Ever wanted to get a new iPhone but didn’t know what to do with the old one? Or have you ever thought about using your current phone to help finance the cost of the new phone? Well, now iPhone owners can walk into an Apple store, trade in their current phones and get a credit toward a new one.
Apple confirmed its rumored iPhone trade-in program today and released a statement:
“iPhones hold great value. So, Apple retail stores are launching a new program to assist customers who wish to bring in their previous-generation iPhone for reuse or recycling. In addition to helping support the environment, customers will be able to receive a credit for their returned phone that they can use toward the purchase of a new iPhone.”
The new trade-in program will probably encourage people to upgrade more often. However, it isn’t exactly like trading in a car, there are a few stipulations.
According to techcrunch.com:
“The program works by giving iPhone owners a chance to trade in non-water damaged devices in good working order, for between $120 and $250 or so, depending on the condition of the device, what model it is and other factors. As part of the stipulations of the trade-in, customers have to walk out with a new contract as well as a new device. It only applies to customers shopping for a new iPhone, so you can’ t just trade an older model in for store credit or toward a different purchase, according to our original sources.”
It will be interesting to see how this iPhone trade in program competes with other similar offers. Both AT&T and T-mobile recently announced their own versions of a trade-in program, and electronics store Best Buy already has a something similar as well. However, Apple is usually pretty good at building an end-to-end customer experience, so most people will probably instinctively just go to the Apple store to trade in rather than through a third party. Like trading in a car, most people rather go to the dealership rather than a used car lot.
This announcement comes just few weeks before we expect to see Apple unveil the new iPhone 5S and cheaper iPhone 5C (the plastic model) at its Sept. 10th event.
