Dunno, do mobile.co.uk have a catch? Seem to recall a number of sites a while back that had cash back schemes they made it purposely difficult to use...
They used to do a lot of cashback schemes, which weren't difficult as such, but were something you needed to remember to do. Now, most of their contracts don't involve cashback claims - that one I quoted doesn't.
Just do the maths with what you're expecting to pay for the SIM only and go for the cheaper option. Of course does depend if you can get the interest free option or afford large upfront, hence why most people just mindlessly go for contracts despite them being more expensive.
Well yes. That's what I was asking: is it really cheaper to buy direct from Apple?
I've seen the whole "buy the handset and get a sim only deal: it's cheaper" thing for years and just assumed it was true of top end phones, as I always found mid-range handsets cheaper on contracts. But looking at it now, I'm not so sure it holds true for high-end either, really.
An exception, for me: couple of years ago I got a Xperia XZ1 on contract for £21/month (£504) and a couple of months later it was cheap on Amazon for the handset at £220, so I got one for my wife and a £8/month sim only contract (£412 total). But that's the only time I've really seen that when shopping.