Apple's iPhone Duo is now on sale, and AT&T and T-Mobile are offering up to $1,200 and up to $1,000 off, respectively. Both discounts require an eligible trade-in on a qualifying plan.
The "up to" wording matters. The maximum applies only to customers who hand over a phone valued highly enough and sign up for the right carrier plan. Everyone else gets less, and the listings do not say how much less.
The accessory market was ready as well. Cases and screen protectors for the Duo are listed at Amazon, AT&T, Best Buy and Target, from brands including OtterBox, Speck, Spigen, dbrand, Case-Mate, Nomad, ESR and Kate Spade. ZAGG is offering 20% off when you buy two or more items, which covers a case and a screen protector in one order. That is a modest saving on small purchases, but it is the kind of discount that is easy to actually collect.
Apple hardware beyond the phone is also marked down at Amazon, and the listings describe several of these as record lows:
- M5 Max Mac Studio (36GB RAM, 512GB storage): $2,299, down from $2,499
- M6 Mac mini (16GB, 256GB): $779.99, down from $899
- M6 Mac mini (16GB, 512GB): $949.99, down from $1,099
- 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max (36GB, 2TB): $3,499, a $900 cut
The MacBook Pro is the biggest cut of the group and, per the listing, the steepest discount on any 16-inch model right now.
The two kinds of deal work differently. The Mac discounts are straight price cuts that anyone can claim. The Duo discounts are conditional, tied to a trade-in and a carrier contract, so the carrier is effectively buying loyalty. The listings do not give the Duo's price without a deal, and that number decides how generous "up to $1,200" really is.