Apple publishes no payout for a cracked iPhone. There is no figure for a broken screen, a swollen battery or a failed diagnostic anywhere in what Apple states about Apple Trade In, and anyone quoting you one is not quoting Apple.
What Apple does publish is the outcome when a device does not qualify. In its own words, “not all devices are eligible for credit”, and a device that is not eligible is recycled free of charge. That is the floor to plan around, rather than a number someone has estimated for you.
| Item | What Apple publishes |
|---|---|
| Value of a cracked screen | Not published |
| Value of a swollen battery or failed diagnostic | Not published |
| What decides value | Device, model, manufacturer, condition, and in the footnotes year and configuration |
| Eligibility | “Not all devices are eligible for credit” |
| If there is no credit | Apple recycles the device free of charge |
| The in-store check | A Specialist evaluates the device on the spot |
| Apple’s stated range | “$175 to $885 (U.S.) in credit instantly” for an iPhone 13 or later, in good condition |
| Any-condition wording | Apple applies it to carriers: “up to $1,200 (U.S.) in credits” for an iPhone 14 or later “in any condition” |
Apple does not price damage in public
Every trade-in figure Apple attaches to a model is an up-to maximum for a device in good condition. Damage moves you off that number, and Apple does not say by how much for any specific fault.
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The mechanism instead is the questionnaire. You describe the device, Apple returns an estimate, and the estimate is confirmed after Apple has the hardware. In store, Apple says the credit “may differ from the estimated trade-in value you received online if the condition doesn’t match what you described”, which is the same check happening in front of you.
Describe the damage accurately. There is no version of this where an optimistic answer survives the inspection, and an inaccurate one simply delays the outcome.
When free recycling is the only route
If the device does not qualify for credit, Apple recycles it at no charge. That is a real service rather than a consolation line, and it applies to hardware that has no resale value left at all.
It does mean the phone is gone with nothing coming back, so decide before you send it whether you would rather keep a damaged handset as a spare. A cracked iPhone that still makes calls has a use as a backup device on the day your new one is delayed, and Apple’s recycling route will still be there afterwards.
The any-condition wording belongs to the carriers
The phrase buyers with damaged phones are looking for exists, but it is not on Apple’s trade-in credit. Apple’s own release says customers can get “up to $1,200 (U.S.) in credits when they trade in iPhone 14 or later, in any condition” at participating carriers, and its store copy repeats the any-condition line for AT&T and T-Mobile.
| Apple Trade In | US carrier credit, per Apple’s footnotes | |
|---|---|---|
| Condition wording | Value depends on condition; not all devices are eligible | Described as any condition for an eligible iPhone 14 or later |
| Published amount | $175 to $885 for an iPhone 13 or later | AT&T $350, $930 or $1,200 by device and plan tier; T-Mobile $150 to $1,200 |
| When you get it | Instantly, at the point of sale | As bill credits over 24 to 36 months |
| What you must keep doing | Nothing | Stay on that carrier and that plan for the full term |
| If you leave early | Not applicable | The remaining credits stop |
| Who published the terms | Apple | Apple’s footnotes. AT&T and Verizon have published no iPhone 18 Pro offer of their own |
That table is the honest comparison for a damaged phone: Apple pays less but pays now, and the carrier headline is larger but is money you receive slowly, conditionally, and only if you stay put. T-Mobile’s own terms could not be verified at all, so treat anything attributed to it as unconfirmed.
Prepare a damaged phone the same way
A device going in for recycling still needs the same preparation as one earning $885. Apple’s published prep list is to back up the device, turn off Find My and sign out, and its confirmation email carries the instructions. Do that even when the credit is zero, because the account attached to the hardware is the part that outlives the screen.
If the phone will not power on, the in-store route is the practical one, because a Specialist can look at it rather than you describing a device you cannot check. The estimate you take online is valid for 14 days after you receive your new device, which is the window to work inside once your iPhone 18 Pro arrives.
What has not been confirmed
Apple has not published a damaged-device price, a grading scale, a deduction schedule, or a per-model table on its Trade In page. It has not published repair pricing for the iPhone Duo display or hinge either, and AppleCare+ pricing for the September 2026 products is absent from its published tables. Verizon has published nothing for iPhone 18 Pro, and AT&T’s own deals page still leads with last year’s Pro Max.
Pre-orders open Saturday, September 12 at 5 a.m. PT and the phones arrive Friday, September 18. If your current iPhone is damaged, get the estimate before you commit to a storage tier, read the full iPhone 18 Pro pricing so you know what the shortfall looks like, and see the event recap for everything else Apple announced.
