Apple's trade-in values just jumped for the iPhone 18 launch. Here's what your old phone is worth.

We covered everything Apple announced today already, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, the first foldable iPhone Duo, and the fact that there is no standard iPhone 18 this year. One detail is worth its own post: the Pro line got $100 more expensive, and on the same day, Apple quietly pushed trade-in values higher and loosened the rules on what counts as a "good" trade-in. If you are weighing whether to preorder, this is the part that actually changes the math.

The headline number: up to $885 off

If you are carrying an iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple is offering up to $885 in trade-in credit toward either the iPhone 18 Pro or the 18 Pro Max at checkout. That is enough to cover most or all of this year's price increase on its own, if your device qualifies for the top tier. Trade-in credit scales down fast from there: older or lower-tier trade-ins from Apple's own published examples include up to $305 for an iPhone 15, up to $255 for an iPhone 13 Pro, and as little as $35 for an iPhone 8 Plus. The generation and condition of what you are handing in matters a lot more than people assume.

iPhone Air owners: up to $585

Apple's trade-in estimator is showing up to $585 for an iPhone Air, 256GB, toward the new lineup. That is a solid number for a phone that has only been out a year, and it puts the Air in a strange but useful spot this cycle: since there is no standard iPhone 18 to step up to, an Air owner's realistic upgrade path right now is trading into a Pro model or the Duo, and $585 meaningfully closes that gap.

The quieter change: cracked screens no longer tank your value

The part that will matter to more people than the headline figure: reporting around today's event says Apple is now offering the same trade-in value for devices with minor cosmetic defects, small cracks to the display glass specifically, as it does for cosmetically perfect ones. Historically a cracked screen could cut your trade-in value substantially even if the phone worked perfectly. If that policy holds as described, it is a genuinely good change for anyone who has been putting off a trade-in because their screen has a hairline crack under the case. The change reportedly took effect the moment the Apple Store came back online after today's keynote, and appears to apply across the product range, not just this year's models.

How to check your actual number

Every figure above is a ceiling, not a guarantee. Apple's real trade-in value depends on your exact model, storage size, battery health, and condition, and it can come in well below the "up to" number you see in marketing. The only way to know your real credit is to run your specific device through Apple's trade-in page, or start a preorder for the 18 Pro, Pro Max, or Duo and add your trade-in during checkout, where Apple asks a few condition questions and gives you a number before you commit to anything. It costs nothing to check, and it takes about two minutes.

The take

Read this for what it is: a price increase with a rebate attached, not a discount. Apple raised the Pro price by $100 and, on the same day, made trade-in credit more generous enough that a lot of people trading up from a recent Pro will not feel the increase at all. That is smart pricing on Apple's part, and it is also a reason to actually run your own trade-in number before you decide the new price is too steep. If your old phone is a recent Pro or an Air, the real cost of upgrading this year may be a lot closer to last year's than the sticker price suggests. If you are coming from something older, the credit drops off fast, so do the math before you preorder, not after.

Trade-in figures here reflect Apple's own published examples and reporting from the September 9, 2026 keynote, and Apple's actual quote for your device can differ based on its condition, so use the numbers above as a starting point, not a promise. This was cross-checked against Tom's Guide's trade-in breakdown (Source) and 9to5Mac's reporting on the cosmetic-defect policy change (Source). If you want apps that skip the upgrade treadmill entirely, no accounts, no subscription traps, the studio's full lineup is at jcmobileappstudio.com/apps.