On September 9, Apple moved its trade-in credit in two directions at once. Every iPhone value fell, some by as much as $120. Almost everything in the Mac and iPad line moved the other way. If an older MacBook, Mac mini, iMac or iPad has been sitting in a drawer, it is now recorded as worth more toward a new purchase than it was the week before.
That asymmetry has had almost no coverage next to the iPhone story, and it changes the calculation for anyone who was waiting to trade in an older Mac or iPad rather than an iPhone.
Key facts
| Item | What is known |
|---|---|
| Direction of change, September 9 | Mac and iPad trade-in credit rose; iPhone credit fell |
| Mac Pro | The one Mac line that did not move |
| Apple’s own published range | Covers iPhone only: $175 to $885 for iPhone 13 or later |
| Mac and iPad range published by Apple | None; no table, no range, estimator only |
| Where these figures come from | Values recorded for individual models, not a table Apple prints |
| Condition dependency | Figures are maximums for a device Apple judges in good condition |
What changed for Mac and iPad trade-in credit
Apple does not publish a per-model trade-in table for Mac or iPad, or for anything else. What exists instead is a set of individual values recorded for specific models on and after September 9, which moved up for nearly every Mac and iPad line at the same time the iPhone table moved down. Because Apple does not print these figures itself, they should be read as values recorded for each model rather than something Apple says, in the same way the iPhone figures are.
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The one exception on the Mac side is the Mac Pro, where the recorded value did not move at all. Every other Mac line recorded an increase, and so did every iPad line, from the entry-level iPad up through iPad Pro.
The Mac values recorded after September 9
| Mac line | Value recorded now | Value recorded before |
|---|---|---|
| Mac Studio | $1,460 | $1,305 |
| MacBook Pro | $1,315 | $855 |
| MacBook Air | $705 | $580 |
| Mac mini | $620 | $480 |
| iMac | $385 | $380 |
| iMac Pro | $340 | $315 |
| Mac Pro | $2,195 | $2,195 (unchanged) |
Each row is a maximum for a single configuration in good condition, not a range for the whole product line. An older, lower-specification Mac mini or MacBook Air will record less than the figure above, and Apple’s own language for how it arrives at any number is that it depends on device, model, manufacturer and condition.
The iPad values recorded after September 9
iPad moved the same direction. The value recorded for iPad Pro rose to $905 from $720. iPad Air rose to $510 from $490. iPad mini rose to $320 from $300. The standard iPad rose to $280 from $260. As with Mac, these are the ceiling figures for a single configuration, not a published range for the whole iPad line, and an older or lower-storage iPad will record a lower figure than the one above.
Why Apple publishes no table for any of this
Apple’s trade-in page does not carry a model-by-model dollar table for any product category. It routes every visitor to a questionnaire, and Apple’s own description of the process is that a customer should answer a few questions accurately, and once Apple receives the device and verifies its condition, the customer will most likely receive the full amount of the estimated refund. The only figure Apple states in its own words, in the iPhone 18 Pro press release, is the $175 to $885 range for an iPhone 13 or later. Apple has not published an equivalent range statement for Mac or iPad trade-in at all, which is one reason the individual values recorded above matter: they are the closest thing available to a published number for those categories.
Mac Pro is the one exception
Mac Pro’s recorded value held at $2,195 while every other Mac line moved up. Apple has not explained why, and nothing in Apple’s published trade-in material addresses individual product lines by name. The practical point for an owner of an older Mac Pro is that this week’s increase does not appear to apply to that specific line, based on the value recorded, even though it applied everywhere else in the Mac range.
For anyone weighing whether to trade in now, the timing question runs the opposite way from the iPhone story: an iPhone owner who waited past September 9 lost money on the trade-in side, but an owner of an older Mac or iPad who waits is trading against a credit that, as of this week, is recorded higher than it was before. Apple has not said whether either direction is permanent.
What Apple has not said
Apple has not published a Mac or iPad trade-in range in its own words, has not published a per-model table for either category, and has not said whether the September 9 increase is tied to the iPhone 18 Pro launch or is a separate, ongoing adjustment. It has also not said how long the current values will hold. As of Saturday, September 12, 2026, with iPhone prices up $100 across the board and the iPhone 17 Pro discontinued, the safest next step for a Mac or iPad owner is to run Apple’s own estimator and treat the number it returns as an estimate, not a guarantee, until Apple verifies the device’s condition.
