Tomorrow only Best Buy will give you a “free” iPhone 5 if you trade in your old iPhone 4 or 4S. The deal is a new offer of $150 in trade-in credit plus Best Buy’s already-announced $50 off discount on iPhone 5.
We’ve been hearing this from multiple sources today, and CNet confirmed the news this morning.
This is a great opportunity to upgrade your phone if you’ve been waiting for a while, but bear in mind that discounts on iPhones are always a good sign that a new model is coming soon. In addition, there is some fine print.
Apple CEO Tim Cook
You have to get the deal in-store — shocker, they want to see the condition of your old phone — and you have to activate the phone on a two-year contract with Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint. As usual, you’ll pay a little bit of sales tax and any carrier activation fees.
The iPhone 5S is widely rumored to be coming soon, with June a possible launch date and other analysts saying that iPhone 5S and a cheaper iPhone will launch in July. Don’t hold your breath, however, as Apple CEO Tim Cook has stated that no major new product launches would take place until the fall, and other sources say that iPhone 5S screens are just scheduled to be entering mass production in June.
“We have some really great stuff coming in the fall and all across 2014,” Cook said on Apple’s earnings call in late April.
Apple fans, however — and Apple investors — are hoping that Cook is underpromising and planning to overdeliver.
One other caveat before you jump into the Best Buy deal:
As 9to5Mac highlights, you can sometimes get more than $150 for an iPhone 4 or 4S, particularly a higher-end model. For instance, a “flawless” 64 GB iPhone 4S is worth $215 from Gazelle:
Image credits: Apple, Dean Takahashi/VentureBeat
Filed under: Business, Gadgets, Mobile
