The moment a new device is announced, the previous generation falls in price across every retailer at once. The synchronisation gives it away as a planned transition rather than a market reacting.
The channel is full before the launch
Manufacturers ship to retailers and distributors well ahead of a launch, which means the outgoing model is sitting in warehouses and on shelves when the new one is announced.
That stock belongs to the retailer, not the manufacturer, and it becomes harder to sell the instant a successor exists.
Clearing it quickly is preferable to holding it, because the value of a superseded device falls continuously and does not recover.
Price protection funds the reduction
Supply agreements commonly include price protection, under which the manufacturer compensates the retailer for stock held when the list price drops.
This is why the cut is simultaneous everywhere. Retailers are not competing their way down but applying a reduction that has already been paid for.
Without such a clause, retailers would refuse to hold inventory ahead of a launch, and the new product would arrive to empty shelves.
The old model still has a job to do
A discounted previous generation widens the range downward without the manufacturer having to build a cheaper product.
It occupies the entry price point, captures buyers who will not pay the new price, and makes the current model look better by comparison.
Some manufacturers keep the outgoing model in the line for a further year at the reduced price, which turns the transition into a permanent tier.
How far the discount actually goes
The initial cut is usually modest, because the manufacturer wants the older device positioned below the new one rather than undercutting it dramatically.
Deeper reductions arrive later, once remaining stock is concentrated in specific colours and configurations that no longer sell at the first reduced price.
The final clearance price often appears months after launch, at retailers working through the last of their allocation.
What the buyer is accepting
Support windows run from the product's release rather than from purchase, so a discounted device arrives with part of its software support already spent.
Accessory availability follows the same curve, with cases and spare parts becoming scarcer once production has moved on.
Those are the terms of the discount, and they matter more on devices kept for several years than on ones replaced quickly.