Best Buy had begun offering up various discounts on Apple’s flagship iPhone 5S, the colourful iPhone 5C and on other products from Apple Inc. for a limited time in the U.S. For those customers who missed out, hopes will be that more sales with these levels of discounts will continue to appear in the new year.

The U.S. consumer electronics retailer’s iPhone 5S sale promotion brought the 16GB Apple’s flagship handset down to $124.99, a $75 saving over its normal asking price of $199 when purchased with a 2-year contract. With the promotion, which ran through January 4, the 32GB model checked in at $224.99, while the 64-GB handset retailed for $324.99, both with a 2-year contract.

As for the iPhone 5C, customers could also get the 16GB plastic-backed handset for free – down from its usual $99 asking price – in a new 2-year deal. The 32GB models were available too for $79, with both discounted iPhones being available online and at retail stores across all 4 major carriers with a 2-year contract. Moreover, an attractive discount was offered on the MacBook Pro which saw the 13-inch non-Retina, 500GB disk space and 4GB RAM model going for $1,099 – down about $100 from Apple’s original asking price.

AT&T, on the other hand, has now taken its ongoing rivalry against the GSM carrier T-mobile to a new level. The Dallas, Texas-based company is giving people who switch over to them up to $450 in various device credits to leave T-mobile, an offer that is set to continue for a limited period of time.

Switchers will receive a gift card worth up to $250 from AT&T after trading their smartphone, followed by an additional $200 credit once they port their T-mobile number to an AT&T one. The company has stated that those who are planning to switch will need to wait at least 90 days to receive the money.

Meanwhile, AppleInsider sponsor MacMall, which is currently running a New Year’s sale for Apple’s latest handset models, has the iPhone 5S priced at $120 on a 2-year contract.