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iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus pre-order tariffs revealed

iphone_6
Nick Durrant
Nick Durrant
Credit Club Copywriter
15 September 2015

Top of the range mobiles are never MoneySaving, and after every big new launch it's best to wait for the top deals. But if you must get your hands on the latest iPhone 6S and 6S Plus straight away, we've rounded up the tariffs with the cheapest upfront and cheapest monthly costs so far.

The handsets, which were unveiled on 9 September by Apple, are currently available for pre-sale with fans able to get their hands on them from Friday 25 September.

The new 6S Plus comes with a 5.5inch screen, compared to the 4.7inch screen of the 6S. Both come in silver, gold, space grey and now rose gold, with an A9 chip, a 12 megapixel camera and '3D Touch' – a pressure-sensitive display that allows for more advanced interaction with apps. For further specs, see our iPhone 6S and 6S Plus launch MSE news story.

Not all prices have been released yet so it's too early to do a full analysis of the best value tariffs – as soon as we can, we'll update the tariffs and top picks in our Cheap iPhone Tool. But in the meantime, we've collated a list of some of the cheapest prices so far.

Weigh up the cost

Before you take the plunge...

  • Consider getting a mobile that doesn't come with a hefty price tag – see our Cheap Mobiles guide for help getting the best deal.

  • If you're desperate for an iPhone, consider getting an older model. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are still available to buy new and both include many of the features of the 6S, including the iOS 9 operating system. It's also likely the launch of the 6S and 6S Plus will force prices of older models down – so look out for a deal. An unlocked iPhone 5S for example, has fallen in price since the announcement of the new models from £459 to £379 for the 16GB model, and from £499 to £419 for the 32GB model.

  • If you still know you want the latest iPhone, ensure you do a comparison first to get the best deal for your average usage. Check cashback sites to see if you can save money (see our Cashback Sites guide), or try to haggle a good deal, especially if you've been a loyal customer for several years.

Buying an unlocked handset

Often the cheapest way to buy a swanky new smartphone – if you can afford it – is to buy an unlocked handset upfront and pair it with a cheap Sim-only deal, rather than tie yourself in to a lengthy 24-month contract.

Buying the unlocked handsets directly from Apple will cost the following (available for pre-order now to be delivered from 25 Sept):

iPhone 6S prices (incl VAT)

  • £539 for the 16GB model

  • £619 for the 64GB model

  • £699 for the 128GB model

iPhone 6S Plus prices (incl VAT)

  • £619 for the 16GB model

  • £699 for the 64GB model

  • £789 for the 128GB model

Buying on a pay-monthly contract

If you can't afford to pay a hefty upfront fee, your only option is to go for a handset on a pay monthly contract. However, beware even here some providers charge upfront fees on top of the monthly cost, and may also increase prices in line with inflation each year.

Below we compare contracts for new customers with the lowest upfront cost and the lowest monthly cost sold by the major networks and top third-party retailers. To aid a comparison, we've also included the cost of buying the handset directly from Apple and pairing it with one of our top pick Sim-only deals from Giffgaff (see our Cheap Mobiles guide for other plans).

Remember, this is a snapshot – these may not be the cheapest overall tariffs, not all tariffs have yet been released and tariffs are likely to fall. So if you're determined to go ahead now, crunch the numbers and do a full comparison yourself.

iPhone 6S tariffs

The table below details the tariff from each major provider with the lowest upfront handset cost (bear in mind allowances vary):

Lowest upfront cost (and higher monthly cost) – iPhone 6S (16GB)

Provider Upfront cost Monthly cost Inclusive minutes Inclusive texts Inclusive data (i) Total cost over 24mths
Apple direct + Giffgaff* Sim £539 £12 500 Unlimited 2GB £827
Carphone Warehouse (ii) N/A £44 Unlimited Unlimited 2GB £1,056
EE* £29.99 £54.99 Unlimited Unlimited 10GB £1,349.75
MobilePhonesDirect* (ii) N/A £50 Unlimited Unlimited 20GB (iii) £1,200
O2* (iv) £9.99 £54 Unlimited Unlimited 20GB £1,305.99
Tesco Mobile N/A £42 5,000 5,000 3GB £1,008
Three* £99 £38 Unlimited Unlimited 1GB £1,011
Virgin Media N/A £34 250 Unlimited 250MB £816
Vodafone* £9 £54 Unlimited Unlimited 10GB £1,305

Prices correct as of 14 Sept. All tariffs are 24-months barring Giffgaff, which is a PAYG 30-day Sim-only bundle. (i) All plans come with 4G data barring Virgin Media, which only offers 3G. (ii) Tariff is with Vodafone. (iii) Unlimited data for the first three months. (iv) Includes two years' damage and breakdown cover.

