You’ve long been able to pick up a refurbished Mac or iPad on Apple’s online store, but never an iPhone. That changes today.
Apple just added refurbished iPhones, which it has typically used as replacements for broken devices, to its online store, so you can pick up a relatively new unlocked phone for a lower price.
The 7 and 7 Plus are too new to be included in the refurb store, but you can pick up an iPhone 6s and 6s Plus for as low as $449—that’s for the 16GB 6s. The 16GB 6s Plus is $529, and the 64GB 6s Plus is $589. Apple doesn’t actually sell those models in its regular store anymore, since bumping up storage space to 32GB and 128GB with the launch of the iPhone 7.
A brand new 32GB 6s is $549 and the 128GB model is $649. A new 32GB 6s Plus goes for $649, while the 128GB version retails for $749. So you can save about $100 buying a refurbished phone, albeit with reduced storage. The phones come with Apple’s standard 1-year warranty, and you can add AppleCare for $129 extra.
It’s unclear how long Apple will offer these phones, but it’s a good way to save a little bit of cash if you don’t need the very latest model.