With some retailers and carriers, such as Sprint, dropping prices on the iPhone as rumors of a next gen Apple smartphone gain steam, Apple’s retail stores have been given authorization to match these discounted prices from approved major retailers and carriers, reports “MacRumors”(http://www.macrumors.com).

In all cases, Apple will discount iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 models by $49.01 upon request to bring pricing down to $349.99/$249.99/$149.99 for the iPhone 4S and $49.99 for the iPhone 4, the article adds. An “iPhone 5” is rumored to be announced next month.