you can use https://www.plug.tech/ for cheap iphones, these are literally brand new condition with no noticable scratches.

Highly recommend, I have bought 3 iPhones from there. I got iPhone 11 for my kids and it works greats and supports all the latest apps.

I have an XR. And it works pretty good. And it has a good size screen , good for both games and apps . Make sure you get a good MB too. Like 154 or 256MB especially if he’s gonna have photos or games

Good options are 13, or if you want him to have dynamic island, 14 Pro (don’t buy regular 14) or 15 in my opinion. Other aren’t really worth it.

Of course you can buy him a 15 pro if you’re willing to shell out the extra money.

But why does he need a smartphone? Is it because his education demands it or all his friends have one and he wants it?

It is good to keep one updated in terms of technology and content but having a smartphone at such a young age is probably not a good idea. But if he insists, 13 or 14 series would do. Personally, he can make use of the iPad or a Galaxy Tab for both studying and movies or games. I remember sharing my phone with my brother when I was 16. It was a Sony K310i, oh man, the fun we had using that phone, having an IR blaster to transfer mp3 files haha.

Used SE would be my way to go.

Every iPhone is pretty much the same now days.

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

The iPhone SE is a great choice. It’s $400

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 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

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.

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

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’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.

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