Four ways into iOS for under $700, ranked on published measurements rather than vibes.
The Short Version
Best budget iPhone overall: iPhone 17e — the only current-generation new iPhone at $599 (256GB). A19 chip, 48MP Fusion camera, 15W MagSafe, and the longest verified battery numbers of any cheap iPhone. Its one real compromise: the display is still 60Hz.
Best value: iPhone 16e — discontinued March 2, 2026, but MacRumors reported on July 6, 2026 that Apple Certified Refurbished units start at $419 for 128GB. Same A18-class performance ballpark, and it is cited as the cheapest iPhone with guaranteed iOS updates through at least 2029. Amazon Renewed 16e (refurbished).
Step up: iPhone 16 — buy this if you specifically want the Dynamic Island and Apple Intelligence on new stock. Apple lists it at $699 as of July 2026, but some reporting says $799; confirm at checkout. Amazon Renewed iPhone 16 (refurbished).
Cheapest entry: refurbished iPhone 13 — $175–$300 from certified sellers, and the least expensive way into a modern iPhone. It also has the shortest remaining software-support runway of anything on this page.
Let's be direct about the method, because it determines how much weight you should give the rest of this page. Loiter Point does not run a lab. We do not own test rigs, we do not run battery drain cycles, and we do not photograph color charts. Anyone who tells you they benchmarked five phones for a roundup like this in a week is usually recycling someone else's numbers without saying so.
What we do instead is synthesize. Every performance figure on this page comes from one of three places, and each is named where it appears:
Published independent lab measurements — primarily GSMArena, whose display and battery testing is repeatable and methodologically documented, and Consumer Reports, which runs its own battery lifespan protocol.
Apple's own published specifications — chip, display resolution, camera sensors, charging wattage, battery capacity, and Apple's own battery ratings. Apple's ratings are marketing figures produced under Apple's conditions; we label them as such rather than presenting them as measurements.
Dated price reporting — retail and refurbished pricing moves weekly, so every price here carries the date it was observed. Where sources disagree, we say so instead of picking the tidier number.
The ranking below is ordered by what the evidence supports for a buyer spending as little as possible, not by price and not by what pays best. That is why the cheapest phone on the page finishes fourth.
The Picks
#1 Best Overall
iPhone 17e
$599 (256GB)
The only current-generation new iPhone at budget money.
Apple launched the 17e on March 2, 2026 as its cheapest new iPhone: $599 for 256GB, $799 for 512GB, which puts it $200 below the entry iPhone 17. That positioning is the whole argument. If you want a brand-new, current-generation iPhone with a full warranty and the longest update runway available, this is the only door.
The measured numbers back it up. GSMArena's lab recorded brightness just over 800 nits on both a 75% white surface and a 10% white patch — notably, essentially the same figure on both, meaning the panel does not collapse when most of the screen is lit. On battery, GSMArena's lab returned an Active Use Score of 15:30h and 4K video playback of 16h18m. For context from the same lab: the iPhone 17 managed 19h10m and the much slimmer iPhone Air only 13h29m on that video test. Consumer Reports separately reports an above-average battery lifespan of 37 hours.
Elsewhere you get the A19 chip, Apple's new C1X cellular modem, a 48MP Fusion rear camera with an optical-quality 2x telephoto, Ceramic Shield 2 on the front rated for 3x better scratch resistance than the previous generation, and 15W MagSafe wireless charging — double the 7.5W the 16e allowed, and with actual magnetic alignment.
The compromise, stated plainly: the 6.1" Super Retina XDR OLED runs at 2532x1170 and 60Hz, not 120Hz. This is a real limitation, not a rounding error, and it is the single most visible way Apple separates the "e" line from the rest of the lineup. See the nerd box below for why it matters and when it doesn't.
Discontinued, still everywhere, and the price has finally broken.
Apple discontinued the 16e on March 2, 2026 — the day the 17e arrived — but it is still widely sold, and that is exactly why it earns second place. It launched at $599. MacRumors reported on July 6, 2026 that Apple Certified Refurbished units start at $419 for 128GB, which includes Apple's own refurbishment process and warranty. Certified refurbished stock from other sellers has been widely $399–$449 as of June 2026. Mint used unlocked units were running $385–$439 mid-2026, and if you can live with a carrier lock, $298 on Cricket and $299 on Verizon Prepaid were available in June 2026.
