iPhone 12 pre-orders are live: How to buy it now

(Image credit: Apple)

The iPhone 12 is officially available for pre-order, and it's one of Apple's biggest phone upgrades yet. If you're looking to get your hands on hot new features like 5G support, blazing A14 Bionic performance and advanced MagSafe charging, we've got you covered with where to buy the iPhone 12.

Note that the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro are available for pre-order as of today (October 16), and start arriving on October 23. The iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max go up for pre-order on November 6, with a ship date of November 13.

The iPhone 12 starts at $799 upfront with 64GB of storage, while the iPhone 12 Pro starts at $999 upfront with 128GB of storage. However, the price of paying the phone off on a monthly installment plan varies by carrier. 

Here are all the major retailers where you can secure an iPhone 12 pre-order, as well as some early deals. It's also worth keeping in mind that inventory of the iPhone 12 Pro is selling out fast. Deliveries for certain models of this phone are already being pushed into November. 

iPhone 12 pre-orders at AT&T

AT&T has the iPhone 12 starting at $26.67 a month on an installment plan, or $799 full price. The iPhone 12 Pro starts at $33.34 per month on a plan, or $999 all at once. There are also some early trade-in deals available, including one that gets you a free iPhone 12 on an Unlimited plan with an eligible trade-in. 

iPhone 12: free with Unlimited + trade-in @ AT&T

iPhone 12: <a href="https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-8900245-15735111?sid=hawk-custom-tracking&url=https://www.att.com/" data-link-merchant="att.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">free with Unlimited + trade-in @ AT&T
Apple's new iPhone 12 is finally here and AT&T is offering the first major discount. Currently, new and existing AT&T subscribers can get the iPhone 12 for free when purchased with an AT&T Unlimited Plan and with trade-in of an iPhone 8 (or higher). It's the first iPhone 12 deal we've seen and one of the fastest discounts we've seen on a new iPhone. 

iPhone 12 pre-orders at Verizon

Verizon has the iPhone 12 available starting at $33.33 per month on a monthly payment plan. Meanwhile, the iPhone 12 Pro will run you $41.66 per month to start.

Verizon also has its own free iPhone 12 trade-in promotion, as well as an early deal on the iPhone 12 mini.

iPhone 12: free with Unlimited + trade-in @ Verizon

iPhone 12: <a href="https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-8900245-15733793?sid=hawk-custom-tracking&url=https://www.verizon.com/smartphones/apple-iphone-12-announcement/" data-link-merchant="verizon.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">free with Unlimited + trade-in @ Verizon
At Verizon, trade-in an iPhone X (or higher), sign up for a Verizon Unlimited plan, and you can get the new iPhone 12 for free (with a 24-month installment plan). That's $799 off and one of the best iPhone 12 deals we've seen. 

iPhone 12 Mini: $13/mo. with Unlimited + trade-in @ Verizon

iPhone 12 Mini: <a href="https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-8900245-15733793?sid=hawk-custom-tracking&url=https://www.verizon.com/" data-link-merchant="verizon.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">$13/mo. with Unlimited + trade-in @ Verizon
At Verizon, trade-in an iPhone X (or higher), sign up for a Verizon Unlimited plan, and you can get the new iPhone 12 Mini for just $12/month (with a 24-month installment plan). That's $411 off the full cost ($699) of the iPhone 12 Mini.

iPhone 12 pre-orders at T-Mobile

The iPhone 12 starts at $27.67 per month on T-Mobile, with the iPhone 12 Pro going for $33.34 per month to start. You can score up to $850 off a new line with an eligible trade in.

iPhone 12: Up to $850 off with new line + trade-in

iPhone 12: <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=92X1584493&xcust=hawk-custom-tracking&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.t-mobile.com%2Fdevices%2Fnew-apple-iphone-release&sref" data-link-merchant="SkimLinks - t-mobile.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Up to $850 off with new line + trade-in
You can get up to $850 off by trading in an eligible device and adding a new line or switching to T-Mobile. $850 is enough to cover a new iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Mini, and a sizable chunk off an iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max.

iPhone 12 pre-orders at Apple

If you prefer to buy your iPhone 12 directly from Apple, you have a few options for doing so. You can buy your phone on one of the big three carriers through Apple's website starting at $33.29 a month. Alternatively, you can go unlocked for a one-time payment of $829, or pay $34.54 per month with by signing up for monthly installments with an Apple Card. 

The iPhone 12 Pro starts at $41.62 on a carrier through Apple's store, or $999 upfront. You can also get the phone through 24 monthly Apple Card payments of $41.62.

Michael Andronico

Mike Andronico is Senior Writer at CNNUnderscored. He was formerly Managing Editor at Tom's Guide, where he wrote extensively on gaming, as well as running the show on the news front. When not at work, you can usually catch him playing Street Fighter, devouring Twitch streams and trying to convince people that Hawkeye is the best Avenger.