Apple wanted to launch a lower-cost iPhone, but maybe not this low. Walmart has undercut Apple’s pricing, offering the 16GB iPhone 5C for $79 with a contract, $20 off the price that Apple and its carrier partners are charging. Customers can pre-order the 5C from Walmart and those orders will be filled on first-come, first-served basis. The retailer says the phones need to be picked up by September 25.
On September 20, when the iPhone 5S goes on sale, Walmart will offer the 16GB version of that device for $189, $10 off Apple’s price. Discounts will also be offered to iPhone owners who bring in existing devices for trade-in. And Walmart is further cutting the price of the iPhone 5, which it started offering for $100 last week. Now last year’s iPhone (which Apple has said it will no longer manufacture) will start at $79 for the 16GB model, and the 8GB and 16GB versions of the iPhone 4S will both cost 97 cents.
Meanwhile, Sprint is offering the 5C for no money down when customers bring an existing number to Sprint and sign a two year contract. The carrier is also offering unlimited data to customers who sign up for its Unlimited Plan. T-Mobile U.S., which no longer has contract pricing, is offering the 5C for zero down followed by 24 monthly payments of $22 each, which comes out to $528. (The unlocked price from Apple is $549.)
The nation’s two largest carriers, Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility, are both offering the 5C for $99 (16GB) and $199 (32GB) for customers who sign new two-year contracts. For customers who want an early upgrade program, the 5C will cost $22 a month (16GB) or $27 a month ($32GB) from AT&T, and it will cost $23 a month (16GB) or $27 a month (32GB) from Verizon Wireless.
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