Apple

Get him an iPhone 15 plus he will never stop thanking you

14 years old? Give him an SE2 and he can enjoy that until he’s 18

13 and higher. The battery life improvement from 12 to 13 was massive

You don’t need to get him anything.

That said the iPhone has a much longer support cycle than any android, my iPhone 11 Pro Max I just replaced still gets updates. I’ll be giving that to my 14 y/o son for his birthday.

I say this as an iPhone user, I held onto my 11 until just recently and really only replaced it because I dropped a plate on it at the gym and cracked the screen.

The 13/14 will probably be noticeably better than the Samsung he’s had and if he wants an iPhone it’s probably for iMessage.

My 2 cents

Get the iPhone SE 2nd gen , great phone for a kid and has great performance and camera

I was messing with them the other day in the store and there actually really nice and feel great in hand because of the size

And there a lot cheaper

I’d suggest just a 2020 or 23 SE or older iPhone. Don’t buy top of the line no matter how careful he is it’s a liability. Not to mention having a good phone makes a kid a target for bullies who will steal or break it.

I’m 36 years old and I’m not even buying the 15 for myself! 12-14 is more than enough!

The 14 has some nice safety features such as crash detection that automatically calls emergency services if he is in a collision that you may want. Otherwise it’s pretty much the same phone as a 13 and either will do.

I’d go for the 13 Pro, 14 Pro or 15 Pro. I’d argue most kids use their phones more than adults, and they’re most likely to use the cameras to the full extent. I shot many short films and vlogs throughout my high school career. And an iPhone is also a perfect accesible entry-point to photography — both in terms of cost and ease of use. While sure, you can save some money with a non-pro model or an even older model, I feel like these three newer generations offer the best camera systems. For a child, I think that invitation to explore is worth the extra buck. And even if they don’t get into photography and videography, they’re not going to have this much energy and free time ever again. A good camera to capture and record these moments is priceless in my opinion.

All that said, my opinion is biased as someone who did media throughout school, is still a hobbyist photographer, and has 58,000+ items in my Photos library.

My 14 year old has an iPhone 11 and it does him just fine.

I would definitely go for a 13 or 15 for non-pro, and 14 Pro and above for Pro

You can get an iPhone 11 for free if you go to metro by Tmobile

15 years old with a smartphone has been proven time and time again to be a bad move but it’s ur kid and I’m sure I know if he can handle having a smartphone at all so if u get him an iPhone go with one that will be able to get the next run of iOS updates and save ur money. If he is responsible, maybe upgrade

I would suggest an iPhone 14 (not pro) since the back glass is easy replaceable on that model and you can get it for a decent price nowadays

Could have gotten an iPhone SE for less than $100 with plan activation from Walmart’s Straight Talk for the Black Friday deal since the beginning of the month. Great beginner phone without spending too much.

i have an iphone 12 and it still feels like a new phone. iphones are super great for longevity, so theres rarely ever a point in getting the newest one. the 14 and 15 aren’t different enough to warrant the price difference rn. iphones are kinda hitting a ceiling where the newest version is never really that different from the last one. in a lot of ways, my iphone 12 gives me mostly the same experience of having the newest phone and i really don’t plan on upgrading for a while because iphones take a long time to become heavily obsolete

Go for the best deal on the highest model, meaning take advantage of any “add a line” deal. We grabbed an iPhone 13 Mini for ours.

If he’s going to take care of it and you know he works hard then yeah get him a newer one.

If he’s reckless and careless. Get him an older one or hand me down one.

Stick with the 14, they are cheaper and work great. There really isn’t a huge difference between the 14 and 15

Older is ok. He’s 14 he doesn’t need the newest. I just wouldn’t get him an SE, go at least 13 or 14. They will be supported for years to come with the A15 chip

An iPhone 12 or 11 will serve him well. If you want to go above and beyond a 12 or 13 pro max is about as high as I would go

13 mini.

Save your money and get him an iPhone 12 or 13. They can easily last him 4 years.

Just be sure to get a good case and turn on find my friends with him…I am pushing 40 and have lost my phone and had friends and family lose theirs and find my friends got it found every time

I’ve had a 12 mini since launch… it’s still amazing and receiving all the updates :) so a 12 or 13 should be perfect. It’s not too old and not insanely expensive anymore

Highly recommend the 13 -- great model and a more economical option especially considering his age... check into AppleCare+ as well.

Depends on how long he plans on keeping it before upgrading.

Check for carrier offers, Verizon for instance you could have a 15 for free with a new line

Get an older one and for your son, I imagine a plus model might be the right choice.

because your kid has has crappy androids with USB-C ports, don’t get him an iPhone with a lightning port and get the base iPhone 15.

If hes 14 years old getting an iphone hes very lucky. Im 19 rn and got my first phone when i was entering highschool. I personally would get him an iphone x or 8 plus to see if he can handle being responsible with a phone in the first place. And at your discretion you can decide wether you want to upgrade or not.

Anything down to the xr is supported with iOS 17 now even after that support ends the older models still get security updates for years to come so they are still useful for a few years after but I would go with a 12-15

Anything iPhone 12 and up would be perfect

If you are with T-Mobile get a 13. Good deal on those right now and it’s a great phone.

I think iPhone 15 would be fine.Its compact and handy. You can also consider very good alternatives like Samsung S23 or Pixel 8.But i think since iMessage thing is considered the basic texting method in your region ,do think multiple times before coming to decision

Grab the 14 pro for same price as the regular 15, trade in that Samsung and get some credit towards your bills😎

I still use a 8 because of jailbreaks and the checkm8 exploit but I’d recommend a 12 or newer

If you can afford it, just get him the regular 15. Itll last him 3-4 years at least and he'll be old enough to work for his next iphone.

Has he had any phone before the iPhone? If it’s a cheap android, any iPhone that’s on the latest iOS will do. Even a Xs or 11. If he’s had a decent android, you should probably go for a 12 or 13.

Tip from someone who’s not a parent: If he’s ungrateful, take it and use it yourself to spite him.

If you can afford then why not. If still an iphone but wanna save, go for ip12 pro max

He's younger than the first iPhone lol

I got a regular 12. Thats enough.

Go to T mobile and get a great deal on an iPhone 13.

Maybe check out some refurbished ones or go to some trustworthy secondhand stores for 12/13

Have you asked him? I probably has a few figured out?

I know I’m not in the majority, however, with the deals out there at the moment, you can get him a 15 almost free with a 36 mo contract telling him, this is it for 3 years! I got my 13 and 11 year old (at the time) iPhone 14’s and told them the same thing… all good while they probably don’t understand, and I’ll get them anything newer as long as they pay for the balance and get another 36 months… better to have the newer version and not worry about problems and have AppleCare on it cause they will break it and then let them take responsibility of upgrading

Not thrilled with my 14. Microphone picks up WAY too much background noise. And screen frame is do narrow, holding the phone causes random movements on the screen. Plus, the touch screen is do sensitive, apps start when my finger is only near the screen.

get him an ipod touch

Up to you how "recent" you want the model to be. I'd just go through your carrier for any promotions or discounts on iPhone.

I would have got him the standard 15. Usually I recommend getting the last year’a (or before) pro over the new standard one, but in this case he’s young, probably wouldn’t feel too much of a difference there and for them having the newest model is probably more “cool” and “popular”