Apple has today launched a new program that will allow customers to trade in an old smartphone and assign the value against the purchase of a new iPhone in installments. The announced “Trade Up With Installments” initiative will afford potential consumers with the ability to trade in an old iPhone, Android smartphone, or Windows phone, with the final valuation of that traded in device being used to purchase a new iPhone on a 24-month installment plan. This program itself will initially only be offered through the retail Apple Stores within the United States. This new program is basically a combination of Apple’s exiting Reuse and Recycling Program and iPhone Upgrade Program.
As you may imagine, the new plan is an Apple initiated method of appealing to those with older generation devices, such as the iPhone 4/4s or the likes of the iPhone 5. Apple is also keen to stress that older devices will obviously come attached with a lesser value, but that the value offered does come off the value of the device purchased, leaving the rest to be cleared off over a 24-month installment plan. As an example, an individual opting to purchase a 16GB iPhone 5s by trading in a full-value iPhone 4, would only need to part with $14.58/month over the course of the installment plan.
The newer the purchased device, the more the monthly payment would be over the term of the purchase plan. The oldest iPhone model you can trade-in using this method is iPhone 4.
Apple is also stressing that any purchase of a new device via this new program doesn’t come with AppleCare+, but that it is available as an additional option for those consumers who want to pay a little extra for that type of coverage and piece of mind. The Cupertino-based company hasn’t actually provided any granular information on how it values devices, or how it will approach valuations for non-Apple hardware like Android and Windows Mobile-based smartphones, but it seems that hardware can be valued at anywhere between $100 and $300.
If getting rid of your old iPhone and then buying the newer model on installments is on the agenda, then it seems this new Apple program could be for you:
Whatever phone you purchase will be unlocked, which means you’re not tied to a specific carrier (though you still have to sign up for wireless service for the iPhone). The maximum trade-in values are the same as for the regular trade-in program. That’s $100 for the iPhone 4 and 4S; $200 for the 5, 5C and 5S; $300 for the 6; and $350 for the 6 Plus.
We can see this one being popular across Apple’s retail outlets in the United States.
(Via: CNET)
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