by 
Just a few short years ago, this time of year would have been one of anticipation for the arrival of a new iPhone. Instead, eager buyers have to wait out the dog days of summer — or cave in to a potentially lucrative offer on a current model that’s hard to resist.
9to5Mac is reporting that Apple plans to hold an “enormous” iPhone event at the company’s U.S. retail stores in effort to lure upgrade-eligible customers hanging onto older models to grab a new iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c.
According to the usual “source with knowledge of the initiative,” the event will kick off this Thursday, May 8 with an email sent to owners of older iPhone models who are eligible for a handset upgrade.
In order to claim the presumably lucrative offer, customers will have to visit their nearest Apple retail store, with the staff apparently being briefed about the event today to prepare for “an influx of visitors to its stores on the levels of traffic driven to stores for new product debuts.”
There’s no word on exactly what kind of deal Apple will be offering older iPhone owners to upgrade to a newer model, or whether a device trade-in will be required to take advantage of the deal.
Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter
