iPhone SE (2020)

Launched: March 2016 / April 2020

Screen: 4in LCD / 4.7in OLED

Processor: A9 64Bit / A13 Bionic

Capacity: 16-64GB / 64-256GB

The original iPhone SE was essentially an upgrade from the iPhone S, occupying that handset space for users who wanted a cheap iPhone package for the best possible price. There were compromises along the way, not least the size of the screen. With a 4in screen and 8MP camera the iPhone SE wasn’t winning any awards, and probably not in the top 10 smartphones released that year at a time when Samsung was releasing the Galaxy S7 Edge and HTC brought out the HTC One. However, the SE filled a niche in that it gave iPhone lovers the chance to own an iPhone for even less, with straight up retail coming in at just over £400.

Fast forward four years and the iPhone SE made a comeback. The iPhone SE (2nd Gen) - or iPhone SE 2020, as it became known in tech circles - brought the SE concept bang up to date for modern smartphone users. Why Apple couldn’t come up with another name for it is beyond us, but it is precisely because it wanted to piggyback off the back of the original SE’s success that it opted for the 2nd Gen tag. The best monthly iPhone SE packages were revived, with major networks like Vodafone, EE and O2 happy to stock this ultra affordable iPhone among their catalogues. The iPhone SE 2nd Gen is smaller than the iPhone 12 Mini, and has inferior technical specs in terms of RAM and processor. But it still uses the A13 Bionic chip and a 12MP camera with f/1.8 capability, which makes it decent value for the size and price.

iPhone 11 Pro Max

Launched: September 2019

Screen: 6.5in OLED

Processor: A13 Bionic 

Capacity: 64-256GB

Just as the iPhone 12 Pro Max is bigger and bolder than the iPhone 12, serious Apple fans will seek out iPhone 11 Pro Max contracts knowing that this phone is quite some size larger  than the iPhone 11 Pro. With a screen size just over half an inch bigger than its predecessor, the iPhone 11 Pro Max lives up to its name on screen size alone, as the A13 Bionic processor and the 4GB RAM it uses deliver equal performance. It can make the most of your chosen iPhone unlimited data package as well as its smaller sibling, but it can do it bigger and in glorious technicolor thanks to its higher screen resolution.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max sits in a unique space in Apple’s handset catalogue in that it offers a pixel density, screen size and resolution only minutely inferior to its superior model, the iPhone 12 Pro Max. However, the serious compromise for anyone looking for 5G iPhone deals is that you can’t pick up an iPhone 11 Pro Max with 5G capability, but only you can decide if that is a compromise worth making.

iPhone 11 Pro

Launched: September 2019

Screen: 5.8in OLED

Processor: A13 Bionic 

Capacity: 64-256GB

Just as the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max offer more comprehensive storage options than the entry flagship iPhone 12, the iPhone 11 Pro also provides the option for up to 512GB storage. The iPhone 12 pro battery life runs to an impressive 10.5 hours, though thanks to the heftier tech specs it doesn’t quite last as long as either its baby or elder brother, the iPhone 11 Pro Max and iPhone 11. The triple lens camera that made its debut on the iPhone 11 Pro still saw Apple flag behind the likes of Samsung and Huawei, with the former releasing the Samsung Galaxy S10X the year before that featured a whopping four cameras on the back.

If one of your main intentions for your iPhone 11 Pro monthly plan is to take advantage of the A13 Bionic chipset and 5.8" Super Retina XDR display to stream your favourite shows on unlimited data contracts, you can still get a fair few episodes in with the iPhone 11 Pro before you’ll be reaching for your charger. Because the iPhone 11 isn’t the latest release in Apple’s vast product catalogue it means you can find cheap iPhone 11 Pro contracts at numerous service providers, with a year’s age knocking several pounds off its monthly premium. However, if you are searching for iPhone 5G deals you will have to step up your interest to the iPhone 12, the first iPhone produced with 5G capability.

iPhone 11

Launched: September 2019

Screen: 6.1in OLED

Processor: A13 Bionic 

Capacity: 64-256GB

The iPhone 11 was launched as one of the most customisable iPhones ever, coming in seven different colours, the most colour variation that iPhone monthly contracts have offered before or since. The A13  Bionic chip boasts a 64-bit six-core CPU, including two high performance cores and four efficient Thunder cores. The benefit of this kind of core workout? Superfast processing, meaning you can edit photos and video and stream shows like never before, provided you have a decent mobile Internet connection, of course. 

