March has turned out to be a good month to buy a new phone. The Samsung Galaxy S25 is £100 ($129.40) cheaper, while Google slashed the Pixel 9 Pro price over the weekend. Now, the Apple iPhone 16 range has joined in via Amazon’s new Spring sale.
Amazon U.K. has slashed the price of the iPhone 16 range, with the iPhone 16e being the only device to miss out on a discount. The reductions are substantial, too—a common theme with Amazon’s sales. The retailer has recently established itself as one of the cheapest places to buy smartphones, with some caveats, which I will touch on later. For now, here are the new iPhone 16 prices.
- Apple iPhone 16 128GB – £699 ($904.49), down from £799 ($1033.88)
- Apple iPhone 16 Plus 128GB – £799, down from £899 ($1163.28)
- Apple iPhone 16 Pro 128GB – £899, down from £999 ($1292.68)
- Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 128GB – £1,099 ($1422.07), down from £1,199 ($1551.47)
The £100 discount appears to apply to all devices, all colors and all storage variants. Last year’s slowly disappearing iPhone 15 is also included in the sale, with only the iPhone 15 Pro Max now down to £899 from £1,119. If you’re doing the smart thing and planning to buy an iPhone 15 to save money, then pick up a Pro model.
The base iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus do not support Apple Intelligence. That might not be important for now, but Apple will integrate AI further into iOS and the iPhone experience in the months and years to come. It is better to take the futureproofed option.
Hit And Miss Amazon iPhone 16 Trade In Options
Amazon’s cheap smartphone pricing is balanced by some inconsistent trade-in pricing. In the U.S., the internet retailer’s valuations pale in comparison to Samsung’s pricing. Here’s a snippet from a recent Galaxy S24 sale.
- Galaxy S21 Ultra – $650 Samsung, $135 Amazon
- Galaxy Note 20 Ultra – $400 Samsung, $130 Amazon
- Galaxy S8 Plus – $300 Samsung, $5 (yes, $5) Amazon
- Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max – $300 Samsung, $140 Amazon
- Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max – $300 Samsung, $220 Amazon
- Google Pixel 5 – $300 Samsung, $35 Amazon
In the U.K., Amazon partners with Ingram Micro to handle trade-ins. British shoppers are typically subject to poor swap pricing and it’s no different here.
A realistic trade-in, such as the Galaxy S21 Ultra, is valued at a maximum of £110 ($142.34). The same phone has fetched between £150 ($194.10) and £200 ($258.79) on eBay. The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max is valued at £255 by Amazon, whereas recent eBay auctions show that the same handset is selling for over £350 ($452.89).
Of course, there’s a lot more rigmarole involved when selling on the secondary market, including sellers’ fees, but that gap between the valuations is wide. There’s also no guarantee that Amazon will fulfil its estimate after the phone is evaluated. The upside is that Apple rarely discounts its flagships, so Amazon’s combined discount and trade-in option is still one of the better deals around for an iPhone 16.
