Apple has been pumping out new versions of its flagship devices for so long now that it’s a question of which month, not whether, it will introduce new iPads and iPhones.

The electronics retailer Best Buy on Wednesday took its best guess that the latest iPads are coming soon from Apple by slashing prices on one line of the Apple tablets by 30 percent.

The price cut applies only to third-generation versions of the devices, not the latest vintage, otherwise known as fourth generation iPads. Best Buy is now selling the least expensive third-generation iPad, with 16 gigabytes of storage, for $314.99, down from its previous price of $449.99. A third-generation iPad with 64 gigabytes of storage and support for LTE cellular networks now sells for $545.99, down from $779.99.

Jonathan Sandler, a Best Buy spokesman, said the steep price cuts are not unusual, “especially when looking ahead to potential new product launches by our vendors.” Mr. Sandler stressed that Best Buy has no privileged insight into when Apple might introduce new iPads, beyond the seasonal product introductions most people expect from the company.

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Read also:

iPad price cuts: A signal Apple is about to release new ones (Fortune (blog))

Looking Back: 3 Years of the iPad (Motley Fool)

Best Buy slashes prices for iPad 3 (NBCNews.com (blog))

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