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Apple to iPhone owners: Up to $100 more for your old phone if you buy XS, XR

No discounts on the iPhone XS, but Apple will give you more for an old iPhone.
Written by Liam Tung, Contributing Writer

Apple is running a promotion to encourage owners of old iPhones to trade up to the iPhone XS or XR.

Apple's promotional trade-in offer for old iPhones boosts their value by between $25 and $100.

Apple has doubled the trade-in value of the iPhone 6 to $150, and doubled the value of the iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 6s to $200.

The iPhone 6s Plus is bumped up $100 to $250, while the iPhone 7 is up $75 to $250. The iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 are now worth $300, up $50 and $25, respectively.

The catch is that they're only worth that much when trading up to a $1,000 iPhone XS or the $750 iPhone XR. It also means all the eligible phones are worth up to $100 less when buying an iPhone 8. Last year's iPhone X is still worth $525 via Apple's trade-in program.

Apple doesn't say how long the offer will last but notes that it is for a limited time.

The jacked up trade-in offers follow reports that Apple is planning to discount the iPhone XR in Japan and has cut iPhone component orders. The higher trade-ins could be a way for Apple to boost sales in the December quarter.

iPhone sales were flat year over year in the September quarter, and as of the December quarter Apple will no longer disclose unit sales of the iPhone.

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Apple also recently broadened its product listings on Amazon to include the iPhone XS, iPhone XR, iPad Pro, and Apple Watch Series 4. The products are available on Amazon in the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, and India.

But Apple isn't the only one promoting flagship sales through higher trade-in prices.

Samsung, which also reported flat smartphone sales last quarter, recently ended its double-value trade-in campaign for upgrades to the Galaxy Note 9, S9 Plus, and S9.

Samsung was offering significantly more than Apple for newer iPhones, but Apple's promotional offers are better for older phones. For example, Samsung was offering $550 for an iPhone 8, but only $100 for an iPhone 6.

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Apple is boosting trade-in values, but only if you buy an iPhone XS or iPhone XR

Image: Apple

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