Buying a Used iPhone Makes More Sense Than Ever

He was already there many reasons to consider buying used iPhone instead of always raising. It is environmentally friendly and cheap, which is becoming more and more popular these days. But a few recent developments have made buying used even more interesting.

Starting this fall, older iPhones will last longer than ever. Some Apple products will be expensive. And by buying used, or using your device for an extra year or two – it means you can miss out on something, for most people it’s a great option.

“Buying used has never been a smart idea,” says Kyle Wiens, CEO of the maintenance organization iFixit. “The phones of the last few years are very good.”

Apple Core

If it seems like everything is going up in price lately, that’s probably why. Even big tech behemoths like Apple are feeling the pinch. In a interview and The Wall Street Journal This week, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that price increases in the company’s products will soon be “inevitable.” He did not say which Apple products would be affected, or when the price hikes might take place.

The culprit, as Cook and many other tech titans have suggested, is what’s happening lack of memorylack of important storage and memory resources that technology companies like Apple rely on to make their devices. This shortage is due to the high demand for the same parts to create AI data in the world. It’s holding everyone back players to, Apple. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

This economic uncertainty also comes after a year of volatile markets due to the Trump administration. establish a tariff and continue confrontation with Iran. Finding the materials to make your new iPhone is increasing, and Apple and every other company has to pass that money on to their customers.

Apple has already been preparing for this. During Apple’s WWDC keynote at the beginning of June, the company detailed the changes coming to its iOS 27 that it intends to support. iPhones It will spend a lot of time optimizing its CPU software – which manages the software on the device – in a way that makes the iPhone 11 sound better. This means that soon you can buy a used iPhone with more confidence than ever that it won’t be left behind by an upcoming firmware update.

Keeping an old iPhone is often cheaper than trying to fix a new one if you need it, and battery replacements for older phones are cheaper than newer options. (Apple costs $119 to replace the battery on a shiny new iPhone 17; an iPhone 13 battery upgrade is $30 cheaper.)

“You can save a lot of money by buying an older phone and putting in a new battery every six months,” says Wiens.

Apple may have tried to increase prices as much as possible, said Jitesh Ubrani, director of research at IDC. He said that so far Apple has taken most of this money. It produced even MacBook NeoIts cheapest MacBook at $599, in March, when the idea of ​​limited memory had already started.

“The company has made a comeback in recent months,” Ubrani wrote in an email to WIRED. “I don’t see Apple ruining that by raising prices too much.”

The price hike could affect Apple’s new devices, which are already more expensive than its older models. The place to look for price increases will be the company’s upcoming announcements, perhaps in its Pro versions. Apple is expected to announce a new iPhone later this year, possibly alongside a refreshed MacBook and, eventually, a foldable phone. These premium devices have to be expensive for Apple to make, and they can have very high price tags.

Price Point

If you’re willing to give up a bit on camera quality, or don’t have access to the latest AI features on a phone, buying something used might be a better bet in the near future.

(Remember what to consider when buying a used smartphone or anything else electronic repairs.)