Best iPhone: every iPhone Apple currently sells, ranked

Head over to the Apple Store, and you'll notice to the Cupertino company is selling a total of six different iPhones at the moment – so what are the differences between them, and which one should you be buying? Let's find out.

From the flagship iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, to the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus from 2017, we've ranked all the phones you can pick up from Apple, starting with the best running right through what'd consider the worst value for money.

A couple of caveats before we get started, though: first, all of these phones are very good, even the ones we've positioned near the bottom of the list, and second, everyone's mileage is different — some people don't need the latest features.

The fact of the matter is, you can't go wrong with any of them. Just think about what's most important to you (bang for your buck, a large screen or top-of-the-line hardware, for example), then read on to meet the iPhone of your dreams. 

• These are the very best smartphones you can buy today
• These are the very best cheap smartphones you can buy today

The iPhone 11 Pro is in the middle of the three 2019 iPhones in terms of price, and we reckon it's the most appealing of the lot – you get the triple-lens rear camera and all the associated tricks, plus a better screen, but you don't have to pay the very top prices.

Green, silver, grey and gold are your colour choices for the 5.8-inch iPhone, and of course it's blazing fast with that A13 Bionic chip under the hood. Battery life has been improved this year as well, and the handset should last several hours longer than its predecessor.

The iPhone 11 is the iPhone XR for 2019, with a slightly inferior screen and a slightly inferior camera compared to the top-end Pro models. It's also significantly cheaper though, of course, and therefore it's going to appeal to a lot of iPhone shoppers.

The screen measures 6.1 inches, so the phone is nice and big, and in terms of processor it matches the iPhone 11 Pro models exactly. You get more colour choices than you do with the more expensive models as well: namely purple, yellow, green, black, white and red.

If you want the very best iPhone that Apple offers right now, then the iPhone 11 Pro Max is it – the best camera, the fastest internals, the biggest and best screen (6.5 inches of display running at 1,242 x 2,688 pixels). It's a very impressive piece of technology, that's for sure.

So why is it not top of our list? We reckon the other two 2019 iPhones are slightly better value for money, but if you've got the cash then by all means splash out on the iPhone 11 Pro Max. The available colour choices are green, silver, grey and gold, so take your pick.

It's really no surprise that the iPhone XR was the biggest seller of the 2018 iPhones – for £250/$250 less than the XS models, you got a lot of the same specs, more colours to pick from, and of course the same software, making it a must-have for cost-conscious shoppers.

The screen tech is LCD rather than OLED, and you have to make do with a single-lens rather than a dual-lens rear camera, but it's still a great camera by all accounts. We think those compromises are worth the price savings, and this is still an excellent iPhone choice.

The iPhone 8 Plus launched in 2017 but can still hold its own, and still runs the latest iOS software too: if you're looking for an Apple handset that gives you a lot back for a mid-range phone price, then the 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus could be what you're looking for.

Of course it has the old-school chunky bezels and Touch ID in place, but there's still plenty to like about this phone, including a very decent camera and wireless charging. We think the extra screen space is enough to edge it higher in our rankings than the iPhone 8.

The 2017 iPhone 8 might be down at the bottom of our list, but it's still worth considering – it's essentially the same as the iPhone 8 Plus, but with a smaller 4.7-inch screen. It'll appeal to those with small hands then, and those who want to spend as little as possible.

This is the cheapest iPhone you can currently buy direct from Apple (at least until the iPhone SE 2 appears), and even after a couple of years it remains speedy and slick. You will have to put up with the slightly dated-looking design, home button and all, however.

• Not a fan of Apple? These are the best Android phones you can buy today