Now is the best time to trade-in or sell your iPhone. Why? Because prices will soon fall due to the next iPhone launch on 14 September. The best thing you can do is confirm a trade-in price now to ensure you get the best price you can.

Prices offered are about to fall

CompareMyMobile reckons you have four days grace following a new iPhone launch to sell or upgrade in order to get the best value. 

The trade-in site says that in the week leading up to an Apple Event and in the four days following the event, the value of iPhones don't really depreciate but that subsequently prices significantly declined.

MusicMagpie says that the launch of the new iPhone brings with it about a 23 per cent drop in value of existing iPhone models over the following months. That could see a £140 reduction in value for an iPhone 12 Pro if you delay in trading it in.

The company offers a 21-day guarantee on trade-in prices, so you can secure your rate before the new model is released and you buy the new phone.

What can you expect to get for your old iPhone?  

Compare and Recycle suggests that the iPhone 12 range lost on average 41 per cent off its retail value, in just one year. That works out to an eye watering £620 loss for the iPhone 12 Pro Max 512GB. The company's price tracking data revealed that the iPhone 12 mini 64GB depreciated the most since launch, losing 47 per cent. Among the iPhone 11 series however, the iPhone 11 64GB and 128GB models are the clear winners after 2 years as they have retained 45 per cent of their original retail price.
 
The comparison website says the iPhone XR enjoyed the highest increases in resale prices before the launch of the iPhone 12 lineup in 2020, which may signal a rise in offer prices for the iPhone XS range as recyclers look to capitalise on the increase of customers selling their 3 year old iPhones. Looking at the iPhone X, the difference between capacities is about £20 and the fact this four year old iPhone can still pocket you between £200 and £220 is impressive.

Lower capacities retain more value

Compare and Recycle suggest that lower capacities retain a higher percentage of their value. The 128GB iPhone 12 Pro has held 62 per cent of its value at present compared to the 512GB iPhone 12 Pro Max which is 56 per cent.

We've known for some time that iPhones tend to retain value better than other handsets. Compared with Samsung devices, Apple prices remain very favourable compared to rivals such as Samsung. Seven months after launch the Galaxy S21 5G retained 51 per cent, the S21 Plus 5G 43 per cent, and the S21 Ultra 5G just 40 per cent. 
 
The Google Pixel 5 lost a whopping 67 per cent of its value to date, while the Huawei P40 (not P30 Pro, note) has a trade-in value of just £155, losing a massive 78 per cent.

What about Apple TradeIn?

Apple also offers its own program Apple TradeIn which enables you to trade in various devices (they don't have to be Apple-made) in exchange for an Apple Store Gift Card.

However, the prices quoted might not give you as good a deal as you can find elsewhere. Rival recyclers are quick to jump on this and many will give you a range of prices from different websites so you can get the best deal. As always, our advice is to shop around - but if you're buying through a carrier or network, it's worth seeing what you'll get from them too.