Best Buy Selling Apple Watch At $49, But With A Catch

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Apple is having trouble in selling the iPhone in China, which is no secret, but now the Cupertino-based firm is having a problem with U.S. buyers as well. Sales of the Apple Watch are not as good as expected expected, so to increase sales, Best Buy has put together an offer that both the iPhone maker and the giant retailer hope customers cannot refuse.

Apple Watch at $49, but with a catch

Best Buy is currently offering the watch at $250 off the list price with the purchase of an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus with a monthly installment plan, lease or two-year contract for Sprint, Verizon or AT&T. This means buyers can now get a $349 Sport 42mm Gold aluminum-cased Watch (MLC72LL/A) for $99 or a $299 Sport 38mm rose gold aluminum-cased Watch (MLCH2LL/A) for $49. The only caveat to get this offer is that consumers will have to purchase a new iPhone.

The offer started Sunday morning, and the date of the end of the offer is still not clear. Last week, the Silicon Valley giant announced an upgraded operating system (WatchOS 3) at its Worldwide Developers Conference. WatchOS 3 will be coming this fall, and Apple’s vice president of technology promised that the updated OS will help users’ favorite applications respond instantly. One of the biggest complaints about the watch is a slow response.

Bigger problem in China

Currently, Apple’s main problem is that China has stopped sales of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus over a patent dispute. However, the tech giant has denied that sales have been halted, according to Forbes.

“iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus as well as iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus and iPhone SE models are all available for sale today in China,” the statement read.

The U.S. firm said it has appealed the administrative order from a regional patent tribunal in Beijing, and thar order has been stayed, pending review by the Beijing IP Court.

Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 7 in the fall, and just like other technology products, customers are waiting for the new device and stopped buying the old devices. The offer from Best Buy is meant to counter this problem.

On Friday, Apple shares closed down 2.28% at $95.33. Year to date, the stock is down by over 11%, while in the last year, it is down almost 25%. The stock has a 52-week high of $132.97 and a 52-week low of $89.47.

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