what is the cheapest way to get a new iPhone 16e

[FrugalSaver]

I have ridden my last iphone for 4 years.  Time for a new one.  Currently on spectrum paying $40 / month.

Any suggestions?  shopping around this weekend.

Thanks

[FrugalSaver]

looks like mint mobile with 16e 256GB you have to buy a year plan at $15 / month (up to 35GB data before throttle) and can use mobile wifi calling internationally

so then use it for 4 years.  reduce spectrum bill from $40 to $15 per month.  hurdle rate is 28 months.  then get another 20 months out of the phone (4 years total target) and bank another $500 to then do it all over again.

Thoughts?  Any better ideas (for an iphone 16e)?

[FrugalSaver]

i guess i could also see if any refurbished stuff on swappa

[fuzzy math]

Use a rewards portal like rakuten (or whatever you use)... see what service companies are offering the best deals and compare that against service fees

[SmashYourSmartPhone]

Any suggestions?  shopping around this weekend.

What's wrong with your 4-year old iPhone?

Apple's software support windows are far longer than 4 years.  Is it on the latest iOS and still getting updates?  If so, there's no reason to replace it.

Is the battery life suffering after 4 years?  Check battery health, and if it's below 80% or so, replace the battery.  They're not hard to do, or local shops will do it affordably enough if you don't have and won't develop the skills.

The cheapest option is to not replace it, and fix what's wrong, if it's having problems.

[FrugalSaver]

Any suggestions?  shopping around this weekend.

What's wrong with your 4-year old iPhone?

Apple's software support windows are far longer than 4 years.  Is it on the latest iOS and still getting updates?  If so, there's no reason to replace it.

Is the battery life suffering after 4 years?  Check battery health, and if it's below 80% or so, replace the battery.  They're not hard to do, or local shops will do it affordably enough if you don't have and won't develop the skills.

The cheapest option is to not replace it, and fix what's wrong, if it's having problems.

That’s a fair question. It mostly works well. Even after clearing all memory though and rebooting it sometimes takes many seconds when clicking on a tweet or an app for it to come up instead of instantly. I suspect it may have to do with paginating and a bagillion text messages and WhatsApp conversations and photos etc. maybe if I spent the time cleaning that out somehow to an archive it would improve performance.

Battery life is good. I need instant app response a lot of times though and it’s no longer providing it.

Any suggestions on that problem?

[daverobev]

Just clean out the clutter. Plug it in to itunes and do a backup - if that doesn't do much (it does some level of self-cleansing when plugged in I believe), do a backup - reset - restore from backup.

Get into the habit of closing tabs, closing programs you're not using, etc.

[aloevera1]

4 years is really not that long for an iphone. Unless there is some damage to it I would not replace it just yet. Your new iphone 16 will also be old in 4 years lol.

I support the factory reset option as well as unloading garbage. Removing extra apps might help as some of them run background processes.

[SmashYourSmartPhone]

That’s a fair question. It mostly works well. Even after clearing all memory though and rebooting it sometimes takes many seconds when clicking on a tweet or an app for it to come up instead of instantly. I suspect it may have to do with paginating and a bagillion text messages and WhatsApp conversations and photos etc. maybe if I spent the time cleaning that out somehow to an archive it would improve performance.

Probably.  Or stop doing that human-toxic crap on a phone and use a laptop for it, where it can't reach out and grab your attention at any random moment.

As others have noted, back up your stuff, do a factory reset, and only install what you need, see if that fixes it.

Battery life is good. I need instant app response a lot of times though and it’s no longer providing it.

Your career is social media marketing or something of the sort, evidently?  Gross, but I guess if it's a work expense...  doesn't sound like it, though.

[beee]

in case you decide to buy it, watch first 2 minutes of this video:
TLDR - there're better options than 16e
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF4vZxbSmjo&ab_channel=MarquesBrownlee

[FrugalSaver]

That’s a fair question. It mostly works well. Even after clearing all memory though and rebooting it sometimes takes many seconds when clicking on a tweet or an app for it to come up instead of instantly. I suspect it may have to do with paginating and a bagillion text messages and WhatsApp conversations and photos etc. maybe if I spent the time cleaning that out somehow to an archive it would improve performance.

Probably.  Or stop doing that human-toxic crap on a phone and use a laptop for it, where it can't reach out and grab your attention at any random moment.

As others have noted, back up your stuff, do a factory reset, and only install what you need, see if that fixes it.

Battery life is good. I need instant app response a lot of times though and it’s no longer providing it.

Your career is social media marketing or something of the sort, evidently?  Gross, but I guess if it's a work expense...  doesn't sound like it, though.

