Apple now price-cutting iPhone 4S (if you ask)

Can you hear the iPhone 5’s footsteps? Anyone buying an iPhone 4S today can.

Apple stores are now price-matching Sprint’s discounted online pricing for iPhone 4S when asked. Officially — and online — the price is still $199 for the cheapest iPhone 4S, the 16GB model, but in Apple Stores around the county, you can get a $49 discount on any iPhone 4s model.

Above: Official online iPhone 4S pricing

Image Credit: Apple

While the iPhone is a bit better of a deal today, the bigger story is that the iPhone 5 must be very, very near. Apple, which typically keeps 4-6 weeks of channel inventory, looks to be clearing out old stock in preparation for the new model.

The updated pricing takes the 16GB model down to $149, the 32GB to $249, and the top-of-the-line 64GB model to $349. An Apple employee at the Apple Store at University Village in Seattle verified the price cuts verbally on the phone.

(Note: All prices are based on a two-year contract.)

But don’t expect to see any 25 percent off signs at your local Apple store. You may have to ask for the deal to get it.

Image credit: Getman/ShutterStock