iPhone Trade-In Values Slide Ahead of New Model Launch

Ahead of the announcement of the iPhone 18 Pro, ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max, and first foldable iPhone next month, a new study from trade-in comparison site SellCell finds that most iPhones lose a considerable amount of trade-in value in the 10-day window between Apple's announcement and the actual product launch. Looking at the launch of the iPhone 15, iPhone 16, and iPhone 17 lineups, SellCell found that trade-in values dropped for 117 of 156 models tracked, or 75% of the total, between announcement day and release day. That window saw the steepest declines for the ‌iPhone 17‌ lineup last year, with 50 of 54 iPhone models (92.6%) losing value, with an average drop of $36.46 per device. The largest individual declines came from older models still on the trade-in market at the time. The ‌iPhone 16‌ Plus 512GB fell from $695 to $566, a $129 drop and the largest loss in the dataset. The iPhone 15 Plus 128GB saw the steepest percentage decline, falling from $440 to $351, a loss of 20.2%. SellCell paired the pricing data with a survey of 2,000 U.S. iPhone users. 61.4% of respondents said they plan to keep their current iPhone until a replacement is in hand and set up, rather than trading it in around the announcement. The most common reasons cited were needing the phone for continued use and needing to transfer data, which together accounted for 77.4% of responses. Apple updated and largely increased its own official trade-in estimates last month ahead of the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ and foldable iPhone announcement. Popular StoriesApple Raises Trade-In Values for iPhone, Mac, and MoreApple today updated its U.S. trade-in estimates, raising values for most iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models and adding several Android phones to the list for the first time. As first noted by 9to5Mac, some devices gained nearly 30% in estimated value compared to the last update in May. The iPhone 16 Pro Max now tops Apple's iPhone estimates at up to $720, up from $695, and...Apple Wallet Could Soon Save Trade-In Quotes for 90 DaysWednesday August 12, 2026 10:59 am PDT by Aaron PerrisApple appears to be developing a retail trade-in system that would let customers save a trade-in offer to the Wallet app for up to 90 days, based on code seen by MacRumors. References to the system were found in an update to Apple's Guide app. Guide is used by Apple employees, Apple Authorized Resellers, and other sales organizations during conversations and product demonstrations with...Google's $100 Pixel Price Hike and Trade-In Push Hint at Apple's iPhone 18 Pro PlansWednesday August 12, 2026 3:48 pm PDT by Juli CloverGoogle raised the price of its latest smartphones compared to last year, and the increase may hint at what Apple will do with the iPhone 18 Pro models. All of Google's Pixel starting prices are $100 higher than they were last year. Pixel 11 - $899, up from $799 Pixel 11 Pro - $1,099, up from $999 Pixel 11 Pro XL - $1,299, up from $1,199 Pixel 11 Pro Fold - $1,899, up from $1,799...