The table below details the tariff from each major provider with the lowest monthly cost (again, allowances vary):

Lowest monthly cost (and higher upfront cost) – iPhone 6S (16GB)

Provider Monthly cost Upfront cost Inclusive minutes Inclusive texts Inclusive data (i) Total cost over 24mths
Apple direct + Giffgaff* Sim £12 £539 500 Unlimited 2GB £827
Carphone Warehouse (ii) £32 £169 500 Unlimited 500MB £937
EE* £44.99 £99.99 1,000 Unlimited 2GB £1,179.75
MobilePhonesDirect* (ii) £36 £249.99 Unlimited Unlimited 8GB (iii) £1,113.99
O2* £17.50 £629.99 Unlimited Unlimited 1GB £1,049.99
Tesco Mobile £42 N/A 5,000 5,000 3GB £1,008
Three* £38 £99 Unlimited Unlimited 1GB £1,011
Virgin Media £5 £696 250 Unlimited 250MB £816
Vodafone* £36 £149 500 Unlimited 500MB £1,013

Prices correct as of 14 Sept. All tariffs are 24-months barring Giffgaff, which is a PAYG 30-day Sim-only bundle. (i) All plans come with 4G data barring Virgin Media, which only offers 3G. (ii) Tariff is with Vodafone. (iii) Unlimited data for the first three months.

iPhone 6S Plus tariffs

The table below details the tariff from each major provider with the lowest upfront handset cost (allowances vary):

Lowest upfront cost (and higher monthly cost) – iPhone 6S Plus (16GB)

Network/retailer Upfront cost Monthly cost Inclusive minutes Inclusive texts Inclusive data (i) Total cost over 24mths
Apple direct + Giffgaff* Sim £619 £12 500 Unlimited 2GB £907
Carphone Warehouse (ii) N/A £64 Unlimited Unlimited 20GB £1,536
EE* £49.99 £59.99 Unlimited Unlimited 20GB £1,489.75
MobilePhonesDirect* (iii) N/A £54 Unlimited Unlimited 10GB (iv) £1,296
O2* (v) £9.99 £59 Unlimited Unlimited 20GB £1,425.99
Tesco Mobile N/A £46 5,000 5,000 3GB £1,104
Three* £99 £43 Unlimited Unlimited 1GB £1,131
Virgin Media N/A £39 250 Unlimited 250MB £936
Vodafone* £9 £59 Unlimited Unlimited 10GB £1,425

Prices correct as of 14 Sept. All tariffs are 24-months barring Giffgaff, which is a PAYG 30-day Sim-only bundle. (i) All plans come with 4G data barring Virgin Media, which only offers 3G. (ii) Tariff is with O2. (iii) Tariff is with Vodafone. (iv) Unlimited data for the first three months. (v) Includes two years' damage and breakdown cover.

The table below details the tariff from each major provider with the lowest monthly cost (allowances vary).

Lowest monthly cost – iPhone 6S Plus (16GB)

Network/retailer Monthly cost Upfront cost Inclusive minutes Inclusive texts Inclusive data (i) Total cost over 24mths
Apple direct + Giffgaff* Sim £12 £619 500 Unlimited 2GB £907
Carphone Warehouse (ii) £33.50 £219.99 300 5,000 500MB £1,023.99
EE* £46.99 £139.99 Unlimited Unlimited 2GB £1,267.75
MobilePhonesDirect* (iii) £36 £299.99 Unlimited Unlimited 10GB (iv) £1,163.99
O2* £17.50 £729.99 Unlimited Unlimited 1GB £1,149.99
Tesco Mobile £46 N/A 5,000 5,000 3GB £1,104
Three* £43 £99 Unlimited Unlimited 1GB £1,131
Virgin Media £5 £816 250 Unlimited 250MB £936
Vodafone* £41 £169 500 Unlimited 500MB £1,153

Prices correct as of 14 Sept. All tariffs are 24-months barring Giffgaff, which is a PAYG 30-day Sim-only bundle. (i) All plans come with 4G data barring Virgin Media, which only offers 3G. (ii) Tariff is with iD Mobile (runs off the Three network). (iii) Tariff is with Vodafone. (iv) Unlimited data for the first three months.

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