Apple device fans in the U.S. who do not have deep pockets took advantage of big discounts offered by retailers over the 2013 yearend holiday to own a unit of the iPhone 5S or its cheaper variant, the 5C.

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The price cuts have extended to the New Year in some stores.

In Best Buy, the iPhone 5S sported a price tag of $124.99 for the 16GB model, saving consumers $75. The flagship device's normal cost is $199 with a 2-year contract. The 32GB model sold for $224.99 and the 64GB version for $324.99, both with 2-year contracts.

The 5C with 16GB was actually free with a 2-year contract from its original $99 price tag, while its 32G variant sold for $79. Meanwhile, Best Buy also cut by $100 the selling price of the MacBook Pro, which featured a 13-inch non-Retina screen, 500GB disk space and 5GB RAM, to $1,099.

However, the bargain ended on Jan 4, Saturday.

But MacMall has an ongoing New Year's sale where the iPhone 5S is still available for $120 on a 2-year contract.

The battle for a larger share of the smartphone market is also evident between telcos AT&T and T-Mobile which has been offering hefty discounts in the form of gift cards and credit of up to $450 if they will switch from one service provider to another.

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