Which phone does your Year 7 child have?

[lumpofcomfort]

Looking to get DC a new phone for her birthday. She had a pretty cheap smartphone as her first phone - we got it Sim-free and pay £7 a month through Smarty. It's worked well for her but I was chatting with her and her best friend yesterday and they insisted that every year 7 child apart from them has an iPhone. Now they could be talking rubbish of course but they were very sure that all the phones they see are iPhones.

It's a run-of-the-mill comprehensive in a relatively affluent but not super wealthy town. Her Dad and I are both teachers so we are comfortable enough but don' have so much that we can consider splurging hundreds on an iPhone. I looked into contracts in case I was missing something but even the cheapest ones I could see were £1000 over two years. DH and I are pretty unbothered about phones and have cheap smartphones on PAYG so perhaps we are out of touch.

Is it common for secondary pupils to have iPhones and am I condemning my child to social humiliation by buying her a cheap phone? Are there cheaper options to get them that I'm not aware of?

[BrambleRoses]

Honestly I would say most of ours have iPhones or fairly good ones.

I’ve no idea if bullying takes place because of phones - hope not - but I don’t think your DD is wrong.

[icelollycraving]

Ds is year 6 and has an iPhone. Most of his friends do too.

[SunnyNights]

My year 8 has an iPhone 12. It was a Christmas present, got a good deal and plan to not upgrade for a good few years. Local comp school and majority have an iPhone.

Surprised by some saying theirs had broken? We have always found they last for many years.

[BurbageBrook]

Try 4gadgets or Envirophone for second hand iPhones and then buy your own SIM.

[angelalansburysteapot]

iPhone 12 mini but he'll have it until yr9 at least. Anything bigger, he'd probably drop it!

[Hayisforhorse]

Here (affluent southern city, nice comprehensives and private schools) most Yr 7 have iPhones, but not the latest model usually. It's really common for parents to have iphones and then they pass them down to their children after a few years. As Apple continue to support older models for longer (longer than other brands do) an iPhone can last 4-6 years. You can also stick a new battery in them if needed to prolong their life. Once you use the Apple ecosystem in your house then it makes sense to keep everyone in the family on the same ecosystem.

DD12 has my old iPhone SE with a newish battery (the old SE - I have the new SE). DH has a refurbished iPhone 8 and he will give that to DD12 when her old SE starts failing/no longer updated and he will upgrade his own. That way you get the most out of your phones.

There are a few of the really well-off DC at DD's boarding school with top of the range iPhones but I note many parents have SEs (which is the entry level but perfectly functional phone).

You can also buy refurbished iPhones for a reduced price, and if you keep them beyond the 2 years contract, then switch to SIM only for £5-£9/month for the last 3 years or so.

[Greenfields124]

My kids have Android phones, they don't care what phones they have, I am the same.
They both have Motorola's which are really good.

[lumpofcomfort]

These are not the replies I wanted 😂. Seems I am even more out of touch than I realised. I will look into a second hand one. We are all on Android phones but do have Apple iPads.

[MintMocha]

I teach quite a few year 7s, and yes, most do have iphones - not the most recent though, and often second hand. Many have smashed screens that they don't want to pay to repair as well. But others have a good case and screen protector and are fine. They seem to vary from about iphone 7 to the latest. CeX seems rated by a lot of people to get them.

Contract with giff gaff or similar only £5, but other places have family deals I think.

[Hayisforhorse]

Do to the main phone sites and search for refurbished as there's usually choice of how old/scratched, and often some kind of guarantee, plus you know it's not stolen.

[Summerbubbles]

My dd has an iPhone 7 in year 6, upgrading to a 13 when she joins year 7 in September when her contract is up for renewal. To be fair it's the only thing she asks for that is expensive.
You can get some really good deals on music magpie for used handsets if you want sim free.

[ImStayingInside]

DD Y6 has just swapped her iPhone 6S (hand me down from my brother) for my old iPhone SE 2020 as my contract was up.
If she wants a newer model she can have it for Christmas when she will be in Y7.

[Lagarthatheviking]

iPhone 7, bought second hand from musicmagpie. With a £10 contract from giffgaff....

[FrankieStein403]

Ditto dd got se2020 for Xmas from music magpie - no contract - I dont want unexpected purchases (problem with iPhone IMHO - you can't really stop purchases coming off a contract) so I just top up a prepay bundle 30 days £10