I can buy an iPhone 6 for roughly $100 and only need a "loaner" for 6 months. Then I hope to buy a cheap X or XR when the new iPhones are released in September. Is the iPhone 6 the best bang for the buck in terms of me not losing any value? Even with a terrible trade-in to a carrier or the Apple Store, the iPhone 6 seems to be trading for around $75. If I go the Craigslist route, I could probably break even.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone 6(S)/Plus Need an iPhone only for 6 months, would iPhone 6 be the best bang for the buck?
- Thread starter Kendo
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Check out Walmart or Best Buy. You can get an unlocked prepaid SE for about $120. It’s a better phone in terms of performance over a 6 and will likely retain its resale value.
After iOS 12 iPhone 6 should still perform acceptably but I’d rather suggest a SE or a 6S at least.
Can you clarify which prepaid SE models are unlocked? I’d be very interested in this.
I personally have no experience with the devices. I just see Walmart and Best Buy advertising them here and there.
Upgraded my 6 to a XR some months ago. The reason was that the 1 GB RAM of the 6 limits it somewhat in performance and it gets a bit laggy. Apart from that it's a nice phone but the SE and the 6s did not have this problem with it's 2 GB RAM. You can also assume that the 6s or SE will be longer supported with IOS versions.
The 6 works alright, but that's about it. I would recommend the 6S (or SE) at this point.
Doesn’t fit his requirements in any way.
6 months for ATT Prepaid.
If it is just 6 months, the 6 should be acceptable for $100 on ATT or Verizon.
It is so hard to tell with Verizon. About 18 months ago, I bought an inexpensive Moto phone on Verizon prepaid. It just took $70 (or $75) in payments to my account before it could be unlocked. I unlocked it within a week after purchase by just adding funds to my account while the phone showed up as the active phone on my account page.
I could see it being more than $70, but unless I saw the box I wouldn't tell. Online sites don't seem to show requirements.
At this junction, I can’t recommend the iPhone 6 at all. I mean, is it serviceable and suitable to use for a short time? Sure, but is it worth the experience being how performs on iOS 12 and with one GB of RAM? That depends on the user.
Last edited:
I ended up scoring a used iPhone 6S for a little over $100. Will gladly take the A9 and 2GB of RAM for just a few dollars more.
Make sure you can replace the battery if need be. Anything close to 80% should be replaced.