The iPhone 16 is barely a month old but we are already seeing several retailers offer big discounts on the newest Apple smartphone. The device, if bought outright, costs £799 - great if you can afford it, but many of us decide to spread that cost over two or three years as part of a subsidised contract deal from a mobile operator or reseller.

Right now, UK network Three is offering the iPhone 16 at up to “12 months half price”, which on the face of things seems like an excellent deal, so we looked into it.

Let’s presume you want to get the iPhone 16 for as little as possible per month and overall. When you buy the iPhone 16 128GB model in any colour from Three, you can choose to pay back the cost of the handset over 24 months at £33 per month, plus a minimum £30 upfront payment. This comes to £822, £23 more than the phone’s RRP.

Of course, you also need an airtime plan. Three is offering up to 12 months at half price on selected plans, though those at a 12 month reduced rate are the most expensive. The cheapest plan included is the £18 per month 15GB data plan, which also offers unlimited text and data - but only six months at half price.

This means £9 per month for six months at £54, then the last 18 months at £18 per month, coming to £324. So you’re paying a total of £378 for your mobile plan over two years, plus the £822 for the cost of the phone, amounting to a total of exactly £1,200.

View the deal here

Over at Mobiles.co.uk, things are much cheaper. You can get the same iPhone 16 on a 100GB plan with iD Mobile, which uses the Vodafone network and is owned by Currys. This also offers unlimited calls and texts, with a £9 upfront payment for the phone and then an all-in monthly cost of £36.99 for 24 months.

In total, this will cost you £896.76, which is £303.24 less than Three’s deal. You’ll also get a whopping 85GB more monthly data with Mobiles.co.uk.

View the deal here

It’s worth noting that, as with many phone contracts, both of these plans are subject to annual price rises in April. But the Mobiles.co.uk contract is still hundreds cheaper than Three’s. We think it’s one of the best around but make sure you check other retailers too before taking the plunge, and confirm you’re able to afford the monthly cost before signing a long-term contract.