Where to buy Apple's iPhone 6s and 6s Plus in the UK
If you hadn't made a note in you diary, then let us remind you: new iPhone day is upon us. Apple's iPhone 6s and 6s Plus launch in 12 countries today, and one of those just happens to be the sunny UK. As the "s" qualifier denotes, the flagships are iterative improvements over last year's models, with more powerful innards, better cameras and pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" displays. But let's be frank, any new product bearing an Apple logo has an army of consumers waiting with bated breath. Some will have queued outside their nearest Apple Store for the past 24 hours, and others will have pre-ordered their devices from the comfort of their sofas, but if you've taken a more measured approach to iPhone procurement, then let us walk you through your options.
iPhone 6s
Cheapest contract (with upfront) | £17.50 (£630) | £38 (£99) | £36 (£149) | £40 (£140) | £32 (£169) on Voda | £22 (£360) on EE | £25 (£200) on EE |
Cheapest contract (lowest upfront) | £54 (£10) | £61 (£9) | £54 (£9) | £55 (£29) | £44 (£0) on Voda | £45 (£0) on EE | £44 (£0) on Voda |
Pay-as-you-go | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Unlocked (SIM-free) | -- | -- | -- | -- | £539 | -- | -- |
Pricing based on 16GB model. Higher storage capacities will be more expensive. | |||||||
Given the popularity of the iPhone brand, it's not surprising to see your contract options are numerous, and relatively expensive. If you're after the best possible iPhone 6s deal, though, then we'd advise you check out the contract resellers before any of the big four carriers. At odds with the major providers, they're offering the 6s with no upfront payment, and some of the cheaper monthly contracts give you quite respectable voice/text/data allowances to work with.
A handful of MVNOs have the iPhone 6s available on day one, too. You can buy a 16GB model from giffgaff outright for £539, or pay as little as £28.54 per month with a £30 upfront payment. Virgin's contract options start at £34 per month with no upfront, and Carphone Warehouse's iD network is also in the mix, with upfront payments from £30 to £200 determining your monthly spend and allowances.
If you'd rather just shell out for an unlocked model and be done with it, you won't find anywhere selling the 6s cheaper than Apple's online store or preferred retailers like John Lewis, where prices start at £539 for 16GB of storage.
iPhone 6s Plus
Cheapest contract (with upfront) | £17.50 (£730) | £43 (£99) | £41 (£169) | £45 (£180) | £33.50 (£220) on iD | £27 (£330) on EE | £32 (£229) on Voda |
Cheapest contract (lowest upfront) | £47.50 (£10) | £66 (£9) | £64 (£9) | £60 (£50) | £64 (£0) on Voda/O2 | £55 (£9) on EE | £64 (£0) on Voda |
Pay-as-you-go | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Unlocked (SIM-free) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Pricing based on 16GB model. Higher storage capacities will be more expensive. | |||||||
Again, you've got your pick of carriers and contract resellers, but the iPhone 6s Plus' bigger screen commands a higher price. There are still a few options, however, that only require a small down-payment, or none at all.
All the MVNOs ranging the smaller 6s are also offering the 6s Plus, though both Virgin and giffgaff have no stock currently. It's worth noting that stock levels for the 6s Plus don't seem particularly healthy anywhere, with alerts and delivery delay notices appearing on several of the websites we've visited to pull all this together. Carphone Warehouse has a couple of contract options on its iD network, however, with upfront payments ranging from £60 to £220.
Like the iPhone 6s, you won't find an unlocked 6s Plus for less than Apple is willing to sell you one for. Pricing starts at £619 for the 16GB model, but whether you're looking at Apple's website or John Lewis', stock levels are a common problem.
