Walmart now selling 16GB iPhone 5 for $129

iphone 5 walmart

Not to be outdone by Best Buy, Walmart has today announced a promotion that could save you big bucks on Apple’s latest handset. The retailer is now taking additional $60 off the iPhone 5, taking the price of the 16GB from $189 to $129 with contract.

It’s also knocking $50 off of the iPhone 4S, taking its price from $89 to $39. Again, the deal requires that you sign a 2-year agreement with either AT&T, Sprint or Verizon (T-Mobile not included). And according to reports, the price changes are permanent…

Here’s Mashable:

“We asked Walmart if the new pricing is temporary and were told that no, this is in fact the permanent price of the items. The new price is only available in Walmart stores and is not available online.

The price drop is also notable because Apple has historically limited the degree to which retailers can drop prices on its products. Although some retailers such as Walmart routinely discount items by $10, cutting the price by more than 30% (in the case of the iPhone 5) and nearly 70% (in the case of the iPhone 4S) is unprecedented.”

If my memory serves me right, Walmart held a similar promotion back in December of last year where it sold the iPhone 5 for $127 and the iPhone 4S for $47. Obviously, that was during the holidays. But my point is, this kind of discounting isn’t unheard of.

Also keep in mind that the iPhone 5 is nearing the end of its 12-month life cycle. It was introduced in September of 2012, and reports suggest that Apple is planning on a similar launch timeframe this year. So Walmart could just be trying to clear old inventory.

Either way, this is one of the better deals we’ve seen on Apple’s two newest handsets to date, and it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re not interested in the next-generation iPhone. Again the prices are good in-store only and require a 2-year carrier agreement.