If you’re in the market for a new smartphone, it’s hard to do better than Apple’s iPhone 5s, and this holiday weekend will see Best Buy offering the newest iPhones for as low as no money down.
Reports emerged this week that, up until Monday, May 26, Best Buy customers can bring any working smartphone in to one of the chain’s retail locations for a guaranteed minimum $100 Best Buy gift card toward the purchase of an Apple iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c. Since Best Buy is already offering the 16GB iPhone 5s on Sprint or Verizon for $99.99, that means you could walk in with your old Samsung handheld and walk out with a shiny new iPhone 5s. If you’re on AT&T, Best Buy is offering 16GB iPhone 5s units for $199.99.
iPhone seekers trading in newer phones that are in good condition are in luck, as Best Buy will give more gift card value for those with smartphones worth more than the guaranteed $100 credit. Considering how well older iPhones hold their value, you could walk out with a new iPhone that’s half paid for. If you’re swapping, say, an iPhone 5 for an iPhone 5s – because you’ve just got to have that fingerprint sensor – you could be seeing huge values on your gift card.
Best Buy is also offering the 16GB iPhone 5c for $49.99 on Sprint and Verizon. On AT&T, the iPhone 5c sells for $99.99, but the white iPhone 5c is priced at $1. At that price, you could bring in your old smartphone, trade it in for an iPhone 5c, and have enough on the gift card to walk out with a new iPhone and a set of Beats Earbuds. That’s just the kind of Apple-Beats synergy we like to see.
What’s the catch? There’s always a catch. You’ve got to sign up for a new contract, for one, which means you have to be eligible to get one. Also, in order to get the credit toward a new iPhone, the device you bring in has to have no cracks in its screen. It’s also got to be free from water damage, and it must power on. If your phone fits all that, you’re most of the way toward a price cut on a new iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c.
The more important catch,though, is that we’re probably only about four months away from the unveiling of the next iPhone. Apple’s iPhone 6 is expected to have a bigger screen made out of super-tough sapphire, a faster processor, and a brand new design. Sure, that iPhone 5s looks good now, especially for “free,” but how good will it in five months when everybody’s walking around with a slick iPhone 6?
Well, actually, your iPhone will still look pretty good, so long as you’re taking care of it. If you’re looking to get the best smartphone on the market, you can’t go wrong with the iPhone 5s, and this long weekend is one of your best chances to get one on the cheap.
Lead image via The Full Signal.