The reason this isn't just a bargain-bin recommendation: the 16e is cited as the cheapest iPhone with guaranteed iOS updates through at least 2029. You are buying roughly the same software runway as the 17e for a couple hundred dollars less. Inside is the A18 chip with 8GB of RAM, a 4-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine — enough headroom that this does not feel like a phone on its way out.
The cuts are real, though. There is a single 48MP f/1.6 wide rear camera with no ultrawide, a 12MP f/1.9 front camera, a 60Hz OLED with an old-style notch rather than a Dynamic Island, 7.5W wireless charging with no MagSafe, no mmWave 5G, and dual eSIM only with no physical SIM tray. Charging is USB-C. The battery is 3961mAh and Apple rates it at up to 26h of video playback — that's Apple's own rating, not an independent lab measurement, and it is not directly comparable to GSMArena's 16h18m 4K figure for the 17e, which uses a different and more demanding test.
That Amazon link is an Amazon Renewed listing — third-party refurbished stock, not new Apple inventory and not the same program as Apple Certified Refurbished. Amazon Renewed pricing and condition grading are set by the seller and move constantly, so check the listing before you buy. The $419 figure above refers specifically to Apple Certified Refurbished as reported by MacRumors on July 6, 2026.
#3 Step Up
iPhone 16
$699 (see note)
For Dynamic Island and Apple Intelligence on new stock.
The iPhone 16 is still sold new, and it is the cheapest way to get the Dynamic Island rather than a notch. It runs the A18 chip, has a 6.1" display, and supports Apple Intelligence. Note that Apple has discontinued the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max from its own store, so the standard 16 is what remains of that generation up top.
Price conflict — read this before you buy. Apple lists the iPhone 16 at $699 as of July 2026, but some reporting puts it at $799. We can't resolve that discrepancy from published sources, and we're not going to pick the more flattering number for you. Confirm the current price at checkout before committing. If it rings up at $799, the 17e at $599 is newer, cheaper, and the better buy — the Dynamic Island is not worth a $200 premium over a current-generation phone.
This Amazon link is an Amazon Renewed refurbished listing, not new stock. The $699 Apple list price above applies to new units from Apple and does not describe this listing. Worth a look alongside it: the iPhone 15 generation, which Apple discontinued in September 2025 but which remains available via carriers and resellers, often below the iPhone 16. It carries a 48MP main plus 12MP ultrawide, a Dynamic Island, 6GB of RAM, and an Apple rating of up to 20h video playback. If you find one cheap, the ultrawide camera is a genuine advantage over both "e" phones.
#4 Cheapest
iPhone 13 (refurbished)
$175–$300
The least expensive way into a modern iPhone — with one big asterisk.
At $175–$300 from certified sellers, a refurbished iPhone 13 is described as the least expensive way into a modern iPhone, and for a first phone, a backup, a kid's device, or a stopgap, that math is hard to argue with.
The caveat that decides this. The iPhone 13 has the shortest remaining software-support runway of anything on this page. Apple will stop shipping it new iOS versions meaningfully sooner than the rest of these picks — by contrast, the 16e is cited as the cheapest iPhone with guaranteed iOS updates through at least 2029. If you keep phones for three or four years, the 16e at $419 Apple Certified Refurbished is very likely the cheaper phone over the life of the device, and that is precisely why the 13 ranks fourth rather than first despite being the cheapest thing here.
No single verified listing here — this is a search across renewed stock, where condition grading and price vary by seller. Buy from a seller with a stated return window and check the battery health disclosure.
Nerd Box: Why 60Hz vs 120Hz Actually Matters
Both "e" phones — the 17e and the 16e — ship 60Hz OLED panels. Every other current iPhone family runs higher. A 60Hz display redraws the image sixty times a second, so a scrolling list moves in ~16.7ms steps; on a 120Hz panel those steps are half as long and half as far apart. Nothing is broken at 60Hz. It is simply less smooth in the two places your eye is best at catching it: fast scrolling through text, and dragging an object under your finger, where the on-screen element visibly lags the fingertip.
