The best iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max preorder deals and how to get them

Apple has officially announced the iPhone 16, and now you can begin to make your iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max preorders. Here, we’re focusing specifically on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, which are housed separately in the Apple store, but we’ve also covered iPhone 16 and iPhone Plus preorder deals. We’re going to look at how to get the best deal via Apple or other retailers’ offers. The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will officially release on September 20.

We found that getting the best deal from the Apple store was not entirely straightforward. Follow along with our guide for your best price.

iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max — Apple preorder guide

At the top of you’ll see the basics on preorder deals all in one spot. At the top of the page (in the red rectangle in the image above) you’ll see a brief overview of all of the current offers. It’s worth noting, though, that there is some fine print and navigating through the store page isn’t a perfect experience. To see what we mean, tap the button below and follow along with our iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max ordering guide, where we’ll show you exactly what to click to get the lowest price.

Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max carrier deals — AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile

Getting and understanding the available carrier deals from Apple’s store is the trick to getting the best preorder deal on the phones. Unfortunately, the numbers and steps to get there are somewhat confusing. By the end of this section, however, you’ll know how to get an iPhone 16 Pro for as low as $0.00/month from your favorite carrier and get the best Apple Store deal on the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

We’ll start by entering a phone into “Apple Trade In.” but ignore the price — it is wrong. When we go to get the best carrier deals, later, you’ll find that the trade in is worth more than stated. It makes planning frustrating, but at least it errs in your favor and they’re letting you get started early. Also note that Verizon makes planning easier, as they’re offering a flat rate on any trade in phone of any condition. So, if you’re going with Verizon everything will be a little easier to navigate.

If the supplied phone meets all of the conditions to be in “good condition” go ahead and tap “Yes” for the relevant box. Note, however, that you can still trade in a phone that is missing one of the conditions to be considered “good” by Apple. Just tap “No” and follow the on-screen questionnaire to the best of your ability. With this requirement out of the way, you’re now ready to find your best rate on an iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max via AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile.

Once you’ve input your trade-in phone, tap “Finance” under “Payment options.” and hit the “Carrier” button. You’ll get a screen that looks something like the image above. These financed deals on the phone offer the very best rates on the phone in exchange for committing to a carrier for two or three years.

On this screen you’ll get your carrier-specific pre-order offers from Apple. In orange, at the top of each offer, you’ll see the full amount you’re getting back in bill credits from the carrier. Then, just below the bolded text you’ll see a monthly price for the phone and how many months you’ll need to be with them. Remember, you’ll need to stay with the carrier for the full duration of the term, so you’ll still be paying for service even with a great deal. Note that the amount that you can expect to get back will change depending on the version of the phone and how much storage you are after.

At this time, you’ll want to do your planning to see how much you get back on each phone, with each carrier, at each storage amount until you find something that fits your budget and needs. You can quickly change to other version of the phone (and storage sizes) by scrolling up and choosing them. However, you’ll need to remember to tap the ‘Carrier’ button again when you scroll back down to properly compare the offers. While experimenting with the page, my entered phone sometimes deleted itself when switching between the Pro and Pro Max versions, but not always. This seems to be an error happening on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max page only, so be sure to check if your trade-in phone is still inputted if you see an odd price increase.

So, what’s the best pre-order deal you can get this way? For AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile you can get $999 in trade-in credit applied to the iPhone 16 Pro 128GB storage version when we traded in a “good” iPhone 15 Pro Max. This makes it $0.00/month with your phone plan purchase. All other versions of the iPhone 16 Pro and all of the iPhone 16 Pro Max storage versions required some additional payment for the phone.

Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max deals — Boost Mobile

Don’t have a trade in phone? No problem — if you want to go with Boost Mobile. When you finance with Boost Mobile and connect on their Boost Mobile Infinite Access Plan for 36 months, you’ll receive $1,000 in Boost Mobile credits. That means that you can get the 128GB version of the iPhone 16 Pro for $0 additional dollars per month.

This is one of the best ways to get an iPhone 16 Pro preordered on the cheap if you don’t have a phone for trade-in.

AT&T’s iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max preorder deals

Getting your iPhone 16 Pro or 16 Pro Max from AT&T is pretty simple, all things considered. The iPhone 16 Pro is straight up free if you trade in your old phone (and it is eligible). Want the Pro Max instead? You can still save up to $1,000 from the total cost of the phone by giving up your old phone. That’ll take your monthly payment on the phone from $33.34 to $5.56 over the course of 36 months. Tap the button below to see AT&T’s full iPhone lineup and choose the offer that makes the most sense for you.

