The cheapest ways to get a new iPhone

iPhone deals and carrier comparisons

Plus: Apple event thoughts, the best new iOS 26 feature, and an anti-snooze alarm app

Jared Newman   |   September 16, 2025

Hey there! I’m Jared Newman, a longtime tech journalist, and you’re reading the free edition of Advisorator, my weekly tech advice newsletter. Did someone share this newsletter with you? Sign up to get it every Tuesday.

Heads-up: The timing of next week’s newsletter will be a little wonky as I celebrate Rosh Hashanah on Tuesday and head back home from my parents’ place the next morning. I’ll either send the newsletter Tuesday night or hold it until Wednesday evening depending on how things go. Thanks for bearing with me!

Every year, the major U.S. carriers promise free iPhones in exchange for long-term contracts, but the longer I’ve been tracking these offers, the more convoluted they’ve become.

To get that supposedly-free iPhone, you might need a pricier wireless plan that could cost you more in the long run, as all these deals require multi-year service agreements. And if your current phone is more than a few years old, you may not qualify for the full discount either way. The math doesn’t always compare favorably than switching to a cheaper carrier and buying a new phone outright.

Now that Apple’s announced a slew of new iPhones—more on those shortly—it’s time to continue my annual tradition of making sense of all the options. Here’s what I’ve got over at the Advisorator website:

  • An in-depth chart comparing all the “Unlimited” data plans from each major U.S. carrier.
  • A breakdown of new phone discounts (including iPhones and comparable Android phones) for each plan, based on what phone you have to trade in.
  • Cheaper wireless providers to consider, and how to determine if they’ll pay off in the long run.

This resource requires a lot of time and effort to maintain, so I make it available exclusively to Advisorator’s paying members. Subscribe for $5 for a month—an amount that I hope will pay for itself in cost savings down the line—and you’ll get instant access.

Compare carriers and iPhone deals →

News in brief

Thoughts on Apple stuff: I considered doing a whole big rundown of Apple’s new iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods Pro, but man, my pal Rich DeMuro actually went to the press event and did such a nice write-up. Go read it for a concise but information-rich report on everything. (He also recently walked away from what looks like horrific car accident. Hope you’re doing okay, Rich!)

I will, however, provide a super condensed summary and some thoughts:

I wrote over the summer that Apple is getting back to making smart, practical software upgrades, and now the same thing’s happening on the hardware side. An example: The new iPhones can automatically choose between portrait and landscape mode for selfies based on how many people are in the frame. No more having to awkwardly twist your phone sideways with your arm extended. Another clever idea: A line of straps for wearing an iPhone across your body instead of in your pocket. (There are cheaper third-party options, but they all look tackier to me.)

Apple’s also eliminated some previously-annoying distinctions between cheaper and pricier models. 120 Hz displays, which make swiping and scrolling feel extra smooth, are now standard on every iPhone, and 256 GB is the base storage across the board. The Apple Watch SE 3, meanwhile, gets the same always-on display as the regular Watches, so you don’t have to flick your wrist to see the time. The Series 11’s health tracking features are substantial (here’s a comparison), but you can spend less and not sacrifice the basic way wristwatches have worked for the past century.

Meanwhile, Apple barely mentioned AI in its announcements, and that’s great. After embarrassing itself by marketing last year’s phones around AI vaporware, why bother? Rivals haven’t really delivered on the “AI phone” promise anyway; I’d much rather hear about things that actual users might find helpful today, not ones intended to boost stock prices tomorrow.

Other notable reads:

Tip of the week

Screen unknown callers: Apple released iOS 26 yesterday, and one new feature really stands out: You can now screen calls from unknown numbers, so you can see why they’re calling before deciding whether to pick up.

Before you enable this, know that your phone will not ring for any number that isn’t in your contacts, including legitimate businesses and actual people. Instead, you’ll see a call indicator at the top of the screen, and the caller will hear an automated message asking what the call is about. If they answer, you’ll get a notification with a transcript of their message.

Still on board? To enable this feature after updating to iOS 26, just open the Phone app and tap the “Screen Calls” button at the top. You can also head to Settings > Apps > Phone and check the “Ask Reason for Calling” box.

I’ve always appreciated the Call Screen feature on Google’s Pixel phones, but it always rings your phone and requires you to hit a “Call Screen” button manually. Apple’s version is less of a nuisance, but it’s likely to screen more legitimate calls unless you add them to your contacts list.

Try these apps

Anti-snooze alarm clock: Another new feature in iOS 26 is AlarmKit, which allows third-party apps to have the same system-level privileges as Apple’s own Clock app. This opens the door to alternative alarm clock apps that work properly even if your phone is on silent mode or has restarted after a system update.

One such example is Awake, which discourages snoozing by making you solve little mental challenges and bringing back the alarm if you dismiss them. It also offers a daily briefing with the day’s weather and (coming soon) the option to play a podcast after waking up. The app is free with an optional subscription for extra features.

(See also: Hiro’s list of indie apps supporting new iOS 26 features and Liquid Glass redesign)

Scope out your desk setup: DeskSpacing is a free website for seeing what different-sized monitors, keyboards, and other devices would look like on your desk before you buy them. Start by picking a desk that matches the size of your own, then start adding and arranging other items. It’s helpful if you’re shopping for a monitor (or considering an considering an ultrawide) and want to make sure your desk can accommodate them.

Spend wisely

Here’s a clever idea from Ugreen: A MagSafe iPhone stand that clips onto an airplane tray table, so you can watch a movie hands-free at a more ideal angle. It’s on sale for $9.59, down from the usual $15.

Other notable deals:

  • The M4 Mac Mini with 512 GB of storage drops to $689, matching previous lows.
  • The M4 MacBook Air returns to $799 (13-inch) or $999 (15-inch) after a brief respite. $200 savings on each.
  • The M3 iPad Air has also returned to $449, a $150 discount.
  • For the Windows users: Asus’ Vivobook S16 (16-inch 3K OLED display, Ryzen 7 350 processor, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB storage) drops to $999, also a $200 savings.

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Thanks for reading! As noted at the top of the newsletter, next week’s issue will either arrive on Tuesday night or Wednesday evening, depending on how things go with Rosh Hashanah and travel. Thanks for your patience!

– Jared

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