Apple’s Now Paying Even More Money for Apple Watch and iPad Trade-Ins

Apple Watch Series 6 Credit: Javier Esteban / Unsplash
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Earlier this year we saw a huge drop in trade-in values for older iPhone models, and now it looks like Apple is following suit with some adjustments to the trade-in values for the Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac — but fortunately, it’s not all bad news this time around.

The change was spotted by iMore this morning, which discovered a few slight adjustments across the board, and in the case of the Apple Watch and iPad, it’s for the better.

For example, you can now get $25 more for trading in an iPad Pro than you could yesterday, while the trade-in value of the iPad Air and standard iPad has increased by $40, and the iPad mini by $30.

Meanwhile, the Apple Watch also sees small $5-$10 gains across the board for most models from the Series 1 all the way up to the Series 4 — only the value of the Series 2 and the more recent Series 5 remain unchanged.

Here’s the rundown of the new trade-in values:

  1. iPad Pro — up to $525 (was $500)
  2. iPad Air — up to $250 (was $210)
  3. iPad — up to $240 (was $200)
  4. iPad mini — up to $205 (was $275)
  1. Apple Watch Series 4 — up to $150 (was $140)
  2. Apple Watch Series 3 — up to $95 (was $85)
  3. Apple Watch Series 1 — up to $35 (was $30)

Keep in mind that these are maximum trade-in values, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll get the top price, since the actual valuation will be based on the condition of your specific device.

Macs Plunge

Unfortunately, it’s not all good news, as the trade-in values for most of Apple’s Mac lineup have dropped precipitously.

For instance, the MacBook Pro loses $230 in maximum trade-in value, while the MacBook Air drops by $100, and the iMac falls by $210.

At the top end of the spectrum, Apple’s 2017 iMac Pro is now worth $540 less on a trade-in, although Apple’s Mac Pro actually sees a massive gain of almost $1,500 in value, although this could also simply indicate that Apple is now accepting the 2019 model for trade-in — the previous price likely referred to the older 2013 cylindrical version; it’s also worth noting that the iMac Pro still has a slightly higher trade-in value than the Mac Pro.

Here’s the rundown of what Apple’s Macs are now worth in trade-in values:

  1. MacBook Pro — up to $1,530 (was $1,760)
  2. MacBook Air — up to $630 (was $730)
  3. MacBook — up to $380 (from $450)
  4. iMac — up to $1,180 (was $1,390)
  5. Mac mini — up to $830 (was $930)
  6. iMac Pro — up to $3,040 (was $3,580)
  7. Mac Pro — up to $2,930 (was $1,490)

Again, these are maximum values, and in the case of Apple’s MacBooks there can be quite a bit of variation in the configurations which will affect the final trade-in value; you can find the full range of prices on Apple’s Trade In page.

Android Phones

Apple has also tweaked the trade-in values of Android devices in both directions, with most models seeing modest increases.

The notable exception is the Samsung Galaxy S20 which has dropped by a bit, however the Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+, and Google Pixel devices have all gone up slightly.

While there’s naturally a much wider range of Android devices to deal with, here’s a sampling of what the new trade-in values are for several popular models:

  1. Samsung Galaxy S20+ — up to $360
  2. Samsung Galaxy S20 — up to $255
  3. Samsung Galaxy S10+ — up to $230
  4. Samsung Galaxy S10 — up to $180
  5. Samsung Note 10 — up to $285
  6. Google Pixel 4 XL — up to $260
  7. Google Pixel 4 — up to $215
  8. Google Pixel 3 XL — up to $100
  9. Google Pixel 3 — up to $80

Naturally, you’ll only get these trade-in values from Apple when purchasing a new iPhone, since of course this is designed to encourage people to make the switch from Android.

Of course, as handy as trade-in programs are, they’re usually not the best way to get maximum value for your devices. Instead, you’re exchanging the likelihood of getting more money for the convenience of simply being able to hand your device in with no muss and no fuss.

For some people, that convenience may certainly be worth it, but you’re almost guaranteed to do better by selling your device privately on a service like Craigslist, Kijiji, or eBay, especially if it’s a recent model of device and in reasonable good condition. Of course, you may have to pay some listing fees, and you’ll have to do all the legwork of dealing with buyers and potential buyers, but if getting top dollar is important, it’s still at least worth trying a private sale before turning to a trade-in program.

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