While we were aware of the iPhone 16’s upcoming release for quite some time, the official announcement and features overview just dropped — as did the ability to find iPhone 16 preorder deals. But where should you order yours from? We’ll take a look at all of the places offering the new iPhone, highlighting the best preorder deals available. Here, we’re tackling the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, which are grouped together on Apple’s site. We’ll cover the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max preorders separately. The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will be available on September 20th.
Please note that getting the best deal from the Apple store is, in fact, tricky. Follow along with our guide to get your best price.
When are iPhone 16 preorders available?
Before we jump in, you should be aware of something. You can plan your preorder today, but you won’t be able to execute it until later. Store pages on Apple are up, but it seems you can’t check out until 5:00 AM PDT on the September 13. Note that some carrier-specific deals say “Get ready on 9.11” while others say “Pre-order on 9.13” though what exactly differentiates getting ready from preordering is not fully apparent at this time.
In many ways, this is actually good news for you. Why? Apple’s page is somewhat complex and getting the best preorder deal can take some time. We’re going to show you how to get the best preorder deal from Apple (and any other retailers that pop up along the way) but you’ll still want to take your time and play around with the site before making the purchase. If you feel rushed on launch day, fearing a sell out, you might make a mistake. We recommend going through this process now, bookmarking this page, and double checking for any updates on Friday before making your preorder.
We expect to see more deals available once from other retailers once they become officially available on the 13th.
Where are the best iPhone 16 preorder deals?
As of this writing, we’re not seeing any preorder deals hosted on sites outside of Apple. The product isn’t listed with Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart, or even on carrier sites like AT&T, though we do have an early glimpse of what AT&T will be offering once their preorders go up on the 13th. There is a silver lining in all of this, however, in that Apple is hosting carrier specific deals on their site. In other words, it is still going to have most of the best iPhone 16 preorder deals.
iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus — Apple preorder guide
When you arrive at the you’ll see the most important info at the top of the page (bordered in red in the image above). If you aren’t too particular about the details this early, this should be enough to get you going until Friday. But, the “save up to” number on some of these deals is higher than the price of the phone itself. That means fine print. Here’s our analysis of what things mean based on what we’re seeing. Tap the button below to follow along with our guide.
Apple’s iPhone 16 and 16 Plus carrier deals — AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile
Getting your new iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Plus with a carrier deal from AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile can be done easily from the store, but isn’t necessarily straightforward. To do so, you need to start with a trade-in. Do this under the “Apple Trade In.” menu and select the model you want to turn in, assessing its value based on its condition. You’ll get the best value if it is completely functional, but even if you tell Apple that your phone is not in good condition (for example, it might have a dent or two) then you’ll still be able to answer a questionnaire and get some value. Note that you may quality for the iPhone Upgrade Program, in which case you should follow the relevant steps to get more information.
Here’s where it gets awkward. There’ll be a quote for an “up to” price on your trade in. If you finance through a carrier, it won’t be accurate. The good news is you’ll be getting more if you follow these steps to get the best deal. You might even get extra if you get the iPhone 16 Plus over the regular iPhone 16. The bad news is that you’ll need to press some buttons to check.
Once you’ve selected your phone to trade in and done the self-assessment, tap ‘Finance’ under payment options and then tap ‘Carrier’ for the best special deals. Your screen should look similar to the image above. Then, scroll down to select between AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon. You’ll see your individual offer based on the phone version, data size, and phone you intend to trade in. They’re even better than the “Only at Apple” deals, which want you to choose a carrier as well.
Under each carrier, you’ll see the real total trade credit amount in orange, as well as the monthly payment. If you’re on a budget, you can go up and change the version of the phone or the storage amount to compare prices. You won’t have to re-enter your trade-in phone, but you will need to tap the “Carrier” button again as it resets (this is not entirely obvious).
We were able to find the best deals from this process with T-Mobile. With T-Mobile, trading in an iPhone 15 Pro Max gave us an iPhone 16 Plus with 256GB of data for $0.00/month.
Apple’s iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus deals — Boost Mobile
If you want to get your new iPhone signed up under Boost Mobile, however, you won’t have to do a trade-in. Right now you can get the iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Plus with Boost Mobile for as low as $0.00/month with a 36 months contract, though you’ll still owe $5.53/month on the 512GB iPhone 16 Plus. Additionally, you’ll get between $799 and $1,000 in Boost Mobile bill credits, depending on the options you choose. Note that you’ll need to be on the Boost Mobile Infinite Access Plan for the duration of the term. This plan costs $65/month, or $780 per year. This phone is free but you’ll still be paying for service, just like with any other carrier-based plan.
If you don’t have a phone to trade in and aren’t tied to a carrier, Boost Mobile is one of the best ways to get an iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 preordered on the cheap.
AT&T’s iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus preorder deals
AT&T’s iPhone 16 preorder deals aren’t yet available in the shop. But we do have a sneak peek as to what they’ll entail. According to our sources you’ll be able to get the iPhone 16 “on us” (that’s AT&T speaking) with an eligible trade in phone and can get up to $830 off of the iPhone 16 Plus with an eligible trade in phone. For more guidance, check out and tap the button below to check out their selection of Apple phones, which will include the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus when it is available for preorder.
