The iPhone 7 arrives on pre-order

Almost everyone who's vaguely interested in smartphone technology will know about the headline features - the lack of headphone jack, the better battery life, and the dual lens camera.

As a consumer site, we're interested in not just the specs but how much it'll cost to get our hands on one. Standalone prices are higher than in previous years - but not, as some early reports tried to make out, because of the effect of Brexit on the pound.

Credit: 360b/Shutterstock.com

Buying an iPhone SIM-free

In previous years new iPhones have gone on sale for roughly the same price as the prior year's equivalent version; last year's iPhone 6S 16GB cost £539 at launch, the same as 2015's iPhone 6 16GB did when it was first released; 2014's iPhone 5S was £549.

That was the baseline price from which the cost of every other handset could be calculated: each boost in storage cost £80 - so the 128GB version of the 6S cost £160 more than the 16GB version.

Those wanting the physically larger Plus versions would then need to factor in another £80 on top of that.

Because Apple have upgraded the entry level storage from 16GB to 32GB, and doubled the storage available in the others, the three price points have increased - but the 128GB iPhone 7 is still the same launch price as the 128GB iPhone 6 and 6S were, which shows the logic behind those increases.

The iPhone 7 Plus phablet, however, will cost from £100 to £130 more than its smaller sibling depending on how much storage users want.

Spreading the cost

All four of the UK's main networks are selling the iPhone 7: they're taking orders from today, with the aim of getting the new handsets to their customers in time for general release on September 16th.

Each of the networks is selling the handsets in the four standard colours - but only O2 appear to be selling the 32GB versions in the and EE have made it clear that they're selling both the standard black and the "Jet Black" versions.

In alphabetical order, here's what each of the main networks are offering:

The iPhone 7 on EE

The 32GB version of the iPhone 7 generally comes with an upfront cost of £45.99. There are two exceptions: the 2GB plan comes with an upfront cost of £99.99; those opting for the 7GB 4GEE Max plan will only need to pay £9.99 upfront.

Monthly prices for the tariffs range from £45.99 for the 2GB deal to £55.99 for the 7GB 4GEE Max Plan, up to £65.99 for another 4GEE Max Plan, this time offering 40GB of data per month.

The 128GB version will cost users either £49.99 or £99.99 upfront, depending on the tariff they choose; monthly bills will range from £50.99 for 2GB to £70.99 for 40GB.

Every plan featuring the 256GB iPhone 7 comes with an upfront cost of £99.99. The starter tariff here is 5GB for £55.99 a month, with a choice of four others going up to 40GB for £70.99.

The iPhone 7 Plus is available from £79.99 upfront for the 32GB model, to £199.99 for the 256GB model; monthly costs range from £50.99 for 2GB up to £70.99 for 40GB.

All of the above come with unlimited calls and texts.

The iPhone7 on O2

Those willing to pay for their chosen iPhone 7 or 7 Plus in full upfront will be able to get a pay monthly deal from O2 from between £18 and £55 a month, depending on how much data they want. Calls and texts are unlimited on all the plans.

People wanting to spread the cost of the iPhone 7 will still need to pay something upfront - either £59.99 or £179.99 for the 32GB and 128GB versions, and £49.99 or £169.99 for the 256GB model.

With the 32GB phone, the effect of adding the handset cost to the monthly bill will raise tariffs from the prices mentioned above to between £38 and £80 per month, depending on the upfront cost.

Add another £5 onto the cost of each plan for the 128GB model, and £10 onto the 32GB tariff prices for the 256GB iPhone 7.

Those wanting the iPhone 7 Plus should factor in upfront costs of £20 more, whichever model and tariff they go for, and an extra £5 per month on monthly bills compared to the tariff for the iPhone 7 with the same storage.

The iPhone 7 on Three

Whether customers go for the iPhone 7 or 7 Plus, the upfront costs at Three are pretty straightforward: those opting for an Essential plan will pay £149; those going for an Advanced plan (which includes Feel at Home and a tethering allowance) will almost all pay £99.

The exception with the Advanced Plans is for those customers who want unlimited data.

They can choose between paying £99 or paying nothing upfront; if they opt for the latter, their monthly bill will be £20 higher - unless they want the 256GB iPhone 7 Plus, in which case they'll pay an extra £13 a month.

Monthly prices start from £36 for the 32GB model on the Essentials Plan with 500MB of data and 300 minutes of talk time, and from £42 on the Advanced Plan for 1GB and unlimited calls and texts.

Those after more storage should add £7 per month onto prices for the 128GB model, and £14 per month more for the 256GB model.

Because the upfront prices are the same, people wanting the iPhone 7 Plus will pay an extra £8 per month for the same usage plan as someone with the equivalent iPhone 7 - so, for example, tariffs start from £44 a month for the 32GB model.

*Advanced Plan customers with all-you-can-eat data can opt to pay nothing upfront, and pay £20 more per month than the maximums shown here.

The iPhone 7 on Vodafone

There's a frankly bewildering choice of 21 tariffs for each version of the iPhone 7 at Vodafone.

That's because they offer both 12-month and 24-month contracts, and three kinds of bundle: Standard, Red, and Red Value.

Upfront costs vary dramatically depending on which choices customers go for from the above, and on the monthly price they're willing to pay.

The cheapest monthly prices listed below are for the Standard Bundle, which comes with 500MB of data and 500 minutes of calls - and the highest upfront costs.

All of Vodafone's other plans are classified as Red or Red Value Bundles, and come with unlimited calls and texts.

Those who only want to commit to Vodafone for 12 month can expect prices to vary as below:

Those happy to go with a 24-month contract will find prices are considerably lower:

Is the iPhone 7 worth it?

Apple's handsets tend to be the benchmark by which all other mobile phones are judged. With the exception of the processors they use, they often appear to have less impressive specs than rival Android handsets.

That's partly because every component is designed specifically to work with every other component in the devices.

By comparison, Android and the components found in Android handsets are designed to work across hundreds of different brands, where one wrong choice or poor manufacturing can seriously affect their overall combined performance.

The good news is that when a new iPhone comes out, the previous year's models become less expensive - so people who've been lusting after the iPhone 6S, or even the iPhone 6, should now be able to get one for significantly less than they cost not so long ago.