If you decided to not preorder an iPhone 6 and instead are planning to pick one up in person on Friday, you have several options that don’t involve camping out outside of an Apple Store for days on end.
RELATED: Has your iPhone 6 shipped yet? Here are all the ways to find out!
Option No. 1: Buy it at an Apple retail outlet
So the first and most obvious way to get an iPhone 6 on its September 19th launch day is to actually wait in line at the Apple Store. This can be a hassle since lines for the device will undoubtedly be huge and you shouldn’t commit to doing this unless you take the day off from work or are unemployed but still have enough cash to buy a brand-new high-end smartphone.
It also might not hurt to figure out ahead of time how many iPhone 6 units your local Apple Store will have in stock so you don’t wait in line for hours only to come away empty handed. Here is a complete list of every single Apple Store in the United States — be sure to call up the one nearest you and ask them about iPhone 6 availability on Friday before you commit to camping out.
Option No. 2: Buy it at a big box retailer
If you’re not in the mood for long lines, there are plenty of other retail outlets that should have iPhone 6 units in stock that will attract far fewer customers than Apple’s retail outlets.
Best Buy, for instance, lets you preorder the iPhone 6 and then pick it up at its stores on launch day. Of course, this in-store pickup option is only available at some retail outlets and for only some iPhone 6 models. Right now, for instance, it seems that Best Buy won’t let you pick up 64GB iPhone 6 models that run on Sprint’s network and will only let you preorder and pick up the 16GB Sprint iPhone 6. However, right now Best Buy is offering in-store pickup options for all versions of the iPhone 6 on Verizon and AT&T.
You still have to check availability at your local Best Buy to see if the model you want will be available, however. Check out all iPhone 6 models available for preorder and in-store pickups at Best Buy by clicking here.
If you’re not into shopping at Best Buy and would instead prefer the beleaguered RadioShack a bone, you can search here for your local RadioShack store and give them a call to see if they are going to have the iPhone 6 in stock Friday. RadioShack is also offering a free iTunes gift card worth $50 for buying and iPhone 6 in store and it will give you between $100 and $300 for trading in an older working iPhone model.
Target, meanwhile will offer you between $50 and $200 for a working iPhone model if you trade it in to buy the iPhone 6 at one of its stores on Friday. You can search for your local Target store and specify that you’re looking for one that sells Apple products by clicking here.
Both Walmart and Sam’s Club will also be selling the device in store starting on Friday. Both stores are offering the best discounts for customers who preorder the phone through them: The iPhone 6 at Walmart will sell starting at $179 with a two-year contract for customers who preorder while the same device will sell starting at $177 with a two-year contract for Sam’s Club customers who preorder. The iPhone 6 Plus, meanwhile, will sell starting at $279 with a two-year contract for customers who preorder through Walmart and at $277 with a two-year contract for customers who preorder through Sam’s Club.
Find your the closest Walmart that sells the iPhone 6 by clicking here and the nearest Sam’s Club that sells the iPhone 6 by clicking here.
And yes, Staples will also be selling the iPhone 6 in stores on Friday. You can click here to find the closest store that will let you pick up and order the device. You should note that Staples is also offering Verizon customers a particularly sweet deal as well — a free iPhone 6 for signing a new two-year contract with Verizon and trading in their old iPhone.
Option No. 3: Buy it at your local carrier store
Yes, all four major wireless carriers — Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile — will all have the iPhone 6 in store on Friday. Sprint is being particularly aggressive with the release of the iPhone 6 and is offering an “iPhone for Life” plan that the carrier says “allows consumers to get the iPhone 6 for $20/month, iPhone 6 Plus for $25/month, both for $0 money down and guarantees a new device every two years.”
Verizon, meanwhile, will offer a $50 gift card if you trade in any old iPhone model from the iPhone 4 onward and if you either sign a new two-year agreement or buy the device with its Verizon Edge early upgrade option.
AT&T Next, on the other hand, will let you buy the iPhone 6 for $0 and then pay either $32.50 per month for 12 months or $27.09 per month for 18 months.
And finally, the “Un-carrier” will sell you the iPhone 6 for $0 down and let you pay $27.08 over 24 months as part of its T-Mobile Jump plan.
The bottom line: You have tons of options
Although the people standing outside the Apple Store get all the attention, you can still get an iPhone 6 on Friday if you don’t feel like standing in massive lines. From carrier stores to big box outlets, you can get some great deals on the iPhone 6 on Friday without having to take a full day off work.
