AT&T is taking the fight to Verizon and T-Mobile with the strongest pair of iPhone deals I've seen at the carrier yet

As someone who covers the best cell phone deals all year round, it's usually Verizon and T-Mobile that get the share of the coverage. Put simply, these two carriers tend to offer the most competitive promotions for new and existing customers alike.

Right now, however, AT&T is definitely offering some of the best deals – especially if you're on the hunt for a new iPhone.

The highlight? It has to be the carrier's deal on the iPhone Air right now, which is currently free with a new unlimited data line. That's not a newsworthy promotion by itself, but it's rare that you don't need a trade-in to be eligible. That's usually a rule that AT&T sticks to pretty steadfastly.

AT&T also has a few other interesting promotions you can stack to make this a stronger offering. Firstly, if you're a new online customer, you receive a $200 bonus eGift card for lower monthly costs. Secondly, if you're a multi-line user, then you can get four devices right now on an unlimited data plan that costs just $25/mo per line, which is a fantastic value for families.

Today's best iPhone deals at AT&T

Apple iPhone Air: free with a new unlimited line (no trade) at AT&T
AT&T doesn't typically give away iPhones for free without trade-in criteria, so this deal on the iPhone Air is an unusually good promotion at the carrier. Not only that, but you can also benefit from several other promotions at the carrier right now, like a $200 egift card for new online customers, and the option to bundle in four unlimited lines for just $25/mo each – both absolutely fantastic promotions that prove that AT&T is very much bringing the fight to the larger carriers currently.

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Apple iPhone 16: free with a new unlimited line (no trade) at AT&T
The iPhone 16 is also available for free under the same terms today at AT&T, which again, is impressive, but not quite as impressive as the deal on the iPhone Air above. I'd recommend going for the Air unless you're a real fan of ultra-wide photography as that's the only key advantage that this phone has over the Air.

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• See more: check out all of today's phone deals at AT&T

Up until now, deals like the above have been the reserve of customers at T-Mobile and Verizon, so it's fantastic to see AT&T offer something similar for its users.

As previously stated, AT&T nearly always requires you to trade-in to get its biggest discounts, so it's actually quite newsworthy to see a device that's still valued at $1,000 available for free without any of the sorts. By all accounts, this promotion (when combined with the others) is better than those I saw at the carrier over Black Friday last year.

Of course, the iPhone Air isn't the most popular iPhone right now, so it's not entirely surprising that AT&T has singled out this device for such a strong promotion. Most people tend to go for the iPhone 17 Pro in this budget range because that device offers more cameras, better video specs, and better battery life. Don't discount the iPhone Air, however, as it's still an amazing phone for most people.