Apple is typically very rigid in terms of product pricing. Once a price point is agreed, it doesn’t change for the lifetime of that product. For instance, the lowest capacity new iPad will be $499 until the next one is released in 2013. The only time products get a “sale” price is on Black Friday, and even then you’re lucky to get more than 10% off your desired gadget.

A leaked internal memo (kudos: MacRumors) shows that Apple retail will start to price match major retailers who are offering the iPhone at lower prices.

The list of which retailers can be price-matched is very specific. Essentially, Apple will drop almost the entire iPhone range by $49.01. You can see what that means in the image above. You can get an iPhone 4 for as little as $49.99 on contract, 16GB 4S for $149.99 and so on. The price drop is most likely in reaction to last quarter’s lower-than-expected sales, mostly down to the anticipated release of the 6th generation iPhone.

So, if you’re in for a new iPhone and you want to get it from Apple, don’t forget to mention that you’ve seen a better price at Target.

Will you be taking advantage of the lower price, or do you still plan on waiting for the next iPhone?