Apple’s trade-in values are not a valuation. They are a discount budget, and once you see them that way the whole thing makes more sense.
Apple does not need your old iPhone. It refurbishes some, recycles most, and loses money on plenty of them. What the trade-in figure buys is a lower number next to the new phone, which is the only reason the programme exists. That is why Apple’s offer sits consistently below what the same phone fetches on the open market, and why the offer moves on a schedule tied to Apple’s product calendar rather than to demand for used phones.
Here is what Apple is likely to offer when the iPhone 18 Pro arrives, and more usefully, how the timing works.
Where Values Sit Right Now
These are approximate maximums for devices in good condition as of early August 2026, before Apple’s launch-day revision. Your actual quote depends on storage, condition and region.
| Model | Roughly what Apple offers | Roughly what resale gets you |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | $790 | $900 to $1,000 |
| iPhone 16 Pro Max | $670 | $750 to $850 |
| iPhone 16 Pro | $530 | $670 to $780 |
| iPhone 15 Pro | $380 | $410 to $470 |
| iPhone 14 Pro | $260 | $300 to $360 |
| iPhone 13 | $130 | $160 to $200 |
Read the gap between the two columns. Apple runs 15% to 30% below open-market resale on almost every line, and the gap widens as the phone gets older. On a two-year-old Pro you are handing over roughly a third of the value for the convenience of not dealing with a buyer.
The Launch-Day Reset
Apple revises the entire trade-in grid around the September announcement, usually within a day or two of the keynote. The revision does two things at once. It adds the outgoing flagship to the list, and it cuts everything below it.
Historically those cuts run between 10% and 20% on models two or more generations old. An iPhone 15 Pro sitting at $380 today has a decent chance of being worth $310 to $340 a week after the iPhone 18 Pro is announced. The phone did not change. Apple’s grid did.
This is the single most actionable thing in this article: get your quote before the keynote. Apple’s trade-in quotes hold for a limited window after you generate them, typically a couple of weeks, which is long enough to cover pre-order day. Lock the number in late August and you carry the pre-announcement value into a post-announcement purchase.
What Actually Determines Your Grade
Apple’s condition questions are short, and people over-think them. Four things move the number.
- Cracked glass, front or back. This is the cliff. A cracked screen typically drops a Pro model to a fraction of its intact value, and on older phones it can zero the offer entirely.
- Whether it powers on and the screen works. Binary. Fails this and you are in recycling territory, not trade-in.
- Battery health. Apple asks, and a battery below 80% moves you down a grade on some models.
- Activation Lock. Not a condition issue but it will void the whole thing. Sign out of iCloud and erase the device properly before you send it.
Scratches on the frame and light wear on the back glass rarely change the grade. People downgrade themselves out of caution and lose money for it. Answer honestly, but do not describe normal pocket wear as damage.
When Apple’s Offer Is the Right Call Anyway
Resale pays more. It also involves photographing a phone, writing a listing, fielding lowball messages, meeting a stranger or posting a $700 item, and carrying the risk of a payment reversal three weeks later. Apple’s discount is instant, applies at checkout, and comes with zero counterparty risk.
Take Apple’s offer when the gap is small in absolute terms. A $30 difference on an old iPhone 13 is not worth an evening of your life. Sell privately when the gap is a few hundred, which is the case on recent Pro models, where Apple’s discount is furthest below market.
There is a third route people forget: keep it. A working iPhone 15 Pro is a genuinely good second device, a car satnav that never eats your main phone’s battery, or a hand-me-down. Apple’s $380 is not a great price for a phone that will still get iOS updates for years.
The Foldable Complicates This
If you are trading in towards the iPhone Ultra, hold on to one number. Analysis this year suggested a foldable iPhone could shed around $1,300 of value in twelve months, which is a steeper depreciation curve than any iPhone Apple has sold.
First-generation folding hardware from every manufacturer has depreciated fast, and Apple has no track record here to argue otherwise. That does not make it a bad phone. It makes it a bad phone to buy on the assumption you will trade it in cheaply next September.
The Plan
- Generate your Apple trade-in quote before the keynote, in the last week of August.
- Get one competing quote from a resale service the same day so you know the size of the gap.
- If the gap is under $75, take Apple’s and enjoy the simplicity.
- If it is over $150, sell privately and pay Apple in full.
- Either way, back up and sign out of iCloud before the new phone arrives, not after.
Apple’s event is expected on 8 or 9 September, which puts the deadline for step one somewhere around 1 September. Put it in the calendar now, because the grid revision arrives without warning and nobody gets a grace period.
Join the Conversation
What is Apple quoting you for your current iPhone, and how does it compare to what you have been offered elsewhere? Post the numbers in the comments so people can see how wide the gap really is.
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