Budget pick
March 2026
iPhone 17e
from £599
Screen
6.1"
Chip
A19
You want a new iPhone, on iOS, for the smallest possible spend.
Updated May 2026 . iPhone 17 line current
Which iPhone to buy in the UK in 2026
Apple sells seven iPhones in the UK right now. Prices start at £599 for the iPhone 17e and stop at £1,199 for the iPhone 17 Pro Max. The brand-new iPhone 17e arrived in March 2026, replacing the iPhone SE as Apple's budget option. This page shows the full lineup, the maths, the rules and a picker to find your model.
7
iPhones on sale in the UK
From iPhone 16 to iPhone 17 Pro Max
£599
Cheapest new iPhone
iPhone 17e, 256GB, SIM-free
5 yrs
Minimum UK security support
Guaranteed by Apple under the PSTI Act
~50%
UK smartphone share
iOS vs Android in {{ $annee }}
The real iPhone question
It is not "should I buy an iPhone". It is "which one".
Roughly half of all smartphones sold in the UK are iPhones. If you are reading this page, you have probably already decided on iOS. The real question is whether the £599 iPhone 17 does what the £1,199 iPhone 17 Pro Max does, what you lose by going cheaper, and what UK law actually guarantees you in terms of updates.
Most "best iPhone" guides skip the only piece that matters: the maths. Below you get the seven UK models, what the support clock means in plain words, and a picker that takes 30 seconds.
Every iPhone on sale today
The full UK iPhone lineup in May 2026
Filter by tier. Prices are Apple's UK SIM-free starting price for the lowest storage on offer.
Best value
September 2025
iPhone 17
from £599
Screen
6.3"
Chip
A19
The standard model. 120Hz screen, dual camera, Action button. The sensible default for most UK buyers.
Last year, lower price
September 2024
iPhone 16
from £599
Screen
6.1"
Chip
A18
Same Apple Intelligence as the 17, one chip generation older. Worth it only if you find a real discount.
Bigger, cheaper
September 2024
iPhone 16 Plus
from £699
Screen
6.7"
Chip
A18
A 6.7" iPhone that costs hundreds less than the Pro Max. No telephoto camera, no 120Hz.
Thinnest ever
September 2025
iPhone Air
from £999
Screen
6.5"
Chip
A19 Pro
The slimmest iPhone Apple has ever made. Single rear camera. Picked for the design, not the spec.
Pro features
September 2025
iPhone 17 Pro
from £1,099
Screen
6.3"
Chip
A19 Pro
Triple camera, 120Hz ProMotion, titanium frame, longer battery. The keep-it-five-years choice.
Best iPhone
September 2025
iPhone 17 Pro Max
from £1,199
Screen
6.9"
Chip
A19 Pro
Biggest screen, longest battery, full camera stack. Everything Apple sells, in one phone.
Prices verified May 2026 via the Apple UK compare page. Starting price is for the lowest storage option Apple sells. Network and retailer prices vary.
Interactive tool
Find your iPhone in 4 questions
Answer four questions, get a recommended model and a runner-up. The picker matches your answers to one of seven UK buyer archetypes and pulls the right iPhone from Apple's full 2026 lineup. No email required, no contract signed.
Question 1 of 4
Move the slider to your maximum SIM-free spend. Pay Monthly contracts cost more in total, so set this lower than your monthly comfort suggests.
£500
£1,300
Question 2 of 4
The longer you keep it, the more the Pro chip and 120Hz screen pay back.
Question 3 of 4
Only the Pro models have the telephoto (zoom) lens. The standard models have a great main camera.
Question 4 of 4
Smaller phones suit one-handed use; larger phones suit reading, gaming and video.
Your iPhone archetype
Also worth a look
Result updates live as you change your answers. Apple UK SIM-free prices, verified May 2026.
UK law, plain words
How long Apple actually has to update your iPhone
Since the UK PSTI Act came into force in April 2024, every smartphone maker has to publish a minimum software-support period for each model sold in Britain. Apple's published minimum is 5 years of security updates from the first sale date.
In real life, Apple does more than that. iPhones typically receive 6 to 8 years of major iOS updates. The iPhone 15 is guaranteed to get security patches until at least 22 September 2028. The iPhone 17 line should comfortably reach 2030, possibly 2032 for the Pro models.
