8 things you could buy instead of an iPhone 15

Are you feeling the hype of the iPhone 15? Before splashing out on the pricey phone, find out what your money could buy you instead.

Credit: NaiyanaB, WAYHOME studio – Shutterstock

The new iPhone 15 is here and, if you believe the hype, it's about to change your life in a way unimaginable since... the iPhone 14. Fancy getting your hands on one? You might want to read this first.

The most basic model iPhone 15 (128GB) costs from £799 when you buy it from the Apple Store.

You can get it on a contract (assuming you pass the credit checks). But, as networks tend to charge considerable interest on your instalments, this will mean you end up paying more in the long run.

Wondering if it's worth buying the iPhone 15? Read on to find out what you could be buying instead...

How much does the iPhone 15 cost?

Credit: Mykola Churpita – Shutterstock

Around the launch date, it can be hard to buy the latest iPhone without a monthly contract.

It's also often difficult to find ones selling the phone for much less than the £799 price listed on Apple's site (excluding those, such as Apple, who offer a discount for trading in an older iPhone). However, it's always worth checking our deals section to see if anything else has popped up.

The bonus of buying through Apple is that they offer a 24-month payment plan with 0% interest. Ask for it without AppleCare+ if you want the cheapest plan.

The cheapest available model is the 128GB, which can be paid for in 24 monthly instalments of £33.29 (adding up to £798.96 in total).

As we mentioned, you can reduce the monthly payments by trading in your old iPhone at the same time. Although, for the sake of this guide, we're assuming you won't do that.

Once you've forked out for the phone, you just have to pay for a SIM-only contract with your network of choice. Our mobile phone deals comparison tool will help you find the best price out there.

8 things you can buy for less than an iPhone 15

We're not saying that you shouldn't buy a new iPhone. But, when money's tight, it's always worth putting the cost into context.

Here are eight surprising things that are cheaper than an iPhone 15:

1. Over a month of rent

   

   Credit: John Seb Barber - Flickr

   In our latest National Student Accommodation Survey, among those who paid rent, the average monthly cost was £550. As such, the iPhone 15 costs more than a month of rent.

   If we flip that around, you've got to find almost the same amount of cash to keep a roof over your head if you go for the phone.

2. Over three years of broadband

   There are tons of student-friendly broadband deals out there. At the time of writing, the cheapest deal in our student broadband comparison guide comes in at around £22 per month, so you'd need to sign a contract for over three years to hit the £799 mark.

   And remember, these numbers assume that you live by yourself, which most students don't. Your share of the broadband bill is smaller when you live with other people. Even if you lived with just one other person, you'd be looking at over six years of internet for the same price as an iPhone 15.

   Whatever phone you decide to get, compare the best contracts using our mobile phone contract comparison tool.

3. Over a year of Nando's fine dining

   Let's say you go for what we have decided (after a heated office discussion) is the standard Nando's order: quarter chicken, two regular sides and a bottomless soft drink. At the time of writing, this comes in at £14.25.

   If you went to Nando's once a week for an entire year and always ordered this (assuming the price doesn't change), you'd still have only spent £741. That leaves £58 left over, which you could spend on MORE Nando's (about another month's worth).

   Of course, if you use our money-saving Nando's tricks, you could end up going to Nando's for far longer than just a year!

4. Over 13 years of Netflix

   Student life involves a lot of free time. While that would be best spent studying, working or even socialising, the reality is that sometimes you just want to sit in front of the TV. For that reason, Netflix is very popular among students.

   For the cost of an iPhone 15, you could pay for a Standard with Adverts subscription to Netflix (£4.99/month at the time of writing) for over 13 years – 13.3 years, to be precise.

   Even though the streaming service doesn't offer a student discount, try our Netflix hacks to see if you can get it for less.

5. Second-hand scooter

   For around the same price as an iPhone 15, you can usually find a scooter on eBay. There are quite a few second-hand mopeds and road scooters going for around the £700 mark or less (but if you're paying much less, be wary of getting a dying bike).

   A perk of this is that you could save money on commuting costs or cut your rent by living further away from uni in a cheaper area.

   And yes, we're aware that you can get actual cars on eBay (and elsewhere) for less than £799. But if a car is going for that little, there's a good chance you'll be paying to get it repaired at some point (not to mention the fact that it'll use more petrol than a moped!).

   There are some great bargains on eBay, but you can get an even better deal by using our eBay hacks.

6. Nearly a year's worth of nights out

   

   Credit: Syda Productions – Shutterstock

   In our National Student Money Survey 2024, the average student spent £51 each month on going out. So, to put it another way, an iPhone 15 effectively costs over 15 months of nights out.

   It's worth noting that 'going out' can include more than just nights out (like these things to do for under £20). Whatever you like to do when you're spending time with friends, if you choose not to buy an iPhone 15, that could be nearly a year of your social life funded.

7. A season ticket at (almost) any Premier League club

   You know iPhones are getting expensive when they cost more than a season ticket to watch Premier League football.

   If you're happy to go for the cheapest option available, you could have bought a season ticket at whichever Premier League club took your fancy... apart from Arsenal or Tottenham, who decided that you can put a price on disappointment (£973 or £807 consecutively, to be precise).

   In fact, at some clubs, you could have bought two season tickets for the price of an iPhone 15.

8. A trip to New York

   Do a quick search online for trips to New York, and it won't be long before you find some for £799 or less. In some cases, if you're paying as much as £799 for your flights and accommodation, you could even be overpaying.

   We hopped onto lastminute.com and quickly found some great deals, including flights and three nights at a three-star hotel for under £700 per person.

   There are almost certainly better deals out there, and you might want to make some space for spending money if you're setting yourself a budget of £799.

   But given the choice between a break in the Big Apple, and paying big bucks to Apple for a phone that'll be outdated within a year, we know what we'd go for.

Of course, the most effective use of your £799 could be simply to not spend it. Instead, you could put it to work and see it lay many more golden coins over the two years you'd otherwise have been paying it out.

If you pay the cash into a savings account, not only will you not be spending £799, but you'll also gain interest and be better off than when you started.

Or, to really bring home the bacon, you could even use the money to start a business, create a website or set up any kind of passive income stream.

We'll leave you with our essential tips for finding the best phone contract deal: read them, save on them, and make your money go further.