Apple’s trade-in credit lands at checkout and asks nothing of you afterwards. A carrier’s larger number arrives as monthly bill credits over 36 months on a qualifying plan, and the part that has not been paid is the part you lose if anything changes.
For most people the deciding factor is not which headline is bigger. It is the state of the phone in your pocket. Apple grades what you send it, while the carrier wording Apple quotes on its own Store page says an eligible trade-in is accepted in any condition. That single phrase is worth more than a hundred dollars of headline to anyone with a cracked screen.
| Key fact | What is published, and by whom |
|---|---|
| Apple Trade In credit | $175 to $885 for iPhone 13 or later in the US (Apple’s press release) |
| When Apple pays it | Instantly, in Apple’s own word, at the point of sale |
| Apple’s condition rule | Values vary by condition, year and configuration (Apple’s footnote 14) |
| Carrier headline | “Up to $1200 for an eligible trade-in in any condition” (AT&T wording on Apple’s Store page) |
| When a carrier pays it | Monthly bill credits over 36 months on a qualifying plan (Apple’s Store page) |
| Carrier tiers | $1,200, $930 or $350 by trade-in device and plan tier (Apple’s footnotes) |
What each route pays, and when it pays it
Apple’s published range is $175 to $885 for an iPhone 13 or later, and Apple says the credit is applied instantly. The $885 ceiling belongs to an iPhone 17 Pro Max in flawless condition, so treat it as the top of a ladder rather than an offer. The $175 floor is what an iPhone 13 fetches.
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The carrier side is a different instrument altogether. Apple’s Store page quotes AT&T at up to $1,200 and T-Mobile at up to $1,200, both applied as monthly bill credits across 36 months with an eligible trade-in on a qualifying plan. Apple’s footnotes break the AT&T figure into tiers of $1,200, $930 and $350, chosen by the trade-in device and the plan.
Condition is where the two part company
Apple’s Trade In page publishes no per-model dollar table. It routes you to a questionnaire and says the answer depends on device, model, manufacturer and condition, with the final amount confirmed once Apple has the device and has verified its state. The values recorded for individual models put an iPhone 16 Pro near $510 and an iPhone 15 Pro near $370, but those are recorded values rather than a list Apple publishes, and every one of them is a maximum for a device in good order.
A cracked screen, a swollen battery or a failed diagnostic quotes lower, sometimes far lower. Against that, the carrier wording is blunt: any condition. If your old phone is damaged, the carrier route is where the damaged phone stops mattering, and that is a genuine reason to take a slower credit.
The arithmetic on two ordinary phones
| iPhone 15 Pro owner | iPhone 16 Pro owner | |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Trade In, recorded value | $370 | $510 |
| Paid to Apple for a $1,199 iPhone 18 Pro | $829 | $689 |
| When that is settled | At checkout | At checkout |
| Carrier headline advertised | Up to $1,200 | Up to $1,200 |
| Apple’s lowest footnoted tier | $350 | $350 |
| How any carrier credit arrives | 36 monthly credits | 36 monthly credits |
The subtractions are our arithmetic on Apple’s published $1,199 price and the recorded trade-in values. Notice what the table does not show: a carrier number you can bank. The advertised ceiling is the same for both owners, while which tier either one actually reaches depends on the plan as much as the phone.
Storage changes the sum too, since the trade-in is a fixed credit rather than a percentage. Decide which model and capacity you want before you decide where to trade in, not after.
What you give up to get the bigger number
Your old phone leaves at the start of the term on either route. The difference is what you are holding when it goes. With Apple you are holding the money. With a carrier you are holding a promise of 36 payments that depends on staying with that carrier, on that plan, for three years.
One more piece of timing is worth knowing. Apple changed its trade-in values on September 9 and iPhone payouts fell, some by as much as $120. Trade-in values are not a one-way ratchet that always rises into a launch, so the phone you are holding today is not guaranteed to be worth more next week.
What has not been confirmed
- Apple publishes no per-model trade-in table. Its Trade In page is a questionnaire, and the per-model values used here are recorded figures rather than an Apple price list.
- No US carrier has published its own iPhone 18 Pro trade-in terms. The tier figures are Apple’s footnotes.
- Verizon has published only that pre-orders begin 9/12 at 8 a.m. EDT. T-Mobile’s site blocked our access.
- No carrier has published an iPhone Duo trade-in offer, and the foldable does not ship until October 23.
Pre-orders open at 5 a.m. PT on Saturday, September 12, with phones arriving Friday, September 18. If your old iPhone is in good order, the instant credit is the simpler trade on a $1,199 phone. If it is damaged, the any-condition wording is the one worth chasing, and it is worth asking the carrier to put its terms in front of you first. Our iPhone 18 Pro launch coverage and pre-order guide have the rest of the dates.
