Apple Trade-In Program: What Does Tim Cook’s Firm Do To Returned iPhones?

Apple is currently boosting its trade-in program that asks users of older iPhones to switch them for newer ones. The process requires users to surrender their old phones to the Apple Store. But what does Apple do to the phones that wee traded in?

Apple reveals what happens to the returned iPhones on the official Apple Youtube channel. When iPhones are turned in for the trade-in program, Apple can “refurbish” the devices. This process involves fitting the traded-in iPhone with newer parts and fixing the issues before putting them back on sale again. Apple’s online store is where the refurbished devices are given new prices and sold to the public. Refurbished iPhones are much cheaper than their original prices when they were released.

However, if the swapped iPhone is beyond repair and recovery, the device is stripped for working parts and resources. The recovered parts are then used to make better parts for the newer iPhones. Most of the resources taken from returned iPhones are used for developing new ones, forming a cycle of product recycling for Apple.

Trading in your old Apple devices not only helps the company’s bottom line, it also helps the company push its environment-friendly practice. Returning broken or old devices back to Apple enables the company to look into them before scrapping them. Moreover, the resources gathered from the trade-in program helps Apple make cheaper devices since they would be spending less on resources.

Meanwhile, Apple has yet to announce the new iPhone iteration this 2019. Fans speculate that the next installment would be the iPhone 11. While expected by many, new features are yet to be officially confirmed for the device. If Apple’s recent push to encourage more Apple owners to trade in older devices is to be considered, it’s highly possible that the release price of the next iPhone could be cheaper than the iPhone XS.

Apple is currently focused on introducing and improving its services throughout all smart platforms. New subscription services, such as Apple Arcade and Apple TV+, were revealed last month. Many fans are expecting to hear device announcements during the Worldwide Developers Conference 2019 this coming June. We’ll have to wait for more details if the trade-in system is successful in chipping off a few bucks on the iPhone 11’s price tag until then.