Apple’s marketing strategy is to immediately discontinue production of older iPhone Pro models when the new generation arrives. You can still find them at third-party retailers, but if you’re buying an older model why not buy a refurbished unit?
Please note that Amazon UK has different tiers, such as ‘refurbished’ and ‘premium refurbished’. Both come with a 1-year warranty and technical support, the “premium” version also promises that the battery will have at least 90% life remaining.
We’ll start with the iPhone 14 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Pro, the flagships of 2022. These are the latest with the Lightning port. Additionally, the 14 Pro Max has a 77mm telephoto lens, while the 15 Pro Max has a longer 120mm lens (3x zoom vs. 5x). And of course, the new models have a newer, faster chipset with an extra 2GB of RAM. At the other end of the scale are the higher prices for the 2023 models, a new 15 Pro Max costs £1,200 and the 15 Pro costs £1,000.
The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus are still available new, but a 128GB drive will set you back £700 and £800 respectively, so it’s possible to save by going the refurbished route. You’ll miss out on the Dynamic Island action and, more importantly, the upgraded 48MP main camera (the 14 and 14 Plus were the last to use a 12MP main).
What if I aged a generation? Well, the iPhone 13 Pro Max does not have an LTPO display like the 14 Pro Max and has a notch instead of the Dynamic Island. Additionally, the main camera is a 12MP unit, not 48MP like on newer models.
The iPhone 15 Pro also doesn’t have the 120mm lens of its Max sibling, so if you want a smaller phone, you’ll miss out on less with the iPhone 13 Pro.
Apple.com also sells refurbished iPhones, however, an iPhone 13 Pro (256GB) costs £760 with 1 year warranty. There are no Pro Max 13 units available at the time of writing, and the 14 series isn’t even an option.
The iPhone 13 is the oldest model still available on Apple.com. This 2021 model will set you back £600 for a 128GB drive, which sounds a bit crazy. A refurbished unit costs £410, which is still a high price, but easier to swallow.
Apple has discontinued the iPhone 12 series, but you can still find refurbished units on Amazon. It’s probably not worth paying the “refurbished premium” tax for a 2020 model, which leaves the regular “refurbished.” The price gap is more than enough to pay for a battery replacement if you need it.
With this in mind, you can get an iPhone 12 Pro Max for under £500. In other words, it costs less than a refurbished iPhone 14. While it looks old, the Pro Max is only a generation behind in terms of chipset and has a 65mm camera (the iPhone 14 only has in-sensor zoom from its 48MP main camera). camera).
The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 cost between £300 and £400 if you look at the ‘refurbished’ prices. The price difference between them is small enough that it makes sense to buy the more powerful Pro model since they are the same size.
The iPhone SE (2022) looks much older than it is: it is a year and a half old, while its design is a throwback to the iPhone 8 series. However, it is good enough for a child’s first iPhone.
While you’re gearing up for refurbished Apple devices, take a look at the iPad 10.9. This is the 2022 model and has a USB-C port. It also supports a stylus, but keep in mind that the display runs at an old-school 60Hz.
The Apple Watch Series 7 was launched in late 2021 and is missing some of the latest developments. However, it offers the ECG. And if you check the comparison between series 7, 8 and 9, you will see that not much has changed in the last two years.
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