I get this question a lot from friends and readers alike: When is a good time to buy an iPhone (same question comes for iPad as well).
I always give the stock answers: Apple rarely discounts save for one day a year – Black Friday.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t good times to buy iPhones or iPads. There are.
And now (from August 27, 2012 to September 12, 2012) is one of those times when it would be a good time to buy an iPhone if you want to save a little money.
Here’s why.
It helps to understand a few things.
1. Buying an iPhone with a carrier contract will always be the cheapest way to buy an iPhone. Now, you may pay more in the long run because you have a contract, but your initial outlay of cash will always be cheapest when you get a contract.
2. When ever Apple has a new iPhone about to be released, carriers, and the major big and little box stores (Best Buy, Walmart, Radio Shack), along with the major online stores don’t want to be stuck with excess inventory. So they begin to discount their existing stock to get ready for the new ones about to come in and be launched.
Radio Shack has done that already. You can get it for $124.99 from RS, and just under $150 at Walmart.
3. Because Apple has an event scheduled for September 12th, from now until then will be optimum time to snag a new iPhone 4s. They will be under their normal cost. It is an excellent phone, and still will be after Apple’s iPhone 5 is released.
4. If you are due for an upgrade, and you can handle the soon to be 2nd gen status of the 4s, go for it. But you will need to be due for an upgrade, or be signing up for a new account.
That’s my thought? What about you? Time to upgrade?
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I was thinking of moving my AT&T iphone4 over to straight talk… any experience with this? I have no contract, but am concerned it would lose functionality or somehow the ghost of steve jobs would smite me.
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I don’t know honestly. Give them a call. If you have no contract it should be doable.
I’m waiting for the iPhone 5 to come out. I would just get the 4s, but I’ve had an older phone for quite awhile and have already saved a ton by having it. Hopefully it comes out soon!
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I ordered the 4s last September and got it the day they were released. I think you will really enjoy the 5 when it is released.
I really want to buy a new phone but I’ve just been putting it off until things really settle down with my job. We’re due for an upgrade and to renew our cell contract in January so I think I’m just going to wait until then.
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Jason, if you do wait, which I suggest you do in light of the upgrade coming, and assuming you are on ATT, my guess will be that the iPhone 4s will be available for $99 at that time, with the iPhone 4 being available for just a penny. That assumes that ATT does what they did last year when the 4s was released.
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