I retired from my career in 2020. Man, calling someone’s career gross you dont even know what they do a little inappropriate. I don’t work in social media though, don’t watch porn, but appreciate the comment lol

[sonofsven]

That’s a fair question. It mostly works well. Even after clearing all memory though and rebooting it sometimes takes many seconds when clicking on a tweet or an app for it to come up instead of instantly. I suspect it may have to do with paginating and a bagillion text messages and WhatsApp conversations and photos etc. maybe if I spent the time cleaning that out somehow to an archive it would improve performance.

Probably.  Or stop doing that human-toxic crap on a phone and use a laptop for it, where it can't reach out and grab your attention at any random moment.

As others have noted, back up your stuff, do a factory reset, and only install what you need, see if that fixes it.

Battery life is good. I need instant app response a lot of times though and it’s no longer providing it.

Your career is social media marketing or something of the sort, evidently?  Gross, but I guess if it's a work expense...  doesn't sound like it, though.

Get over yourself already.

[Just Joe]

Hehehe, 4 years is when my ownership usually starts.

Look at used options for a better price. Don't know if they are so new that there isn't a good price advantage or not. 

Edited for spelling...

[vand]

The cheapest way to get an iPhone 16 is to wait for the iPhone 17 to be released

[reeshau]

The cheapest way to get an iPhone 16 is to wait for the iPhone 17 to be released

+1

Oldest tech buyer trick in the book.  Ride the wave at n-1, and let the chumps pay for the R&D.

[Log]

The cheapest way to get an iPhone 16 is to wait for the iPhone 17 to be released

The "16e" nomenclature is replacing the old "SE" lineup, so this is Apple's budget phone. They only release new versions of the budget lineup every 3 or 4 years, and they don't drop the price during that lifespan. Buying a new 16e is cheaper than a 15, and the only thing that's "worse" about it is the camera. When a new one in the budget lineup is released, they give it a lot of the newest bells and whistles, so that it'll still be a competitive option in 2 years or so... but waiting a year won't get you a noticeable price drop.

I'm planning on getting one myself soon too. As for cheapest way to get it? I'm planning on ordering directly from Apple with a friend's employee discount. Since I already have a trip planned to visit my parents in Oregon, I'll have it shipped there to avoid sales tax.

[J.R. Ewing]

Just had a funeral for the old iphone 8.  Its battery life was down to something that felt like 35 seconds.  Took over my wife's old work iphone for free after the company was purchased.

[vand]

Just had a funeral for the old iphone 8.  Its battery life was down to something that felt like 35 seconds.  Took over my wife's old work iphone for free after the company was purchased.

It's like asking what's the cheapest way to buy a base spec Mercedes E class.

Wait.

Or get a Hyundai.

They all do the same thing at the end of the day.

Want a frugality hack? De-Applefy your life. Use Linux and Android

[markpst]

Just had a funeral for the old iphone 8.  Its battery life was down to something that felt like 35 seconds.  Took over my wife's old work iphone for free after the company was purchased.

It's like asking what's the cheapest way to buy a base spec Mercedes E class.

Wait.

Or get a Hyundai.

They all do the same thing at the end of the day.

Want a frugality hack? De-Applefy your life. Use Linux and Android

It doesn't have to be overly expensive. I bought a used IPhone SE 2022 for $160 last summer on Ebay. It still has 100% battery life. And it will be supported with security updates for years to come unlike the Motorola phones I had previously.

[Log]

Just had a funeral for the old iphone 8.  Its battery life was down to something that felt like 35 seconds.  Took over my wife's old work iphone for free after the company was purchased.

It's like asking what's the cheapest way to buy a base spec Mercedes E class.

Wait.

Or get a Hyundai.

They all do the same thing at the end of the day.

Want a frugality hack? De-Applefy your life. Use Linux and Android

The vast majority of the savings is to be had in simply replacing your phone less often. Saving a couple hundred extra bucks is not going to make that material of a difference when you're only replacing the phone every 6-10 years.

[chasingthegoodlife]

My iPhone 12 is 3.5 years old and just starting to have lower battery performance (79% health).

Planning to get a new battery soon and hopefully get another 3+ years out of it.

Surely worth a clean up to try and resolve those app opening issues before you buy a whole new phone?

[rodrigojds]

I have ridden my last iphone for 4 years.  Time for a new one.  Currently on spectrum paying $40 / month.

Any suggestions?  shopping around this weekend.

Thanks

Get Off of Spectrum ASAP and get on Tello or Mint. Never buy a phone via a phone provider. It'll end up more expensive in the long run. If you want a phone you're better off just outright buying it.
An iphone 16 or 15 would be a better deal than the 16e.