Refurbished iPhone options

[MrsMariaReynolds]

DS wants a refurbished iPhone for his upcoming 15th birthday. Due to the cost, we have mostly fobbed off his request (He has been asking for one since his 12th birthday essentially) but he is now making an effort to save money to at least contribute to half the cost. He has also been very responsible with the cheapy Android options he's had over the years, so I have no doubt he'll take decent care of an iPhone.

Question now is, which is the best refurbished option to go with? He says he would be happy with an iPhone 11. But is that too outdated to invest in at this point? And where would you shop for a refurbished phone? A high street shop? Online retailer like MusicMagpie?

@EileenAdler

And giving a 15 year old an iPhone SE 2022, even in the part of London where I live, will be the quickest way to put him in A&E, minus the phone !.

Oh can you give it up. Again, it's not about you.

It wasn't a an order OP gets her kid stabbed ffs, it was an alternative option OP may not have thought about. She doesn't have to buy her kid one, it was merely a suggestion.

Cost wise, the SE 2022 is comparable to some versions of the 11 so it's a reasonable alternative suggestion for an OP that was considering the 11 originally.

Presumably, the OP is best placed to know if a £350-450 phone is safe with her son or not (and has already made that assessment to be happy with that price point). The OP has already stated her son is good with his phones and takes care of them.

The insults about having more money than sense for @oudie an the OP (by association, for considering a similarly priced phone) are just rude.

The SE is a small phone though, isn't it? I'd be quite happy with it but DS would rather not. Looks like a decent refurbished 11 will be a bit over £300...which is more than I'd ever personally spend on a phone, but there you have it.

Thank you all again for your advice 😊

Physical size is not much difference but screen size is better with the 11.

I got my dd an iPhone 11 for her 14th birthday/Xmas in December. I had intended to go refurbed but the cheapest I could find in excellent condition was about 420 euro, so I bought brand new for 520, I thought it made more sense tbh. That's in Ireland, don't know what prices are like in the UK.

Just checked uk prices, it's 439 in currys so not cheap but you can pay over 9 months. It is a lot of money though.

OP I also could not justify the price of a new iPhone.

My dd was given a 6s some years back as a hand me down, and it's on its last now. She has looked after it well and had it for a long while, but it's time had come. I had been looking for ages for something to replace it with. I've been searching for a well priced 2nd hand or refurb and just ordered a XR which was around the same price as a refurb 8plus.

And it looks like it will be supported for longer than an 8.so this is what we went for. I believe it's slightly bigger as well, which has its pros and cons I suppose.

I hadn't seen that one mentioned yet, so if thst helps at all.

I've just bought my son a refurbished iPhone se 2020 on Amazon for 170, I have the same phone bought new for 450 and it's absolutely fine. We just do a sim only deal from Tesco, and I don't worry too much about him scratching it up