Boost Mobile’s iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max preorder deals

If you don’t have an old phone that’s worth much or just don’t like to part with your old iPhones, you may want to take advantage of Boost Mobile’s preorder deals. Boost Mobile’s deals do not require a trade in phone.

You’ll save $1,000 on an iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro Max when you sign up with Boost Mobile’s Infinite Access plan. It’s a $65/month plan that provides unlimited 5G, global roaming, and an annual iPhone upgrade (up to $830 in value). Check it out on their website by tapping the button below. You can also find and deals on Amazon.

Verizon’s iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max preorder deals

The big flashy deal at Verizon right now is that you can get “The new iPhone 16 Pro on us” but they also have a deal on the 16 Pro Max. Here are the important details:

If you get a 128GB iPhone 16 Pro on a new or upgraded Unlimited Ultimate plan and trade in an Apple, Google, or Samsung phone (that’s been active on your account for at least 60 days), you can get $1,000 of trade-in/promo credit applied over 36 months while you’re with the service, which is enough to make the $1,000 phone free. In other words, it is “on us” (that is to say, Verizon) if you do everything else they ask for. Note that this is by fair their best preorder deal on the iPhone 16 Pro.

There are iPhone 16 Pro Max preorder deals from Verizon as well, however, even if they aren’t as strongly advertised. In fact, you can get that same $1,000 on any Pro Max phone with an eligible trade in and a new Unlimited Ultimate plan for 36 months. However, as the iPhone 16 Pro Max phones are more expensive, you’ll still have to pay something to get your new phone. For example, the smallest 256GB storage version of the phone would be reduced to a cost of just $5.55, from $33.33, over the course of the 36 months. Considering the price of a phone plan, it isn’t a huge amount extra to pay.

To take advantage of any of these preorder deals, tap the button below to find Verizon’s complete iPhone lineup.

T-Mobile’s iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max preorder deals

T-Mobile’s offers for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max largely revolved around a trade in and having or getting one of their 5o5G plans, the best of which is 5o5G Next. 5o5G Next offers consistent phone upgrades that don’t leave existing customers paying worse prices than new customers. It also comes with bonuses like Apple TV+ and Netflix so you can enjoy using your data for good entertainment. Deals also exist for 5o5G Plus and the standard 5o5G plans, but they’re somewhat less good, especially on the Pro Max version of the phone. Here’s how it all breaks down.

Between the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, the absolute best deal we’re seeing from T-Mobile is on the iPhone 16 Pro, where you can get it for free if you have an eligible trade in and get it on Go5G Next. Remember, you can also switch to Go5G Next at this time to get the deal. Alternatively, you can save $830 off of the iPhone 16 Pro (bringing it from $1,000 to $170) if you trade in a phone and get a new standard Go5G line or trade in with a Go5G Plus plan.

T-Mobile’s deals on the iPhone 16 Pro Max offer the same dollar value as for the iPhone 16 Pro, but the feeling isn’t quite the same. By this, we mean that with an eligible trade in and a 5o5G Next plan you’ll get $1,000 off or you can get $830 off with either a new line and a trade in or a trade in with Go5G Plus. The big difference? The Pro Max costs more, so that $1,000 off will still make it cost $200 instead of being free. In other words, you’ll get the same value for your trade in no matter the phone you pick, but the psychological crunch factor might feel better for the iPhone 16 Pro.

Presently, T-Mobile has six promotional offers on each phone in the iPhone 16 series lineup. Tap the button below to see the ones covered here as well as what else they have to offer.

Best Buy’s iPhone 16 Pro preorder deals

We’re seeing the iPhone 16 Pro (but, unfortunately not the Pro Max) being offered on Best Buy, with the phones either being tied to Verizon or AT&T, and you can save up to $1,000 via a trade in.

The biggest advantage of trying to trade in for an iPhone 16 Pro on Best Buy is their wide range of acceptable brands to trade in. So, if you have something that you want to trade in but it wasn’t eligible for Verizon or AT&T’s offers, go ahead and try at Best Buy. Plus, now makes a great time to use any Best Buy credits you’ve accumulated from previous deals or gotten from returns.