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Nothing suggests a new Apple iPhone is coming like good deals on the latest model.
T-Mobile on June 26 announced two of them. For the first time, customers will be able to pair an iPhone 5S with prepaid service when making a purchase at Apple stores. And, Costco customers, on a run for jumbo packs of freeze pops and paper towels, can now also pick up an iPhone 5S, an iPad Mini with Retina display or an iPad Air with T-Mobile service.
Specifically, Costco will sell the 16GB iPhone 5S in space gray and silver; the 16GB iPad Mini in silver and the 16GB iPad Air in space gray, at what T-Mobile says will be a “competitive out-of-pocket price” with its monthly installment plan backed by WebBank.
T-Mobile adds that Costco will “sweeten” the deal by offering home delivery of the iPad Air, though without the word “free” in that sentence, some may find that not so very sweet. But no matter. T-Mobile has had a heavy hand when it comes to sweetening its tablet offers, and Costco shoppers will benefit from the 200MB of free data per month that T-Mobile introduced last October and will keep on offering “for life,” as well as its April offer of 1GB free each month through the end of this year.
That April deal, part of what the “Un-carrier” calls “Operation Tablet Freedom,” also cut the prices of 4G LTE-enabled tablets down to match the prices of their WiFi-only counterparts.
As for the prepaid deal, T-Mobile said that customers can now purchase and activate an iPhone with T-Mobile service in more than 250 Apple stores. For a limited time (a rare phrase in the new T-Mobile world), those who buy an iPhone with prepaid T-Mobile service will receive $50 off the phone.
Also, anyone who buys a new iPhone with a T-Mobile Simple Choice postpaid plan will receive a $50 iTunes gift card.
“T-Mobile is giving you more freedom to purchase your new iPhone how you want and where you want—with unbeatable benefits that only America’s Un-carrier can offer,” it said in a statement.
Apple Deals
While T-Mobile was the last major carrier to reach a deal with Apple, the companies have become close. They recently made a special deal that enabled T-Mobile to offer customers “test drives” of its network, free for seven days. The offer is only available with an iPhone 5S, and T-Mobile has said it expects more than 1 million people to take advantage of the offer.
MacRumors reported June 25 that Apple fans should circle Sept. 19 on their calendars. According to Chinese site Tencent, and reportedly also T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom, that’s the day Apple will introduce new iPhones.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to clarify that customers will be able to pair an iPhone 5S with prepaid service when making a purchase at Apple stores.