GoKawiilYou might be planning to get a new iPhone, be it the rumored iPhone 18 Pro or the highly anticipated foldable iPhone Ultra. But besides choosing which phone to get, the next big question you might be pondering is “Where should I buy my phone?” Should you get it directly from Apple or through a carrier?
Both methods have their pros and cons, and neither is best for everyone. Perhaps you like the idea of owning your phone outright without going through a third party. Or maybe you’d rather spread out your payments over time. Or perhaps you’re looking to upgrade your phone and switch carriers at the same time. Depending on your answer, you might prefer one path over the other.
In this guide, we walk you through the process of deciding exactly where to buy your new iPhone, be it directly from Apple or through a wireless provider.
Buy directly from Apple
Apple will glady sell you its newest phone and revamped its Upgrade program to let people lease their next iPhone. Jeff Carlson/CNET
Since Apple makes the iPhone, it makes a lot of sense to simply buy the phone directly from the Apple Store. Though buying your iPhone from Apple is a common practice in a lot of countries, it’s not quite as popular here in the US due to the attractive financing options that wireless carriers offer. But buying your phone straight from Apple has its benefits.
The primary reason to go through Apple is that you can buy the phone without being beholden to a wireless carrier. You have options. Instead of locking yourself down to one wireless carrier for multiple years, buying directly from Apple lets you get the phone completely unlocked.
Apple sells both unlocked iPhones and models tied to a specific carrier. The price is nearly the same, depending on which iPhone you get. But Apple drops the price by $30 when you buy and activate a new iPhone on a carrier at the time of purchase for models like the iPhone 17, which costs $829 unlocked or $799 after a carrier discount.
Unlocked models can be used with nearly any carrier you want, whether it’s a major carrier such as T-Mobile and AT&T or a smaller one such as Mint Mobile or Cricket Mobile. You can also swap out carriers every so often if you feel like it. While your iPhone may cost a pretty penny in the initial purchase, you could save on monthly bills in the long run, depending on your plan.
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