What's the cheapest way of buying an iPhone 8?

Don't be suckered in: navigating the multitude offers reveals buying an iPhone 8 outright and signing up to a cheap sim-only deal is the most cost-effective option

The iPhone 8 is available to pre-order from today, but don't be distracted by flashy offers with low upfront costs and a high monthly fee: the cheapest way to get one is still simply buying it outright from Apple or another retailer, and taking out a low cost sim-only contract.

The 64GB iPhone 8, the cheapest of the newly launched phones, costs 699 when bought directly from Apple or from a third-party electronics store such as Currys or John Lewis. Combined with a low-cost contract or pay-as-you-go sim, such as the 5 plan offered by O2's corporate sibling Giffgaff, the cost of owning the phone for two years is 819 - lower than any competing deal of the major retailers we reviewed.