Apple’s trade-in scheme accepts eligible Android phones for the iPhone 18 Pro, but the credit offered is significantly lower than for iPhones and varies depending on multiple factors, with recent updates further pushing down trade-in values for some devices.
Apple’s trade-in programme does accept eligible Android phones towards an iPhone 18 Pro purchase in the US, but Apple does not publish a fixed credit range for those devices. On its switching page, the company says the amount depends on the device’s model, manufacturer and condition, while the only range Apple states outright covers iPhones: customers trading in an iPhone 13 or later can receive between $175 and $885 in credit instantly.
That distinction matters because the Android route is handled through Apple’s estimator rather than a public price list. In practice, the highest Android figure currently recorded is $290 for a Pixel 9 Pro XL, with other recent Google, Samsung and OnePlus handsets landing lower. Apple does not publish the full per-model table, so those figures are best treated as inspection-based estimates rather than guaranteed offers.
The scale of the gap is also evident when the Android values are set against Apple’s iPhone figures. The Mac Observer reports that Apple’s own published ceiling for supported iPhones is $885, while the strongest Android result recorded is roughly in line with the value of a four-year-old iPhone 14 Pro. Against a $1,199 iPhone 18 Pro, the top Android credit covers only a little under a quarter of the price, and it reduces the checkout total rather than altering the handset’s list price.
Apple revised trade-in values on the day of its September 9 event, and the moves were uneven. According to The Mac Observer, every iPhone payout declined, some by as much as $120, while iPad values increased and most Macs also moved higher, except for the Mac Pro, which was unchanged. Android and Apple Watch values mostly fell or held steady, suggesting that Apple re-priced the category alongside its iPhone launch rather than in step with the devices whose prices it was raising.
Carrier promotions can reach higher headline numbers, with Apple describing up to $1,200 in credits for customers trading in an iPhone 14 or later. But that figure is tied to Apple’s carrier offers, not to Android trade-ins, and the credits are generally spread across 24 to 36 monthly bill statements. Apple’s own credit is applied immediately at purchase, which makes the two offers materially different even when they appear to lead to similar end results.
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