Apple devalues Android phones for trade-in
Apple has lowered its valuation of a whole series of Android phones as part of its trade-in programme – in some cases by a sizeable amount.
Customers looking to trade their Android phones in against a new iPhone may not get the same value they once did. MacRumors has spotted that Apple has altered its estimated maximum pricing for a whole host of devices over on its official US website.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, chief rival Samsung has taken the biggest valuation hit here. The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 has had its maximum trade-in price dropped from $385 to $285, while the Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G has dropped the same amount from $435 to $325.
That other great Apple rival Google hasn’t escaped the wrath of Apple’s valuation police. The Google Pixel 5 has plummeted from $315 to $235, and the Google Pixel 4a has dropped from $160 to – $120.
Lest you start to suspect that Apple is being vindictive with these pricing adjustments, it’s worth pointing out that each of these phones has been superseded, and older Android phones traditionally don’t hold their value like older iPhones. With Samsung, in particular, the Samsung Galaxy S22 range is right around the corner.
It’s also worth pointing out that Apple has dropped the trade-in valuation for some of its own (non-iPhone) devices.
Bog standard iPad pricing now peaks at $200 (down from $205), which isn’t a huge deal. However, at the opposite end of the scale, the company’s MacBook Pro trade-in value now levels out at $1415 rather than $1630, as it was before.
More broadly, Apple is known to have taken a hit from the ongoing production and component issues that have plagued the tech industry. It’s possible that the company is reappraising some of its programmes in light of this.