two years that includes 100 minutes of talk, unlimited texting, and 100 megabytes of 3G data. The price of the iPhone 6 under contract comes out to £249. At the end of it all, you’ll spend around £875 over two years for this plan. Another option for those who use more data offers 2GB of 3G data with unlimited calling and texting, all for just £43 per month with an upfront cost of £50 for the iPhone. This total cost of ownership works out to £1,100 over two years.
Three also provides its customers with multiple contracts to consider. Unlike Vodafone’s variable upfront pricing, all Three contracts include both a £99 upfront fee and unlimited talk/text; your total price will only vary based on what data packages you select. A 1 GB data plan will cost you just a little over £1000 for two years, while unlimited data will be approximately £1320 for twenty four months.
Last but not least, EE’s offerings are something any contract user should consider. For the base iPhone 6, EE offers an upfront cost of just £29, but you’ll pay £51 per month for unlimited calling and texting (with 2 GB of data). This works out to about £1250 over two years. If you pay a larger portion of the phone’s cost upfront (£379), then you’ll be able to secure 1GB of data, unlimited text and 1,000 minutes of talk time for £20 per month, bringing the total cost to £680 over 24 months.
While the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 is significantly larger than previous iPhones, it still has the smallest display of any flagship you can buy. In fact, now that the Moto X has ballooned to an unwieldy 5.2 inches, the only other halfway decent, recent phone this far south of 5 inches is the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact.
SIM Only is a good type of contract but I would rather go for an Android because they’re cheaper to buy without a contract.