How to save for the iPhone 18 without wrecking your budget

Apple doesn't confirm pricing until the keynote, so any number you read beforehand is a supply-chain estimate. As a reference point for what the Pro line has cost in recent years: roughly 1,200 to 1,400 € for the Pro, and somewhat more for the Pro Max. You can build an approximate plan with that today, then adjust it on the 9th once the real figure lands. The method in sections 2 to 4 works the same whatever the number turns out to be.

Apple's trade-in programme, or independent comparison sites, typically pay between 150 € and 400 € for an iPhone two or three generations old, depending on the model and the condition of the screen and battery. That isn't money you need to save: it's money you already have, sitting inside the phone you're using right now. Check the trade-in value before setting your savings target, so you don't save more than you need to.

Apple and carriers usually offer financing over 12 or 24 months. If it's genuinely 0% APR with no arrangement fee, the cost is the same as saving, the only difference being that you're committing future months' budget instead of past ones. There's no trap there: it's a legitimate way to spread the cost.

The problem shows up when the financing carries an arrangement fee or real interest dressed up as an "easy instalment". That's where there's an actual difference in euros, not just in when you pay. Before signing anything, check the APR, not the monthly instalment: that's the number that tells you whether you're paying extra to buy now.

If September 18 is too close to save from scratch, there are two paths that make sense:

• Wait a few months and buy later. The price won't drop much, but you can have the money ready. Split your target (estimated price minus your trade-in) across however many months you give yourself. For example, 1,300 € minus a 250 € trade-in leaves 1,050 €: over 10 months, that's 105 € a month.
• Aim at next year's model instead. If the standard model really does land in 2027, you've got plenty of runway to save without rushing: same calculation, just spread over 12 or 15 months instead of 10.

Neither path requires having the money by the 18th. It requires having a number and a date, which is exactly what most people never stop to write down.

In Neto you can set the target as a savings goal: enter the amount, the deadline, and log what you put in each month. If you also record your current iPhone's trade-in value as income against that goal, you can see at a glance how much you actually still need, without doing the subtraction by hand every time. And since the goal counts towards your net worth, you don't end up with a separate account for "the iPhone thing" and another for everything else.

You'll know the real price on September 9, but you can start planning now using last generation's range. Subtract your trade-in value before setting the target. If financing is offered, check the APR, not the instalment. And if this launch catches you without any savings in place, that's fine: spread the same calculation across however many months you have until you buy, whether that's November or next year.