Best iPhone 16 contract deals in South Africa

Partially state-owned mobile network operator Telkom offers the best contract pricing on Apple’s iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro Max, while Vodacom is the only network to offer the more affordable iPhone 16e, a MyBroadband analysis has revealed.

Apple unveiled the iPhone 16 lineup at an event in September 2024 and the more budget-friendly iPhone 16e in February 2025.

The base iPhone 16 features a 6.1-inch 2,556 x 1,179-pixel OLED display with a 60Hz refresh rate, Apple’s in-house A18 chip, 8GB of RAM, and a choice of 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB of storage.

Apple said the A18 chip enables a wide range of artificial intelligence features, including text and image generation, writing tools, and new Siri capabilities.

Regarding camera functionality, the smartphone features a dual camera setup on the rear, comprising a 48MP primary shooter and a 12MP ultrawide sensor.

The top-tier iPhone 16 Pro Max features a 6.9-inch 2,868 x 1,320-pixel OLED display and bumps the base iPhone 16’s refresh rate up to 120Hz.

It also packs a more powerful version of Apple’s new mobile chip, the Apple A18 Pro, and 8GB of RAM. It is available with 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of storage.

The A18 Pro has a 16-core neural engine capable of 35 trillion operations per second, a 6-core GPU, and a 6-core CPU.

Apple said it was the fastest CPU in any smartphone at launch.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max’s camera setup includes the same 48MP primary shooter as the base iPhone 16. However, it is combined with a new 48MP ultrawide sensor and a 12MP 5x telephoto camera.

Apple unveiled its “budget-friendly” iPhone 16e earlier this year. It packs the same A18 chip as the base iPhone 16, 8GB of RAM, and a choice of 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB of storage.

It has a 6.1-inch 2,532 x 1,179-pixel OLED display with a 60Hz refresh rate, and it features a single 48MP sensor on the rear for photographic capabilities.

iPhone contract showdown

MyBroadband compared contract pricing for the most affordable iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro Max, and, where available, iPhone 16e packages from prominent mobile network operators in South Africa.

While Cell C doesn’t offer any Apple devices, Vodacom, MTN, and Telkom offer the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro Max on contract, while only Vodacom lists the iPhone 16e.

Vodacom offers the iPhone 16 256GB on its Red Core 2.8GB plan for R999 per month over three years. The plan includes 2.8GB of anytime data, 2.8GB of off-peak data, 200 minutes, and 150 SMSes.

It sells the iPhone 16 Pro Max 512GB on the same plan for R1,399 per month over the same contract period.

MTN doesn’t offer the 256GB variation of the iPhone 16 or the 512GB variation of the Pro Max. However, it sells the iPhone 16 128GB on its Yellow Prime plan for R839 per month over three years.

The plan includes 2GB of anytime data and 200 minutes.

The operator also sells the iPhone 16 Pro max 256GB on its Yellow Deluxe plan, providing 6GB of anytime data and 250 minutes, for R1,299 per month over 36 months.

Telkom’s iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro Max contracts are the most affordable.

It sells the iPhone 16 256GB on its FlexOn 6 plan for R889 per month over three years. The plan features 6GB of anytime data, 150 all-network minutes, 1,000 on-network minutes, and 1,000 SMSes.

The partially state-owned operator sells the iPhone 16 Pro Max 512GB on the same plan for R1,279 per month over three years.

Vodacom is the only operator currently offering the iPhone 16e on contract. It sells the 128GB variation on its Red Core 1.4GB plan for R749 per month over 36 months.

The plan includes 1.4GB of anytime data, 1.4GB of Night Owl data, 100 minutes, and 150 SMSes.

The table below compares the pricing of iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro Max on the most affordable contracts available through Vodacom, MTN, and Telkom.