Best Buy Starts Selling Unlocked iPhones, But You May Have To Settle

Unlocked phones are an avenue that many people choose for phone ownership. An unlocked phone isn't strapped to any particular carrier for years on end, and the owner can just own the phone outright instead of choosing to buy it or trade it in after the plan's term is up. Best Buy has just started offering unlocked versions of the iPhone, making the process of shopping around just a tad easier for Apple fans.

But as with most things in life, there is a little bit of a catch. Buyers will not have the latest and greatest phones to choose from on Best Buy's site, though the iPhone choices are certainly functional and most are compatible with the latest versions of iOS. But if you want the absolute pinnacle of what Apple has to offer, you may have to settle for a phone locked to a carrier or shop elsewhere. 

Best Buy is a trusted storefront and offers a variety of protection plans and warranties as opposed to the relative gamble of buying something on eBay or a less-than-established seller on Amazon. There is that clear benefit. The real drawback is selection. The newest unlocked iPhone Best Buy offers is the 128 GB capacity iPhone 13; it does not have iPhone 13 Pro or iPhone 13 Pro Max units on offer. 

Anyone who wants a bigger phone will have to settle with an iPhone 12 Pro Max, though fortunately, those are available up to 512 GB capacity (although that model is sold out at the time of writing). Prices range from the nearly antiquated 32 GB iPhone 7 at $149.99 to the 512 GB iPhone 12 Pro Max at $929.99. A standard unlocked iPhone 13 retails for $752.97. As a little extra bonus, Best Buy also includes a glass screen protector and a MagSafe-compatible case with each phone.