Looking for new iPhones

Currently the iPhone x is the oldest phone that has full trade-in value for the iPhone 13.

It is possible it will fall off and only be worth $350 once the iPhone 14 is released in mid to late September. 

Which means the iPhone XS, one year younger, might be the oldest model. 

It may not happen that way, but you are taking a risk that if you wait for the iPhone 14 you might not get full trade in value.

The previous model to the X was the iPhone 8 which in my opinion is substantially subpar to the iPhone x in design. But that may not be the qualifier.  

@alexlobo76 

My thinking is same as @formerlyknownas 

I'm assuming that the X will push off the bottom of the list and go down to the $350 credit option. 

I have no insider knowledge, but they don't keep phones on there forever, so bumping down the oldest phone every year seems the way to go.

@alexlobo76   Hopefully you are aware that if you want to get a 13 now to make sure you get a $700 credit instead of a possible drop to $350 when the iPhone 14 comes out, you are required to sign up for the installment plan over 36 months, and in order to get the full $700, you have to pay over the full 36 months.  Its a bill credit every month in the amount of 1/36 of the $700.  If you pay off early, you lose any credits you haven’t gotten yet.

The trade in deal only is really cost effective if you intend to keep paying for the phone for 36 months.  36 months from now, the iPhone 13 will be a nearly 4 year old phone.

@alexlobo76 

If you want some kind of insurance, I don't recommend AT&T's insurance for iPhones.  

AppleCare+ is much better service and better deductibles and likely cheaper too (it's a little more on the Pro with the theft and loss plan, but I don't do theft/loss). 

The way the trade in deal works, you won't be able to upgrade for 36 months, or you lose out on the credits. So either you commit to the current offer, or take your chances waiting. But what ever the choice, it's 36 months

@alexlobo76  Do you have iPhones to trade in?  Which models?

Yes, there will likely be a new iPhone announced in a couple of months.  When and what the difference with the 13 aren’t known yet, just guessing.  No one knows what the promotions will be, but if it’s like in previous years, they’ll be doing the trade in credits for an older iPhones.  At this point on the year, I’d probably wait and see what happens and then make a choice.

@Gary L I have an iphone X 256gigs to trade in.  Hopefully thats in the list of devices can be traded in.

Thank you @Gary L & @formerlyknownas.  You guys were really helpful.  I have decided to go with 13 for now and later upgrade to 14.

@dwill05 As they're still using an X, they don't seem like a frequent upgrader. 

Even if you upgrade every two years, you've gotten $466 in credits, that's better than the $450 credit you got back when there were contracts.