Apple Begins Training U.S. Retail Store Employees for Upcoming iPhone Trade-In Program
Back in June, it was reported that Apple was getting ready to launch an iPhone trade-in program at its U.S. retail stores, partnering with recycling firm Brightstar to give customers instant credit for their old iPhones to drive upgrades to newer models. According to the report from Bloomberg, the old iPhones would be refurbished and sold in emerging markets, lowering the cost of entry in those countries while preventing cannibalization of new device sales in Apple's established markets.
There has been little in the way of update on Apple's plans for the program since June, but MacRumors has now received word from several sources reporting that Apple is indeed beginning to prepare its store employees for the program. Apple has reportedly sent materials to its stores to support the initiative, while the first line of store trainers will be receiving instruction about the program today. Those trainers will then begin training other store employees next week ahead of a program launch.
We have yet to hear exactly when Apple plans to officially open the program, but it seems set to arrive just as the company unveils its next generation of iPhone hardware at a media event on September 10. The new lineup is expected to include both an iPhone 5S successor to the current iPhone 5 as well as a new iPhone 5C that is said to be essentially an iPhone 5 repackaged into a plastic shell available in a variety of bright colors.
Update: TechCrunch has some additional info about how the program works, including the fact that it is already live at a number of pilot Apple Stores in the U.S.:
A customer brings a working, non-liquid-damaged iPhone into an Apple Retail Store. It’s then evaluated by an employee with the help of an online site that a customer can access using the store’s iMacs or iPads. The customer then answers a series of questions about the condition of the device in order to determine a value.
That value can be used in credit for a new device but only if the customer has an upgrade credit available. So there is a carrier check involved. If a user does not have an upgrade credit, they could presumably pay the early termination fee of their carrier and use the credit towards a new device on another carrier.
The value of the trade-in varies depending on physical condition, capacity, and color. TechCrunch claims 16GB iPhone 4 and 4S models range in value from $120-200.
Update 2: MacRumors has now heard that the program is scheduled to launch on August 30.
Popular Stories
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why.
In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup.
If you skipped the iPhone...
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro.
The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence.
The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles.
iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to...
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look.
Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
Apple today added Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips to its online certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and many European countries, for the first time since they were released in March.
As usual for refurbished Macs, prices are discounted by approximately 15% compared to the equivalent new models on Apple's online store. Note that Apple's ...
Apple today provided developers with a revised version of the first iOS 26 beta for testing purposes. The update is only available for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, so if you're running iOS 26 on an iPhone 14 or earlier, you won't see the revised beta.
Registered developers can download the new beta software through the Settings app on each device.
The revised beta addresses an...
