Best Buy Cuts iPhone 4 Price to $50

Best Buy is cutting the price of the iPhone 4 in half for AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint.

This morning the electronics retailer sent out an email advertising the iPhone 4 for $50, half the price Apple and the carriers charge for the phone. The phone comes in black and white on each carrier and comes with a two-year contract.

Best Buy isn’t the first retailer to cut the price of the iPhone 4. RadioShack and Target recently cut prices on the two-year-old smartphone as well. Both retailers cut the iPhone 4 to the same $50 price as Best Buy last week.

While both Target and RadioShack also cut prices on the iPhone 4S, Best Buy hasn’t done so yet. The company still sells the iPhone 4S starting at $200 for the 16GB model. Target and RadioShack start the iPhone 4S at $150, instead.

With the iPhone 5 looming on the horizon, cutting prices on the current iPhone models makes sense. Even with the iPhone 5 a few months away, it is tempting to wait for it to arrive before buying a new smartphone. A lower price on the iPhone 4 could push some potential users to buy a new phone now, however.

Given Apple’s recent history, it’s likely the iPhone 4 will drop to free-on-contract this fall when the next iPhone launches. Users that are looking for an inexpensive iPhone might want to wait the few months for that price drop to come. Four or five months is a long time to wait, however, and $50 is still a great price for the first iPhone with the Retina Display.