Apple is boosting the credit it pays people who trade in old iPhones for a new handset.
When you trade in an iPhone 6 or newer handset, Apple will give you up to an additional $100 credit towards the purchase of a new iPhone XR or iPhone XS. For instance, an iPhone 6 that normally fetches a $75 credit will now get a $150 credit. And if you trade in an iPhone 6s Plus, you’ll get $250 instead of the $150 you normally get. An iPhone 8 trade-in, however, will only jump from $275 to $300.
Still, the move is notable for Apple (AAPL). The company has historically been loath to offer much in the way of discounts or credits toward the purchase of its products. Even during the Black Friday to Cyber Monday holiday, Apple offered few big discounts.
But Apple’s new iPhone XR and iPhone XS handsets are expensive. And there has been some talk among analysts that demand for the smartphones is softer than Apple had expected. Offering a trade-in credit helps to defray the high price tags affixed to those handsets and attract shoppers who might have been on the fence about paying so much for a smartphone.
Apple said that its trade-in credit is available for a “limited time,” but did not say how long the offer would last.