The many unlimited data iPhone plans offered by major networks like EE minor UK networks such as VOXI give the iPhone 11 plenty to work with when it comes to data needs. You can find iPhone 11 deals at all the networks featured on Best Mobile Contracts, with various packages and finance options available. Networks like Giffgaff provide the option to buy the handset outright or pay monthly, then top up with monthly data goodybags with options from 4G iPhone unlimited data contracts all the way down to 6GB plans. 

iPhone Xr

The iPhone XR was the first iPhone to use Apple’s A12 Bionic chipset, which was the first chip ever to be built on the 7nm node. Put simply, this made iPhone XR deals some of the most desired iPhone plans in history when it launched in October 2018. This revolutionary chipset made the iPhone XR 50% more efficient and 15% faster than its predecessors using the A11 chip, including its direct predecessor, the iPhone X. 

The iPhone XR’s 6.1in screen is an identical size to the iPhone 12 Pro, and is slightly heavier at 194g, affording the newer model a 18% weight advantage. The display on the iPhone XR is crisp enough and the 12MP camera can shoot in 4K at 60fps, but the triple lens of the newer model makes the iPhone 12 monthly plans much more appealing, as does the increase in screen resolution to make those graphics and streaming services that much crisper. We would say that the handset route Apple has gone down seems to have done away with the XR, XS route, but then it went and released the 2nd Gen iPhone SE. Will the XR make a 2nd Gen comeback? Only the design buffs in California know the answer to that one.

iPhone X

Launched: October 2017

Screen: 5.8in OLED

Processor: A11 Bionic

Capacity: 64GB-256GB

It’s fair to say that the iPhone X revolutionised the iPhone forever. It did away with the traditional round home button that had made iPhones so iconic, and instead veered towards the full glass screens long championed by competitors like Samsung, Huawei and HTC. In true Apple fashion the iPhone X spawned numerous subsets, the iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. This was a new kind of iPhone, a less iPhoney kind of iPhone, and with the advent of Apple’s IOS14 operating system it now affords access to neat features like Dark Mode and app speed improvements to make it even more attractive.

Like many phone handsets, however, the iPhone X can’t live forever. Its 12MP dual camera and 5.8in screen have been gazumped by the iPhone 12 offers available for similar prices. It may have been the handset that revolutionised the iPhone design for evermore, but as Apple’s A14 Bionic chipset revolutionised processing times it also signalled the end of the line for the iPhone X.

iPhone 8 Plus

Launched: September 2017

Screen: 5.5in LCD

Processor: A11 Bionic

Capacity: 64-256GB

Like the iPhone 8, the iPhone 8 Plus offers storage options between 64GB - 256GB, but unlike its smaller sibling it also has an option for 128GB as a middle ground. This provides more choice for anyone looking for cheap iPhone plans, giving you flexibility on built in storage options that will raise or lower your monthly contract payments accordingly. The iPhone 8 Plus is identical in size to the iPhone 7 Plus (actually it is 0.02 mm bigger, for any stats fans out there), but is actually heavier thanks to a greater use of glass - the iPhone 8 features a glass back to compliment its front. 

The battery life on the iPhone 8 Plus will see you reach for your recharger fewer times than when using the iPhone 8, boasting a 21hour standby time off a full charge. As with older models from competitors like Sony and Samsung, the iPhone 8 is the last of its kind and has finally made its way to the discontinued list in Apple’s vast catalogue.

iPhone 8

Launched: September 2017

Screen: 4.7in LCD

Processor: A11 Bionic

Capacity: 64-256GB

There was some hoo-hah when the iPhone 8 launched in 2017 with the news that the screen dimensions and overall size of the handset was identical to the iPhone 7, albeit a few grams heavier. Had Apple made many improvements to its predecessor? The iPhone 8 comes with 2GB RAM but is powered by the A11 Bionic processor, boasting speeds up to 75% faster than the efficient core processors of the A10 chip. This improvement was enough to tempt many users who upgraded their monthly iPhone contracts, proving that performance alone could be enough to drive sales of new handsets, even if the phone remained the same size.

