Thinking about upgrading tomorrow when iPhone 16 preorders go live? You're not the only one. As deals editor at TechRadar, I've been watching this launch closely, trying to determine which promotions to recommend to our readers looking to save as much as possible.
I've put together a detailed iPhone 16 deals guide but there's one promotion that's my current favorite right now. It's Verizon's excellent trade-in rebate of up to $1,000 off for both existing and new customers. This is a deal that's also likely to be combined with a free iPad 10.9 and Apple Watch SE.
While you can't opt for a preorder just yet, this is likely to be the best value deal overall if you're looking to bundle up your device with a speedy unlimited data plan at one of the major carriers.
The best iPhone 16 deal, in my opinion...
The real crux of this deal is whether Verizon will offer that free iPad 10.9 and Apple Watch SE 2 alongside the trade-in rebates. This is a deal that the carrier has offered on the iPhone 15 models for a while now so it seems likely it'll return tomorrow, although I can't say for certain.
It's worth noting that the freebies come with glaring caveats - namely you'll need to pay for additional cellular lines to claim them. These usually come in at $5/mo for the smartwatch line and $10/mo extra for the tablet line so you'll still be paying out some cash throughout a 36-month plan, even if the devices are 'free'.
Still, it's often a saving versus simply buying the device outright if you want a cellular version of these devices in particular.
Other strong candidates for best deal
There are other iPhone 16 deals that are likely to be very strong candidates for tomorrow's preorders.
It's hard to ignore Apple's trade-in rebates of up to $650, for example. The Apple Store will be the only choice for those looking to get a discount on an unlocked device thanks to Apple's annoying policy of being the sole exclusive vendor for brand-new devices without the carrier plan. With that said, $650 off is a solid deal and combining it with a cheap cell phone plan could see you paying much less versus the usual big carriers - even if they do offer up to $1,000 off the device.
Another good option for those on a budget might be Boost Mobile's 'Infinite Access for iPhone' plan, which usually bundles in a device alongside an unlimited data plan for as little as $65/mo. That will be unbeatable as an overall package but the unlimited data plan on offer here is unlikely to be as speedy as those at the major carriers. Boost's unlimited plan caps out at 30GB of 5G data, but it does come with a free device upgrade every year, which is damn great value overall.
If you're looking for more information on these new devices, you can check out our hands-on in-progress iPhone 16 review, iPhone 16 Plus review, iPhone 16 Pro review, and iPhone 16 Pro Max review pages.
