Sky iPhone 18 Pro Max deal gets you Apple’s flagship for £12 upfront

You can currently order the iPhone 18 Pro Max for just £12 upfront, with the 256GB model costing £45 a month including 3GB of data. That breaks down as £41 a month for the handset and £4 for the data plan, with the phone spread over 36 months. The data plan itself has a 12-month minimum term.

It makes the Sky iPhone 18 Pro Max deal particularly eye-catching because Apple charges £1,299 for the same 256GB phone bought outright.

The £12 figure is only the upfront payment, obviously. This isn't a £12 iPhone hiding behind some particularly imaginative small print. But for anyone who wants Apple's biggest and most expensive mainstream handset without finding hundreds of pounds on day one, it's a surprisingly accessible way to get started.

And the monthly price compares well too. A recent comparison of the major UK deals found Sky charging £45 a month for the Pro Max with 3GB, compared with £51.49 at Tesco Mobile, £48.20 at Vodafone, £52.73 at O2 and £53.73 at EE on their cheapest listed plans. Some of those alternatives include different data allowances and contract lengths, so they aren't completely like-for-like, but Sky's starting price is certainly towards the sharp end of the market.

The iPhone 18 Pro Max is Apple's current flagship, with a 6.9-inch display, the A20 Pro chip and its latest 48MP Fusion camera system, including the new variable-aperture main camera. Apple also says this generation brings the biggest battery-life increase yet seen on an iPhone.

Sky's package includes unlimited calls and texts, while unused mobile data can be rolled into its Piggybank. Customers can also change their data plan, and streaming through selected Sky apps doesn't eat into the monthly allowance.

There are trade-in savings available too. Sky says eligible customers can get money knocked off when handing over an old phone, with larger discounts available alongside some higher-data packages.

For anyone who barely uses mobile data away from Wi-Fi, though, the basic £45-a-month iPhone 18 Pro Max package is the one that really catches the eye. You are committing to three years of handset payments, and 3GB won't suit heavy mobile users, so it's worth checking both carefully before signing up.

But if the obstacle between you and Apple's £1,299 flagship is the enormous initial outlay, being able to get the order moving for £12 makes this one of the more tempting ways into an iPhone 18 Pro Max right now.