Apple Takes a Pixel or Galaxy Toward an iPhone 18 Pro, and Publishes No Range for Either

Apple iPhone 18 Pro 2up
Image: Apple

Apple Trade In accepts Android phones toward an iPhone 18 Pro, and Apple publishes no credit range for any of them. The only range Apple states in its own words covers iPhones: customers trading in an iPhone 13 or later “can get $175 to $885 (U.S.) in credit instantly.” Nothing equivalent exists for a Pixel, a Galaxy or a OnePlus.

Apple iPhone 18 Pro color lineup
iPhone 18 Pro in the four finishes Apple sells from September 18. Image: Apple

The evidence that Android is in the programme comes from Apple’s own description of the method, which lists “device, model, manufacturer, and condition” as the factors. Apple then routes buyers to a questionnaire rather than a price list, so the per-model figures below are values recorded for individual handsets, not a table Apple publishes.

ItemWhat Apple publishes
Apple’s stated iPhone range$175 to $885 in credit, iPhone 13 or later
Apple’s stated Android rangeNone
Per-model table on apple.comNot published. The page is a questionnaire
Highest Android value recorded$290, for a Pixel 9 Pro XL
When values last changedSeptember 9, 2026
Direction of that changeAndroid mostly down or flat. Every iPhone fell
When the credit arrivesInstantly at purchase, in Apple’s own word
Carrier credits of up to $1,200Apple’s footnotes require an iPhone 14 or later trade-in

The values recorded for Android phones

DeviceValue recorded nowValue recorded before September 9
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL$290$315
Google Pixel 9 Pro$275Not recorded
Google Pixel 9$200Not recorded
Google Pixel 8 Pro$150Not recorded
OnePlus 13$250Not recorded
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G$125Not recorded
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G$95Not recorded

Set the top of that column against Apple’s own sentence and the scale becomes clear. The best Android figure recorded is $290, against the $885 ceiling Apple quotes for its highest iPhone. In the same set of recorded values, $290 is roughly what a four-year-old iPhone 14 Pro is worth, at $285.

Don’t miss the best of The Mac Observer

Set us as a preferred source and our Apple reporting ranks higher in your Google Search results and Discover feed — one tap, no account changes.

Or get it by email

Against a $1,199 iPhone 18 Pro, $290 is a credit of a little under a quarter of the price. It is a credit, not a discount: it reduces what you hand over at checkout and it does not change what the phone costs.

Apple iPhone 18 Pro Photos app Apple Reference Image
iOS 27 arrives on Monday, September 14 as a free update. Image: Apple

Android tracked the iPhone direction, not the Mac one

Apple changed its trade-in values on September 9, the day of the event, and it did not move them all the same way. Every iPhone payout fell, some by as much as $120. iPad values rose, and so did every Mac except the Mac Pro, which was unchanged.

Android and Apple Watch went the other way, mostly down or flat. For a Pixel owner that is the useful part: the category was re-priced alongside iPhone rather than alongside the hardware Apple raised, and waiting for launch week did not help.

Apple iPhone 18 Pro 2up
Apple changed every trade-in value on the day of its September 9 event. Image: Apple

The carriers’ bigger number is closed to Android

Apple summarises the carrier route as up to $1,200 in credits for customers who trade in an “iPhone 14 or later, in any condition.” That wording is the whole story for anyone holding a Galaxy: the headline figure is an iPhone offer, not a trade-in offer, so an Android device cannot reach it through Apple’s checkout.

The tiers behind that $1,200 are thin too. Apple’s footnotes describe AT&T credits of $1,200, $930 or $350 depending on the device and plan, spread across 36 months of bill credits, and a T-Mobile range starting as low as $150. AT&T’s own deals page still leads with last year’s Pro Max, Verizon’s iPhone 18 Pro page publishes only a pre-order time, and T-Mobile’s terms could not be verified first hand.

Apple’s credit behaves differently in one way that matters. Apple applies it instantly at purchase, while a carrier credit arrives as 24 to 36 monthly bill credits that only fully land if you stay on that carrier and that plan for the whole term.

Every one of these numbers is a ceiling

Apple’s own framing is an estimate subject to inspection: “Answer a few questions accurately, and once we receive the device within the specified time frame and verify its condition, you’ll most likely receive the full amount of the estimated refund.” A cracked screen, a swollen battery or a failed diagnostic quotes lower, sometimes far lower.

Apple publishes no grading scale to check yourself against, and the estimator page that would generate a figure is not a document you can read. Treat every value in the table above as the best case for a handset in good condition.

What has not been confirmed

  • Any Apple-published credit range for non-Apple devices, in the US or anywhere else.
  • The full list of Android models Apple accepts. Apple names none on the pages it publishes.
  • Previous values for most Android models, so the September 9 change can only be traced on a handful.
  • Whether Android trade-ins qualify for anything at the carriers, none of which has published iPhone 18 Pro terms of its own.
  • Any condition grading scale, and any figure for a device Apple rejects.

Pre-orders open at 5:00 a.m. PT today, Saturday September 12, with delivery from Friday, September 18, and Apple’s credit is decided at that checkout rather than afterwards. If you are switching from Android, our guides to everything Apple confirmed about iPhone 18 Pro, to iOS 27 on September 14 and to everything announced on September 9 cover what you would be moving to.