Should I get an iPhone in the UK or US?

Basically this Christmas I would like to buy an iPhone 7. Then I remembered that my aunt from NYC was coming and I wondered whether I should get her to buy me one there. In the UK, an iPhone 7 is £549 and in the US it's $549 (that's £408.66). So should I get an iPhone from the US? I'm aware there's a tax added when you buy it in the US so my aunt lives roughly in soho but I don't know what the tax rate is there? Also is there any other difficulties in getting it here like will it work with UK networks? What difficulties will happen getting it out of the US and in to the UK? Etc

Well, that's quite a big price difference, so if you want to buy one, get it in New York.

Yes, you can use it in the UK, but you will have to buy a new SIM card for it. I'm not sure what the tax rate in New York is, but if your aunt isn't a blabbermouth and say "this is for someone in the UK", she'll pay whatever state tax there's there and that's it.

By the time you or your aunt pays for customs and VAT it will probably cost the same.

The warranty on the phone bought in the US is only valid in the US and Canada, so any problems and you have to ship it back or pay to have it repaired locally.

Not worth it. American sales tax, warranty issues, plus UK customs duties. If she manages to avoid paying sales tax, she'll have pay UK VAT. And she MUST declare it on arrival.

Check out amazon uk. Lower prices than the UK Apple store. Just got a new iPhone from them like a month ago. Super fast delivery as usual.

All things considered, it is probably best to buy it in the UK.

By the time you've paid US sales tax and UK import duty you'll have paid more than you would in the UK. Add to that postal insurance, and the fact that you may have to ship your phone back to the US for service!