Apple’s iPhone is a decidedly premium brand of smartphone. Or to put it another way, iPhones have always been expensive.
While there’s still no such thing as a cheap iPhone, however, the line has expanded over the years to encompass multiple models at a broad range of price points. It might surprise you to learn that Apple currently lists six distinct current models on its website.
All of which begs the question: which iPhone gives you the best value for money?
‘Best value’ doesn’t mean the same thing as ‘cheapest’, of course. Value is all about getting the most for your money, while being cheap is all about the lowest price possible.
With that in mind, let’s focus on the value proposition of Apple’s current smartphone line-up.
The iPhone 12 mini isn’t the cheapest iPhone in Apple’s current line. In fact, it’s firmly middle of the pack. But it is the best value.
It’s the cheapest model in the wider iPhone 12 family. At £699, it’s £100 less than the iPhone 12 itself, £300 cheaper than the iPhone 12 Pro, and a considerable £400 cheaper than the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Despite this, it’s functionally identical to the iPhone 12 except for a smaller display and battery.
The iPhone 12 mini runs on the exact same A14 Bionic processor as the iPhone 12 Pro Max, but with 4GB of RAM as opposed to 6GB. Its two 12-megapixel cameras, meanwhile, are the exact same brilliant pairing as you’ll find in the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro.
You get access to the same MagSafe accessory and charging system with the iPhone 12 mini as you do with its big brothers, and it’s just as ready for 5G connectivity. All this and it will actually fit in your jeans pockets, and you’ll be able to use its vibrant 5.4-inch OLED display single-handed.
If you came here seeking to establish the cheapest iPhone on the market, then the answer is the iPhone SE. Launched in early 2020, the second iPhone SE will cost you just £399 up front, making it the most affordable phone Apple has ever made.
Despite this, the iPhone SE is plenty capable, with an excellent single-lens 12MP camera and the same A13 Bionic CPU that powers the iPhone 11 family. This one’s surprisingly future proof.
We wouldn’t label it the best value iPhone due to its old design - this is essentially an iPhone 8 with updated innards. Its 4.7-inch LCD display, meanwhile, doesn’t match up to the iPhone 12 family for sharpness or vibrancy.
But if you’re looking to get an iPhone for the lowest expenditure possible, the iPhone SE is comfortably your best choice.
While the iPhone 12 mini is our pick for the best value iPhone on the market, we suspect that most people will be best off with the iPhone 12.
We’ve established that it’s almost identical to the iPhone 12 mini in form and function, but there are two elements that make the iPhone 12 a better all-round proposition - if you’re willing to spend the £100 premium.
One is the simple matter of screen size. The iPhone 12 mini, by its very nature, is much smaller than you might be accustomed to. The iPhone 12’s 6.1-inch OLED display provides more of the space that most have become accustomed to for movie watching, game playing, and web browsing.
Also, the iPhone 12 has better battery life. The iPhone 12 mini’s battery is obviously smaller, and that leads to slightly inferior stamina - particularly when it comes to media playback.
While the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are without doubt the best phones Apple has every made, they’re not very good value.
The iPhone 12 Pro is remarkably similar to the iPhone 12, with identical proportions, an almost identical albeit slightly brighter 6.1-inch OLED display, and exactly the same A14 CPU. It has an extra (telephoto) camera, and can perform a couple of extra video tricks, but the photographic offering is otherwise very similar indeed.
We’d actually argue that the iPhone 12 Pro Max is better value, as you get an improved camera system with a much larger image sensor, a huge 6.7-inch display, and better battery life for just £100 more than the Pro. But it’s still the most expensive phone in the range at £1,099, and its core offering remains remarkably similar to the teeny-tiny iPhone 12 mini’s.
One other notable difference: Both Pros go with a more premium stainless steel finish. But while that’s slightly tougher and shinier than the aluminium finish of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini, it also makes them heavier.
Of Apple’s older models, only the iPhone 11 and iPhone XR continue to be offered as new. These are ostensibly good value at £599 and £499 respectively, but we wouldn’t recommend them over our other picks.
The iPhone 11 is the more compelling of the two, offering similar performance to the iPhone SE with a better triple–12MP camera system and 5.8-inch AMOLED display. But while the SE is a 2020 model, the iPhone 11 has been directly superseded. And for £100 more you can get the iPhone 12 mini which is prettier, more powerful, and better at taking pictures in most conditions (apart from zoomed-in shots).
As for the iPhone XR, while it’s the second-cheapest iPhone on the market, it’s now two-years old. This means it runs on an even older A12 CPU, which is neither as capable nor as future-proof as the iPhone SE’s A13.
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