It makes me chuckle when I think of the iPhone XR as Apple's "budget" iPhone, because $750 is still insanely expensive. That said, the XR delivers incredible features and performance, which is why CNET dubbed it "the best iPhone value in years."
Read more: CNET's iPhone XR review
Of course, if you want a better price, you'll have to jump on a buy-one-get-one deal, do a trade-in or rope yourself into a lengthy lease arrangement... right?
Wrong! For a limited time, and while supplies last, Boost Mobile has the iPhone XR (64GB) for $649.99. At this writing, all six colors are available. You can also get it with 128GB for $699.99 or 256GB for $799.99 -- basically a $100 savings across the board.
Pro tip: Be sure to use a cash-back service before making this purchase! Ebates is currently offering 4 percent back at Boost Mobile, while TopCashback will give you 8 percent. I don't see any language at either site indicating sale items are excluded. So if you're able to snag, say, 8 percent back, that would bring your net cost down to just $598!
Read more: The 5 best cash back services right now
Once your phone arrives, you simply choose a Boost Mobile plan. These start at $35 per month for a single line, with discounts available for multiple lines.
Now for the big question: What if you want to ditch Boost for another carrier? You'll want to read the carrier's unlocking policy for full details, but the upshot is you can get the XR fully unlocked only after you've been with Boost for at least 12 months.
Could you, however, switch to another Sprint-powered carrier, like Virgin Mobile or Sprint proper? That's not entirely clear. If you think that's something you might want to do, I'd call Boost and investigate before buying.
My 2 cents: This is the best deal to date on an iPhone XR (especially if you're able to take advantage of a cash-back option), and Boost offers some pretty competitive monthly rates.
Your thoughts?
CNET's Cheapskate scours the web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets and much more. Note that CNET may get a share of revenue from the sale of the products featured on this page. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page. Find more great buys on the CNET Deals page and follow the Cheapskate on Facebook and Twitter!
