Best iPhone 16 plans in Australia (January 2026)

The iPhone 17 has been out for some time now (as well as the iPhone 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max and the iPhone Air) and has proven to be a winner for Apple, with early sales numbers performing better than the iPhone 16 at launch.

With that said, the iPhone 16 is still a very capable handset for a cheaper price (starting at AU$1,249 compared to the iPhone 17’s AU$1,399), especially if you’re upgrading from a much older iPhone. In several ways, the handset also beats the budget-oriented iPhone 16e – which only has one rear-facing camera and no MagSafe support.

Our iPhone 16 review praised the introduction of camera control features, the action button and the powerful A18 chip, but also noted at the time that the handset isn’t a major upgrade over the iPhone 15.

Now, being an older model, the iPhone 16 can be found for much cheaper than the official RRP if you’ll be going the outright route. We saw plenty of deals for the handset over last year’s Black Friday and Boxing Day sales, with the base 128GB model being sold as low as AU$1,099.

The price has since gone back up slightly, with retailers like JB Hi-Fi selling the iPhone 16 for AU$1,149. Pairing an outright purchase with one of our best SIM-only plans is a solid option, but this price point still doesn’t quite fit in as one of the best cheap phones.

Alternatively, if you’re looking to get an iPhone from a local telco and pay it off over a long-term contract, we've found the cheapest and best high-data plans for the iPhone 16.

• Best iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max plans
• Best iPhone 17 plans
• Best iPhone Air plans
• Best iPhone 16e plans

Best iPhone 16 plans: our picks

Best overall iPhone 16 plan

iPhone 16 (128GB) | Optus AU$55 Choice Plus plan | 50GB data | 24 Months | AU$107.02p/m

As Vodafone puts all its eggs into the iPhone 17 basket, it is no longer stocking the iPhone 16 – making Optus your best option. But for AU$107.02 per month, we can’t really recommend this plan, given that right now you can grab the iPhone 17 on the Vodafone Small plan for just AU$97.29 per month, a full AU$10 cheaper for a handset that we consider a significant upgrade. Heck, the iPhone Air is even more cheap at AU$88.95 per month!

Minimum total cost: $1,303.48 | Cost over 24 months: AU$2,718.96

View Deal

Best premium iPhone 16 plan

iPhone 16 (128GB) | Optus AU$65 Choice Plus plan | 200GB | 24 Months | AU$117.02 p/m

As with our recommendation above, if you're looking to pair a new iPhone 16 with a big-data plan, Optus is your best option at the time of writing. However, you can get the iPhone 17 on Vodafone's Medium plan that offers the same 200GB of data and free unlimited international calls and texts to select countries for AU$10 p/m less than this iPhone 16 plan – making it a more sensible option for anyone looking to upgrade.

Minimum total cost $1,313.48 | Cost over 24 months is: AU$2,958.96

View Deal

Compare iPhone 16 telco plans

Still want to know what other carriers are offering? Here's a quick look at what you'’ll pay each month for the 128GB iPhone 16 paired with various plans over a 24-month contract.

Other iPhone 16 deals

While we have been steering you towards the iPhone 17 in the phone plans above, the iPhone 16 does make more sense if you’re willing to pay upfront, as it’s received a price reduction and some worthwhile deals from retailers.

You can find the best current prices from our retail partners in the widget below:

iPhone 16: Key Information

Both iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models have received large upgrades over the iPhone 15, at least by Apple standards. There's an all-new A18 (and A18 Pro) chipsets specifically built to handle the rigours of AI functionality through Apple Intelligence, while the cameras have seen significant changes to hardware and software.

Apple Intelligence offers a whole array of AI features across Apple's entire range of existing applications. There's language models similar to ChatGPT for texts or emails, a new 'Visual Intelligence' app that is just like Google Lens and even image and emoji generators.

The improvements aren't all software based, though. Regarding hardware, the iPhone 16 series sports an upgraded camera with a new physical camera control button that directly interacts with the camera app, allowing you to snap shots like a digital Camera. Apple's new 'Fusion camera' is the new 48MP main camera thanks to its ability to swiftly change between taking storage-friendly images and high-resolution photos, as well as offering Stereoscopic capture for Apple Vision Pro.

Coming in five vibrant and attractive colourways – Ultramarine, Pink, Black, Teal and white – the iPhone 16 can be yours today from AU$1,249.

iPhone 16 Specs comparison