Apple’s iPhone 4S is now $50 cheaper on Sprint, a move that could be a sign of new iPhones to come.
Sprint has not cut the price of its 8 GB iPhone 4, which still sells for $99 with a two-year contract. Best Buy, however, is selling the iPhone 4 for $50 on Sprint, Verizon and AT&T.
It’s not unusual for the price of Apple products to fall before the launch of a new model, but price drops don’t necessarily mean the next iPhone is right around the corner. Last year, for instance, retailers started slashing iPhone 4 prices two months before Apple introduced the iPhone 4S, and in May, retailers offered temporary $50 price cuts for both the iPhone 4 and 4S for no obvious reason.
Still, rumor has it that Apple will announce the next iPhone — an “iPhone 5,” perhaps — on Sept. 12, and will release the phone a week later. If that’s true, we can expect more retailers to follow Sprint’s lead in the coming weeks.
As for whether the iPhone 4S is worth buying at $50 off, probably not. If Apple history repeats itself, the price of the iPhone 4S will drop to $100 once the next iPhone launches, but it’ll only be available with 8 GB of storage. Should you require an iPhone 4S with more storage, now’s your only chance to save money.
Most prospective iPhone buyers, however, should bank an extra $50 over the next month and get the next iPhone when it becomes available. Sales like these are mainly for people who aren’t reading tech blogs, and are blissfully unaware of what’s coming.
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