The honest framing is that this is a noticing problem, not a function problem. If you're coming from another 60Hz phone, you will likely never think about it. If you're coming down from a 120Hz iPhone or Android flagship, you will notice within an hour and you may keep noticing for weeks. There's also a second-order effect worth knowing: high-refresh panels on other iPhones can also drop down to save power and drive the always-on display. A fixed 60Hz panel can't do that variable trick — which is part of why the always-on feature isn't part of the "e" package.
The counterweight is what Apple spent the savings on. GSMArena's lab measured the 17e at just over 800 nits on both a 75% white surface and a 10% white patch, and that consistency across a bright full-screen load matters more for daily outdoor legibility than refresh rate does. Sunlight readability is a spec you fight with every day; refresh rate is one you stop seeing.
Nerd Box: What the C1X Modem Changes
The 17e ships Apple's new C1X cellular modem — the piece of silicon that talks to cell towers. Historically that part came from a third-party supplier; Apple bringing it in-house is one of the quieter but more consequential changes in the budget line, because the modem is one of the largest power draws in a phone that's hunting for signal.
We're not going to tell you what that translates to in bars of signal or megabits, because we don't have an independent measurement of the C1X in isolation and we aren't going to invent one. What we can point at is the battery result the whole package produces: GSMArena's lab logged an Active Use Score of 15:30h and 16h18m of 4K video playback, and Consumer Reports reports an above-average battery lifespan of 37 hours. Whatever the modem is contributing, the phone it's in tests well. If you live somewhere with genuinely marginal coverage, wait for carrier-specific field reporting before treating the modem swap as an upgrade or a risk.
Head to Head
iPhone 17e
iPhone 16e
iPhone 16
iPhone 13
Rank
#1 Best overall
#2 Best value
#3 Step up
#4 Cheapest
Price
$599 new (256GB); $799 (512GB)
From $419 Apple Certified Refurb a
$699 per Apple, July 2026 b
$175–$300 refurbished
Status
New, launched Mar 2, 2026
Discontinued Mar 2, 2026; widely sold
Still sold new
Refurbished only
Chip
A19
A18
A18
—
Display
6.1" OLED, 2532x1170, 60Hz
60Hz OLED, notch
6.1", Dynamic Island
—
Brightness, measured
Just over 800 nits c
Not sourced
Not sourced
Not sourced
Battery, measured
Active Use 15:30h; 4K video 16h18m c · 37h lifespan d
a Apple Certified Refurbished starting price as reported by MacRumors, July 6, 2026 (128GB). Other certified sellers widely $399–$449 as of June 2026; mint used unlocked $385–$439 mid-2026; carrier-locked $298 Cricket / $299 Verizon Prepaid, June 2026. b Reporting conflicts: Apple lists $699 as of July 2026, some sources list $799. Confirm at checkout. c GSMArena lab. Brightness measured on both a 75% white surface and a 10% white patch. Battery: Active Use Score and 4K video playback; same lab recorded 19h10m for iPhone 17 and 13h29m for iPhone Air on the video test. d Consumer Reports, above-average battery lifespan. e Apple's own published rating, not an independent lab measurement. Not directly comparable to GSMArena's figures. Cells marked "not sourced" mean no verified published measurement was available to us — not that the phone performs poorly.
Bottom Line
If you want a new phone and you want to stop thinking about it, buy the iPhone 17e at $599. It's the only current-generation iPhone at budget money, GSMArena's lab numbers for its screen and battery are strong, Consumer Reports backs up the battery story independently, and the 60Hz display is the one thing you're really giving up. That is a clean trade.
If you want the most phone per dollar and you're comfortable buying refurbished, the iPhone 16e is the smarter spend. Apple Certified Refurbished from $419 as of MacRumors' July 6, 2026 reporting, with guaranteed iOS updates through at least 2029, means you're giving up MagSafe, an ultrawide camera and mmWave — not longevity. That's the compromise most people should take.
The iPhone 16 only makes sense if the Dynamic Island specifically matters to you and it actually rings up at $699 rather than $799. Check the price. And the refurbished iPhone 13 is the right answer only when the budget is genuinely hard-capped near $200, because its short remaining support runway is a cost you pay later rather than at checkout.
One last piece of advice that costs nothing: for the two refurbished picks, buy from a seller with a real return window and a stated battery-health disclosure. Refurbished pricing here moves week to week, and a $30 saving on an unverified unit is not a saving.