Along with the improvement in chipset the iPhone 8 deals offered by major networks like O2 and Vodafone take advantage of the handset’s Bluetooth 5.0 technology, upgraded from the 4.2 version on the iPhone 7. The 12MP camera offered much the same picture quality as its predecessor, though the increase in processing speed and efficiency made for quicker reload time and improved burst capability. The iPhone 8 also allows you to shoot video at true 4K at 60fps, making super slow motion that year’s must have feature and paving the way for the professional camera capabilities modern iPhones feature as standard.

iPhone 7 Plus

Launched: September 2016

Screen: 5.5in LCD

Processor: A10 Fusion

Capacity: 128GB

Released at the same time as the iPhone 7, the iPhone 7 Plus deals offered by scores of UK networks including EE, O2 and Giffgaff, gave iPhone lovers a bigger, heftier phone with better resolution and the addition of a dual 12MP camera instead of a single camera lens. This gave iPhone users options for serious photographic play, around the same time that Huawei was signing deals with Leica to develop the camera capabilities of its handsets. While the iPhone 7 Plus camera capabilities may not be as advanced as the modern triple and dual cameras now standard in the latest smartphone releases, it still offers plenty for a handset of its time. 

On top of its impressive camera specs the iPhone 7 Plus is nearly an inch bigger than the iPhone 7, with a screen size of 0.7 inches bigger. The opportunities for streaming shows using unlimited data iPhone plans offered by the likes of EE and Three Mobile make for better viewing on a bigger screen, though the 4G nature of the iPhone 7 means the package you’ll be looking for on this classic handset will be firmly 4G.

iPhone 7

Launched: September 2016

Screen: 4.7in LCD

Processor: A10 Fusion

Capacity: 32-128GB

Apple made a curious decision with its design of the iPhone 7 in that it only comes in either 32GB or 128GB storage options, meaning it is either feast or famine for any minimalists or hoarders of photos and files. As always you have access to Apple’s iCloud storage plans, which would be a necessity if you took out one of the many available cheap iPhone 7 packages offered by any of the various UK mobile operators featured on Best Mobile Contracts, including Vodafone, Virgin Mobile and iD Mobile. 

The iPhone 7’s 12MP camera forms the basis of the camera used on the iPhone right up to the iPhone 12 Max Pro, highlighting just how much of a nifty bit of kit it is. At 138g it weighs a touch more than the iPhone 12 Mini, but much less than staple iPhone releases. Overall it offers bargain hunters access to cheap iPhone deals while still offering a level of technical quality you would expect in today’s smartphone landscape. 

iPhone 6S

Launched: September 2015

Screen: 4.7in LCD

Processor: A9 64 bit

Capacity: 16-128GB

The iPhone 6S features a 12mp camera - a massive improvement from the iPhone 6, which launched a year prior but only featured an 8mp camera. iPhone 6s contracts also became instantly popular with Apple fans as it was also the first iPhone ever to have the capability to shoot video in true 4K definition. Make no mistake, the iPhone 6s was a serious step towards the iPhones that we have today, making a bold innovative leap from those that had come before. The 4.7in screen sits someway short of the screen sizes of the phones available on pay monthly iPhone deals offered by today’s UK mobile networks, while the A9 64 bit processor was innovative for its time but now seems more than dated.

Every mobile network features the latest iPhone packages as immediate headline grabbers for any smartphone user looking for new contracts. The age of the iPhone 6s means that these deals are some of the cheapest iPhone plans you will find, with EE, O2 and Three Mobile all featuring iPhone 6s monthly contracts as part of their catalogues. While you might have to compromise on the kind of quality of the likes of the iPhone 12 Pro Max, you will save a hatful on your monthly payment plan by taking advantage of the age of these handsets.

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