Several offers and discounts have been announced on the iPhone 14, iPhone 13, and iPhone 15 smartphones over the past few months. Some of these discounts have actually been quite attractive, with around Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 off the regular selling price. And lately, these offers have become even more popular as the next iPhone flagship, the iPhone 16 series, is about to launch, and people are trying to take advantage of last-minute discounts on iPhones from 2023 and older. But as tech journalists, this is a question we get asked almost every year at this time: should I buy the current iPhone at a discount, or should I wait for the iPhone 16? Will it be worth it?

Well, there is no definite answer to this. It completely depends on what you want from your smartphone, what smartphone you are using right now and what is your spending capacity. Let us understand this in detail.

Discounts on iPhones

The iPhone 14, iPhone 13, and iPhone 15 have been heavily discounted recently. At the time of writing the story, the price of the iPhone 15 was reduced to Rs 63,000 with bank offers on Flipkart. The iPhone 15 is otherwise priced at Rs 79,900. Just last week, the smartphone was available at an effective price of Rs 44,600. Last month, the iPhone 14 Plus was available for Rs 54,999 with bank offers. The point is, there have been a number of attractive offers and discounts lately, which means there have been many occasions where you might have wondered whether you should buy the existing iPhone or wait for a new one.

iPhone price cut

The best part is that the recent iPhone price cuts have come in, with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 15 and other iPhones getting a price cut of up to Rs 6,000 in India. This was made possible due to the recent cut in import duty on components announced in the Union Budget 2024, which brought down the duty from 20 per cent to 15 per cent, prompting Apple to reduce iPhone prices by 3-4 per cent.

Along with this, iPhone 13, which was priced at Rs 59,900, is now available for Rs 57,600 with a cut of Rs 2,300. At the same time, there has been a marginal cut in the price of iPhone 14, which has come down from Rs 69,900 to Rs 69,600 and the price of iPhone 14 Plus has also been cut by Rs 300, now its price has become Rs 79,600 instead of Rs 79,900.

The price of the latest iPhone 15 series has also been changed. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, which had a starting price of Rs 79,900 and Rs 89,900, are now available at Rs 79,600 and Rs 89,600, respectively.

But the real discount is on the Pro models, where the price of the iPhone 15 Pro has come down from Rs 1,34,900 to Rs 1,29,800, leading to a saving of Rs 5,100. The iPhone 15 Pro Max has got an even bigger cut, coming down from Rs 1,59,900 to Rs 1,54,000, a total reduction of Rs 5,900. These prices do not include bank offers and other e-commerce platform discounts. This will be in addition to the price cut.

Should you buy the current iPhone or wait for the iPhone 16 series?

Now, here’s the thing. This might be an unpopular opinion, but as someone who is an early adopter of iPhones and has been using them for close to 15 years, I would say that if you are already on the iPhone 15 series, you should stick to it and upgrade to the iPhone 16 only if you feel you find something appealing in the new iPhones that you can’t resist. Otherwise, you will hardly have a reason to upgrade, especially if you are an iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max user. You will also have all the features of Apple intelligence, and I am sure you will be able to live without the minor upgrades in cameras and design.

However, if you are using an older generation iPhone or want to switch to an iPhone, I would suggest you buy the current generation high-end iPhones, which are the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. As mentioned above, there are great discounts on both models from time to time, and these will continue until the iPhone 16 launch. In fact, around the launch, Apple sometimes reduces the price of the previous generation iPhone as well. But I would personally suggest you get the next best discount.

The iPhone 15 Pros is a significant upgrade from the older generation iPhones, but what makes it even more significant is that it will support all Apple intelligence features. So without spending a lot, which is likely to be the case with the new iPhones, you will be able to join the AI ​​bandwagon with the current generation iPhone 15 Pros.

Having said that, if you are someone who can comfortably spend over a lakh on their phone, you might not even be wondering which phone to buy, and you are right, you should wait for the iPhone 16. Because the upgrades might be worth the wait.

What do we expect from the iPhone 16 series?

In addition to the long-awaited Apple Intelligence features – which, by the way, may be delayed until October 2024 – the iPhone 16 lineup is rumored to come with Action Buttons on non-Pro models, a feature that was previously reserved for the higher-end iPhone 15 versions. However, with the introduction of iOS 18, which brings a more customizable Control Center and advanced lock screen options, the allure of Action Buttons may diminish a bit, as users will have more flexibility in managing their device settings and shortcuts directly through the software.

Apple is also reportedly adding a dedicated camera control button on the right side of the iPhone 16 Pro models. This new feature will mimic the functionality of DSLR cameras, allowing users to apply light pressure to autofocus and press harder to capture a shot.

The iPhone 16 Pro models are also expected to have slightly larger displays, with the standard Pro model growing from 6.1 inches to 6.3 inches, and the Pro Max growing from 6.7 inches to about 6.9 inches.

Under the hood, the iPhone 16 series is likely to be powered by the new A18 chip. All models in the series are expected to feature 8GB of RAM to support the new Apple Intelligence Suite, although details on camera and battery enhancements are still under wraps – rumours indicate some improvements in these areas as well.