Why the support window matters more than the spec sheet
A £599 iPhone supported for 7 years costs you £7.13 per month in raw hardware terms. A £399 mid-range Android supported for 3 years costs you £11.08 per month. The "cheaper" phone is more expensive per year of safe use. This is the maths Apple does not put on the box, but it is the single biggest reason iPhones win on total cost of ownership.
Sources: UK Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022, Apple PSTI compliance statement, endoflife.date/iphone. Verified May 2026.
The maths most articles skip
Outright vs Pay Monthly: a worked example
Same phone, same network. Two ways to pay. The total cost is rarely the same.
| Option | Upfront | Monthly | Total over 24 mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Buy iPhone 17 outright + SIM-only £599 SIM-free, £10/month SIM with 30GB |
£599 | £10 | £839 |
|
Pay Monthly contract (24 mo.) Typical 24 GB Pay Monthly bundle, mid network |
£30 | £38 | £942 |
|
Difference over 24 months |
£103 cheaper outright | ||
Indicative figures based on a typical mid-network 24-month Pay Monthly bundle for the iPhone 17 (256GB) against a 30GB SIM-only deal at £10/month, May 2026. Your actual numbers will vary by network and credit profile, but the direction is almost always the same.
Insider angle
The hidden subsidy: iPhone resale value
Apple sets UK launch prices high, then does almost no public discounting. Networks rarely undercut Apple by more than 5 to 10%. This looks like a problem; it is actually how Apple keeps the second-hand market strong.
Because new iPhones do not fall in price, used iPhones do not collapse either. Two-year-old iPhones routinely sell for 50 to 60% of their launch price on Music Magpie, CeX and eBay. Two-year-old Samsung flagships sell for 35 to 45%. Mid-range Androids lose half their value in 12 months.
What this means for you
If you upgrade every two years and trade in your old phone, your real iPhone cost is roughly:
(Launch price) - (Resale value after 24 months) = real cost
An iPhone 17 Pro at £1,099 that resells for £560 in 2 years cost you £539 to own. A £800 Galaxy S that resells for £320 cost you £480. The price gap on the box almost vanishes once you account for trade-in.
This is not an argument for the most expensive iPhone. It is an argument against assuming "the cheap one" is always cheaper. Run the trade-in number before you decide.
iPhone FAQs
The Selectra expert answers your questions
For most UK buyers the iPhone 17 at £599 is the sensible default: a 120Hz display, the new A19 chip and the same Apple Intelligence features as the Pro. Pick the iPhone 17e (also £599) only if you want the smallest, lightest current iPhone. Pick the Pro or Pro Max if you keep your phone five years or longer, or you rely on the telephoto camera.
Apple legally guarantees a minimum of 5 years of security updates under the UK PSTI Act 2022. In practice, iPhones receive 6 to 8 years of major iOS updates. The iPhone 15 is officially supported until at least September 2028; the iPhone 17 line should comfortably reach 2030 and beyond.
Almost always cheaper outright (or on 0% finance) plus a SIM-only plan. A typical 24-month iPhone 17 contract bundles £14 to £18 a month for the handset on top of the airtime. Over 24 months that often totals £200 to £300 more than buying the phone outright and pairing it with a £10 SIM-only deal.
Yes. iPhones typically retain 50 to 60% of their original price after two years on the UK second-hand market. Samsung Galaxy flagships hold around 35 to 45%. Mid-range Android phones lose half their value in the first year. The trade-in gap is one reason a Pro Max can be cheaper to own than a mid-range Android over two upgrade cycles.
Apple Intelligence is the on-device AI feature set introduced with iOS 18.1. It runs on iPhone 15 Pro, all iPhone 16 models, and every iPhone 17, Air and 17e. Older iPhones do not get it because they lack the required Neural Engine performance and 8GB of RAM.
Only if you find a real discount. The iPhone 16 still gets Apple Intelligence and at least 5 more years of security support. But Apple keeps the SIM-free price the same as the iPhone 17, so the 17 is the better buy at retail. Look at refurbished and network-discounted 16s if you want to save £100 or more.
The iPhone 17e launched in March 2026 as Apple's new budget tier, replacing the iPhone SE. It uses the same A19 chip as the iPhone 17 but with a 6.1" 60Hz screen, a single rear camera and a smaller battery. Both start at £599, so the e makes sense mainly if you prefer the smaller body. If size is not an issue, the standard iPhone 17 gives you more for the same money.
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