Apple publishes exactly one trade-in number for iPhone and it is a range: customers trading in an iPhone 13 or later can get $175 to $885 in credit, instantly. Set that against the $1,299 Apple charges for a 256GB iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the values recorded for older Pro Max models imply a cost of $414 for one year of ownership and $166 a year across seven, on our arithmetic on published figures.
Trade-in is the only route to a lower price that Apple offers every buyer, and it moved the wrong way this week. Every iPhone payout fell on September 9, some by as much as $120, and Apple never announced the change. The $100 increase on the Pro line and the drop in trade-in credit landed on the same day.
What Apple publishes, and what it does not
Apple’s quotable wording is the range and nothing more. Its Trade In page carries no per-model dollar table: it routes buyers into a questionnaire and describes the outcome as depending on “the device, model, manufacturer, and condition,” with the final amount set once Apple has the device in hand.
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The per-model figures below are values recorded for individual models rather than a table Apple publishes. They are a snapshot taken after the September 9 change, not a price list, and not a forecast.
| Key fact | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone 18 Pro Max, 256GB | $1,299 | Apple’s Store page |
| Apple’s published trade-in range | $175 to $885 in credit | Apple’s press release |
| Per-model trade-in table from Apple | Not published | Apple’s Trade In page |
| Date every iPhone value changed | September 9, 2026 | Values recorded |
| When Apple’s credit arrives | Instantly, at purchase | Apple’s wording |
| Carrier credit timing | 24 to 36 bill credits | Apple’s footnotes |
What Apple credits for a Pro Max, by age
Every Pro Max generation back to 2019 has a recorded value, which makes the big iPhone the one model where the whole ladder is visible at once. The two right-hand columns are ours: the $1,299 price minus the recorded credit, then that figure divided by the years.
| Pro Max model | Roughly | Value recorded | Net against $1,299 | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | 1 year old | $885 | $414 | $414.00 |
| iPhone 16 Pro Max | 2 years old | $610 | $689 | $344.50 |
| iPhone 15 Pro Max | 3 years old | $455 | $844 | $281.33 |
| iPhone 14 Pro Max | 4 years old | $360 | $939 | $234.75 |
| iPhone 13 Pro Max | 5 years old | $320 | $979 | $195.80 |
| iPhone 12 Pro Max | 6 years old | $210 | $1,089 | $181.50 |
| iPhone 11 Pro Max | 7 years old | $140 | $1,159 | $165.57 |
Read the last column and the shape of iPhone ownership is clear: the cost per year falls by more than half between a one-year hold and a seven-year one, on our arithmetic. Read the column before it and the total rises the whole way, because the credit shrinks faster than the years add up.
The first year is the expensive one
The steepest step on the ladder is the first. Apple credits $885 for the newest Pro Max and $610 for the one behind it, a gap of $275 on our arithmetic, which is more than the next two steps combined at $155 and $95.
After that the ladder flattens and then jumps again. The step from the four-year-old phone to the five-year-old one is $40, the smallest on the list, and the step after it is $110. Across the whole ladder the credit falls $745 over six steps, an average of $124, and not one step matches that average. Planning an upgrade cadence around a phone shedding a fixed amount each year means planning against a curve Apple has never published.
Four things that move your number
- Condition. The $885 ceiling needs an iPhone 17 Pro Max in flawless shape, and Apple treats every figure as an estimate until it inspects the device.
- Damage. A cracked screen, a swollen battery or a failed diagnostic quotes lower, and sometimes the only route left is free recycling.
- Timing. Apple changed every iPhone value on the day of its event without announcing it, so the figure in the questionnaire this morning is the figure for this morning.
- Where you trade. Apple applies its credit instantly at checkout. Carrier credit, where a carrier has published any at all, arrives as 24 to 36 monthly bill credits and only lands in full if you stay for the whole term.
Apple Watch owners have a second ladder, from $30 for a first-generation SE to $430 for an Ultra 3, and those values changed on September 9 as well. The Series 12 at $399 is the one launch product where a retailer has published a competing trade-in offer, worth up to $325 and expiring on September 18.
What has not been confirmed
- Apple publishes no per-model trade-in table and no condition grading scale, only the questionnaire and the $175 to $885 range.
- Apple has published no trade-in value for the iPhone 18 Pro or Pro Max themselves, which is ordinary for a phone that has not shipped.
- Per-device AppleCare+ prices for every September 2026 product are still unpublished, so the coverage half of any three-year total cannot be costed from Apple’s pages.
- Apple has published no repair price for either new Pro, which leaves the largest variable in an ownership estimate blank.
Pre-orders for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max open today, Saturday, September 12, at 5 a.m. Pacific, with Apple Trade In offered inside the same checkout, and the phones reach stores on Friday, September 18. If you are still weighing which size to order, the ladder above is the one part of the sum already visible, and our event recap covers the rest.
