Apple adjusted old iPhone trade-in prices as Taiwan’s smartphone replacement cycle remains around three years, with carriers saying trade-ins, subsidies, installments and residual value help narrow the upfront cost of new iPhones. Recent coverage highlighted weaker resale performance for the iPhone Air, whose top official trade-in value now matches the lower-priced iPhone 17 despite a higher launch price, and noted buyers comparing official offers with third-party recycling kiosks that may quote higher values.
Apple adjusts old iPhone trade-in prices
3 articles from 3 outlets
The article says the newly launched iPhone 18 series is expensive, so many buyers are looking to trade in old phones, and it highlights a Threads user recommending a brand’s self-service phone recycling kiosk. It quotes the user saying an iPhone 17 Pro with minor dents was valued at NT$33,949 by a Bunnit kiosk, about NT$8,000 more than the official trade-in price. The report adds online tips for trying the kiosk more than once and keeping the device clean.
The article says high-end smartphones keep getting pricier, but Taiwan’s replacement cycle remains about three years, shorter than the global near-four-year average, with Taiwan Mobile users at 2.5 to 3 years and Far EasTone users around 2.7 years. It quotes Taiwan Mobile’s Lin Dong-min saying iPhone trade-ins there grew 15-fold from 2022 to 2026 and unlocked iPhones now make up about 30% of sales. Far EasTone’s Chao Yi-nan and Chunghwa Telecom executives frame old-iPhone residual value, trade-ins, subsidies, installments and possible AI features as reducing the real price gap consumers pay.
The article says Apple’s updated Apple Trade In prices expose an awkward resale-value problem for iPhone Air: after launching NT$7,000 above iPhone 17, its top trade-in value is now the same, NT$20,800. It says iPhone Air retains only about 56% of its launch price, versus nearly 70% for iPhone 17. The report attributes the weaker showing to thinness-driven compromises, including a single camera, single speaker, weaker battery life, camera performance and audio.