This is no April Fool’s Day joke: Any iPhone you want is now much cheaper.
From now through June, Walmart (WMT) is teaming up with carriers Verizon (VZ), AT&T (T), and Sprint (S) to offer $100 off any iPhone. A Walmart spokesperson confirmed to Coins2Day that the deal is available on all iPhone models, including the iPhone SE, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6s Plus.
Apple (AAPL) launched its latest iPhone, the iPhone SE, on Thursday. The device comes with a 4-inch screen and has a nearly identical design to the smartphone it’s replacing, the iPhone 5s. In addition to the SE model, Apple also sells the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s lines. They offer larger displays, measuring 4.7 and 5.5 inches, and different designs than the iPhone SE. Depending on the model, iPhones cost hundreds of dollars. The lowest-end iPhone SE, for instance, starts at $399.
Walmart’s offer could be a way for the company to lure iPhone shoppers to its store. While some companies have been offering special deals on iPhones for quite some time, they’re typically short-lived. Most recently, carrier T-Mobile (TMUS) announced an offer to provide customers half off an iPhone when a customer purchased another iPhone and activated a new line. The half-off deal is available for a limited time, however, so it’s unknown how long it’ll last.
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Walmart’s deal has its own share of caveats. For one, customers need to go to one of the company’s brick-and-mortar stores in order to get the $100-off deal, so the offer does not apply to online purchases. In addition, the offer is only available on the three aforementioned carrier networks, and only if customers agree to pay for the iPhone in an installment agreement, rather than in full at the time of checkout.
If customers satisfy all of those requirements, they’ll receive either a reduction in their monthly installment payments or a credit on their bills, depending on the carrier they choose, according to the Walmart spokesperson.
While Walmart says the deal is offered on all iPhones, the spokesperson was quick to note that customer options will be limited to what models the store carries. So, in the event your local store doesn’t carry that iPhone SE you want, or doesn’t have a certain iPhone 6s Plus model, you’ll have to find another Walmart to get your deal.
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Either way, some may wonder why the deal is only available to those who agree to installment plans. Simple: It’s an opportunity for carriers to keep customers for the long term.
Installments are pitched as a way for consumers to amortize the cost of a device over a period of time (typically two years, though it could be shorter, depending on the carrier and plan a customer chooses). However, the installment agreements are also a contract with carriers that customers will pay over that, say, two-year period, the full price of the phone. Once customers have done so, they can technically bring that device to another carrier. Until they pay off the device, they’re locked into the carrier, unless they decide to leave early and face early termination fees.
So, while the $100 deal is an opportunity to save some money for customers, it’s also an opportunity for carriers to keep customers for the long haul.
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One other tidbit the Walmart spokesperson shared: The mega-retailer is offering a $150 deal on all Samsung phones, including the company’s latest Galaxy S7. All of the same rules apply in the Samsung deal.
