iPhone Trade-In Program Comes To The UK
Apple launched its iPhone ‘Reuse and Recycle’ trade-in program this August in the United States. The official trade-in program from Apple will allow you to exchange your old iPhone model for one of the new iPhone models (iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C) at a discounted price. After its launch in the United States in August, Apple said the program will launch in the United Kingdom later this year. The trade-in program is now launched in the United Kingdom, though odds are you won’t want to use it.
Apple offers up to £175 for your old iPhone model in its official stores from the United Kingdom. In US stores, Apple will give you up to $250 for your older iPhone model. The trade-in is available to customers that own an iPhone model not older than the iPhone 3G and it allows them to trade their old iPhone model and receive a gift card with the value of the trade-in; customers can afterwards use this gift card for purchasing a new iPhone model. The newly bought iPhone model must be activated in store. An online version of the trade-in program was released in the United Kingdom last year, and it is based on a different recycling firm.
The official trade-in program from Apple might appeal especially to those customers that don’t want to deal with private sales, but want to buy the high end iPhone 5S for a little less money. As you may suspect, the smartphone market in the United Kingdom is very different than the smartphone market in the United States. For example, in the United Kingdom you can opt for either a contract that includes a subsidized smartphone and you will pay close to the US prices for both; or you can choose to buy the smartphone at full retail price and take advantage of a very cheap SIM only contract.
The cheapest option will be to buy an outright purchase with a cheap monthly contract, but this option is only available to people that can afford the initial expenditure. In the United Kingdom, iPhone 5S’ full retail price starts at £549 (around $876) for the 16 GB iPhone 5S and gets to £709 (around $1133) for the 64 GB iPhone 5S. A SIM only contract (that includes unlimited calls, texts and data) in the United Kingdom, can be purchased for up to £15 – £20 ($24 – $32) per month.
