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Best iPhone 16e pre-order deals in the UK
The latest smartphone boasts an A18 chip, USB-C, Apple Intelligence and an action button
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Your support makes all the difference.The iPhone SE is no more – or at least, not in the way we know it. Apple has announced the iPhone 16e, an upgraded version of its budget iPhone that brings it closer to the rest of the iPhone 16 line-up.
Looking a lot like the iPhone 14 (notch and all) but with upgraded internals. The iPhone 16e features the same A18 chip found on the iPhone 16, as well as the same 6.1in Super Retina XDR OLED display and support for Apple Intelligence.
It also boasts a much larger battery compared to the iPhone SE 3 and iPhone 11, making it Apple’s longest-lasting budget iPhone yet. It’s also the first iPhone to ditch Qualcomm’s 5G chip, instead featuring a new Apple in-house C1 modem for 5G connectivity, promising better efficiency and power management.
But while the iPhone 16e offers a substantial upgrade, it also comes with a significant price jump that has certainly left us surprised. At £599 for the 128GB model, it costs £150 more than the iPhone SE 3, pushing Apple’s entry-level iPhone further into mid-range territory. Here’s everything you need to know about the smartphone, including the best pre-order deals.
Apple iPhone 16e: From £599, Apple.com
The home button is officially gone. While the iPhone 14’s notch remains, the iPhone 16e boasts an action button, Face ID and USB-C connectivity. As mentioned above, it has the same 6.1in OLED display as the iPhone 16, doing away with the LCD display found on the iPhone SE.
The most noticeable difference between it and the other iPhone 16 models is that it only has one camera. Featuring a new 48MP lens, Apple says that it’s like having two cameras in one because it can zoom in two times without losing clarity. Other omissions include the lack of MagSafe on the rear, though it is wireless chargeable (albeit slowly), and no ultra-wideband chip inside, making AirTags less useful.
Apple also says that the iPhone 16e lasts up to six hours longer than the iPhone 11 and up to 12 hours longer than all generations of iPhone SE.
The iPhone 16e is available in two finishes – matte black and matte white, with a glass back and aluminium frame. It comes in 128GB, 256GB and 512GB storage sizes, and starts from £599. You can pre-order the phone now and it will go on sale this Friday.
Best iPhone 16e trade-in deals
Pre-orders for the iPhone 16e opened on Friday 21 February, and while you won’t find any deals on the latest iPhone 16e outright, the Apple Store and third-party retailers offer trade-in deals which will lower the total cost. We’ve found the best trade-in offers and deals from Apple, John Lewis and Amazon.
Best Apple Store iPhone 16e trade-in deals
Apple never slaps any discounts onto its iPhones, but you can get a pretty hefty saving by trading in your current smartphone. You can get up to £655 off your new iPhone 16e by trading in an iPhone 15 Pro Max, paying for your new iPhone 16e in full (with an Apple Store gift card topped up with the remaining balance.
Of course, most people upgrading to an iPhone 16e won’t be rocking an iPhone 15 Pro Max, however. If you’re upgrading from an iPhone 14, you’ll get up to £310, while those upgrading from an iPhone SE 3 can get up to £120. Those with an iPhone 13 or iPhone 13 Pro Max can get up to £345, while those with an iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro can get up to £255.
Best John Lewis iPhone 16e trade-in deals
Like the Apple Store, you can also trade in your current smartphone at John Lewis to lower the cost of your iPhone 16e purchase. If you trade in an iPhone 15 Pro Max, you can get up to £546 off your new iPhone 16e. Even one of the oldest smartphones (an iPhone 11) could get you up to £137 on trade-in. John Lewis takes more than just iPhones, however, so you can also trade in an Android smartphone to lower the cost.
Best Amazon iPhone 16e trade-in deals
If you’re an Amazon die-hard and have stacks of Amazon gift cards ready to be used, as well as a phone to trade in, it might be worth buying your new iPhone 16e direct from Amazon. Amazon sources out its trade-in program to Ingram Micro, who is offering up to £525 if you trade in an iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Again, most people aren’t trading in an iPhone 15 Pro Max. however. If you’ve got an iPhne 13 Pro, you can get up to £245, while an iPhone 12 Pro Max could be worth up to £205.
Best iPhone 16e pre-order carrier deals
Major carriers like Vodafone, Three and EE have just launched their best iPhone 16e pre-order deals. If you’re looking to pair your smartphone with a new contract, the likes of Sky Mobile, EE, O2 and Vodafone have slashed the price on data and have thrown in additional perks. Below, we’re rounding up the best and cheapest contract deals from all the major carriers.
Best Three iPhone 16e pre-order deals
Three is currently offering the best iPhone 16e pre-order deals amongst the carriers we’ve looked at. You can get the iPhone 16e with 5GB of data £25 per month with £25 up-front. You can also get 150GB of data for £31 per month, with a £25 up-front cost.
If you customise your Three plan, you can also get up to 24 months of Paramount+, up to 56 days inclusive roaming, in over 160 worldwide destinations and up to three years extended warranty on the handset, as well as a free screen repair.
Best Sky Mobile iPhone 16e pre-order deals
Sky Mobile will have the second-best iPhone 16e pre-order deals when it launches its pre-order deals on Tuesday 25 February. You can get the iPhone 16e from just £20 per month with no up-front cost. If you want more internal storage, the 256GB model starts from £23 per month. The 512GB is available from £29 per month, but there is a £24 up-front fee.
You do have to add on a data plan, which makes Sky’s plans pricier than Three’s. You can get 3GB of data for £7 per month, taking the cheapest contract to £27 per month. There are other perks if you take out a contract with Sky Mobile, however. The carrier has a piggybank system, which rolls your unused data into a virtual pot that you can share with your family, use in future months, or even exchange for rewards. The carrier also lets you stream on any Sky app, such as Sky Go and Sky Sports, without using any of your data.
Best Mobiles.co.uk iPhone 16e pre-order deals
Online mobile phone shop Mobiles.co.uk, owned by Currys, has some impressive iPhone 16e deals on a per-month basis, but the up-front costs can be high (though not as high as buying an iPhone 16 outright).
If you want lots of data, then Mobiles.co.uk has one of the best 500GB data plans we’ve seen. A contract with the Currys-owned iD Mobile (which uses Three’s network) starts from £29.99 per month with a £9 up-front cost. If you want unlimited data, then you can grab a contract with Vodafone starting from £27 per month, though you’ll have to pay £155 up-front.
Best Vodafone iPhone 16e pre-order deals
Vodafone doesn’t have the best iPhone 16e pre-order deals this year, offering the highest price for the smallest data plans. Right now, you can get the iPhone 16e starting from £25 per month with a £30 upfront cost. It comes with 1GB of data.
That said, Vodafone does have some of the best trade-in offers amongst the carriers. You can save up to £260 with Vodafone’s trade-in guarantee when you swap in your current iPhone.
Best EE iPhone 16e pre-order deals
EE always offers the most expensive iPhone deals amongst the carriers, and that’s no different for the iPhone 16e. You can get the handset and a 5GB data plan for £39.22 per month, plus £30 up-front with a 5GB per month data allowance on a No Frills Plan for iPhone and a 36 month Flex Pay agreement
All of EE’s contracts last 36 months. EE is also offering the Apple One bundle subscription as part of its Full Works for iPhones package, costing £63.22 per month with a £30 up-front cost. If you opt for the Full Works plan, you’ll get Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and 50GB of iCloud+ for 24 months, as well as unlimited data in the UK, EU and beyond on your phone and Apple Watch.
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