Do Older iPhones Get Cheaper When a New One Comes Out?

On Sept 9, 2026, Apple announced the iPhone 18 Pro and, the same day, raised the price of the older iPhones it kept selling. If you were holding out for last year's model to drop, that was the opposite of what you were waiting for. The savings on an older iPhone are still there this fall. They just come from different places than they used to.

Older iPhones did not get cheaper at Apple when the iPhone 18 Pro launched in September 2026. Apple raised the iPhone 16, iPhone 17e, iPhone 17 and iPhone Air by $100 each, breaking a 2020 to 2025 habit of cutting last year's standard model by $100. Pre-owned and trade-in prices do still fall after a launch, and retailer and carrier deals tend to cluster around Black Friday. Prices move, so none of this is guaranteed.

What Apple Did on Sept 9, 2026: Up, Not Down

Apple raised the US list price of every older non-Pro iPhone it kept on sale by $100, as MacRumors reported that day. Here is how the four models moved:

The iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max didn't get a price change at all. Apple stopped selling them when the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max arrived, which is what it has usually done with older Pro models.

Why the increase? MacRumors and Macworld both report that Apple pointed to higher memory chip costs.

That reverses a long run. Each September from 2020 to 2025, Apple cut the previous standard iPhone by $100 at launch.

Why a New iPhone Launch Doesn't Always Lower Old Prices

A new launch moves older iPhone prices in three separate markets, and this year they went in different directions. Most of the confusion comes from treating them as one price.

Here is how they split:

• Apple's List Price: What Apple charges on its own store. It changes once a year, at the September event, and Macworld notes that Apple "is very unlikely to reduce the price of a new iPhone during its first year on sale."
• Retailer and Carrier Deals: Stores and carriers can sell below Apple's price whenever they choose. Last November, the larger carrier offers on the iPhone 16 came as bill credits spread over 24 to 36 months, tied to a trade-in and a plan.
• The Pre-Owned Market: Phones bought back and resold. These prices follow supply and demand, and they react within days of an announcement.

Think of Apple's list price as the sticker on the window and the pre-owned price as the going rate down the street. The sticker only changes when Apple reprints it, once a year. The going rate moves every week.

A short worked number shows why this matters. In September 2025, Apple dropped the iPhone 16 from $799 to $699. If you bought one from Apple last October, you paid $699. Since Sept 9, 2026, the same model, a year older, lists at $799 on Apple's store. Waiting a year cost $100 at Apple.

Resale and Trade-In Prices: Where a Launch Still Cuts Prices

The pre-owned and trade-in market is where a new iPhone still pushes older prices down, and it reacts fast. One used-phone marketplace estimates that after an iPhone announcement, "used and trade-in prices for the prior model fall about 9 to 15% within 24 to 48 hours." Once the new phone ships, it says, the outgoing model "is typically down 20% or more."

Trade-in offers head the same way. A trade-in comparison site tracked offers across the iPhone 15, 16 and 17 launches and found that 117 of 156 iPhones (75%) lost trade-in value between Apple's announcement and release day, comparing the best offer for each phone in Good condition.

Say a phone goes for $500 in the pre-owned market the week before an announcement. A 9 to 15% drop puts it at roughly $425 to $455 two days later.

These figures are marketplace estimates from past launches, not hands-on testing by Plug. They show the direction prices tend to move, not what any one phone will sell or trade for this year.

Here is what that means for you:

• If You're Buying an Older Model: By October, pre-owned prices on last year's phones have usually already slipped from where they sat before the announcement. You don't have to wait for a holiday to see that drop.
• If You're Selling Your Current iPhone: The biggest falls in value arrive around an announcement, so selling ahead of one keeps the most money in your pocket. Plug also buys iPhones by mail, and the offer tool on each trade-in page shows the live amount.

How Black Friday and Christmas Stack on Top

Holiday sales add a second layer on top of whatever the launch did, and most of it comes from retailers and carriers, not Apple. On this year's calendar, Thanksgiving is Thursday, Nov 26, so Black Friday is the day after (Friday, Nov 27) and Cyber Monday is the Monday after (Nov 30). Christmas is Friday, Dec 25.

Last year is the best guide to what each kind of seller does:

• Apple: Its 2025 Black Friday event ran Friday, Nov 28 to Monday, Dec 1, and gave an Apple Gift Card instead of a price cut: $75 with the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 15 and 14. The iPhone 17 models, iPhone Air and Pro models were left out.
• Retailers: Cash cuts on the iPhone 16 were small in the roundups from those days, in line with how much iPhones drop on Black Friday. Best Buy had it at $679, $19 below its regular price, and Walmart took $100 off a carrier-locked iPhone 16.
• Carriers: The bigger headline numbers were bill credits over 24 to 36 months, tied to a trade-in and a plan, so the saving only lands if you stay that long.

One rule matters if you're tempted to buy at Apple now and hope. Apple's price protection refunds the difference if it lowers a price "within 14 calendar days from the date you receive your product," but it "excludes limited-time price reductions and special sales events, such as Black Friday." This means a phone bought from Apple in early November won't earn money back from a Black Friday promotion.

Where the launch and the holidays overlap, an older model can reach its lowest price of the year: a pre-owned or retailer price that already eased after September, with a holiday discount on top. Last year's numbers are a guide, so check each seller's own page on the day. For the wider picture, see whether Apple products are cheaper on Black Friday or Christmas.

When Do Old iPhones Go Down in Price? Matching the Timing to You

Each of the three markets has its own clock. Apple's list price moves once a year in September, the pre-owned market moves within days of an announcement, and retailer and carrier deals bunch up around Black Friday.

Here is how to time it by situation:

• You Need a Phone Now: Buy now. Apple has usually changed its list prices only at the September event, and pre-owned prices on older models have usually eased since the September announcement already.
• You Can Wait Until Nov 27: Compare the Black Friday offers against the pre-owned price for the same model. Count a gift card or a bill credit for what it is: money you get back later, or only if you stay on a plan.
• You Plan to Upgrade and Sell Your Old Phone: Sell before the next announcement, not after it, since that's when trade-in values have fallen hardest. There is more on when and how to sell your old device in Plug's trade-in guide.

Where Plug Certified Fits

Plug prices its iPhones from live market data and changes them often, so a Plug price follows the going rate, not a sale calendar. If the older model you want has already eased in price since September, you don't need to wait for a code on Cyber Monday to see it.

To see how much the older model you want has dropped, compare its live listing among Plug's iPhones with the $799 Apple has listed for a new iPhone 16 since Sept 9. Prices move, so check the listing for today's figure.

Behind every Plug price sit the same checks on each phone: Plug's 90+ Point Inspection, battery health of 80% or higher, an unlocked phone that works with any carrier, and Plug's 12-Month Warranty. Orders come with 30-day returns and free shipping on US orders. For buying used iPhones, Plug holds the "Best Experience" label from Wirecutter, The New York Times' product-review site.

The Rule of Thumb: Check Two Prices

Apple's own price on an older iPhone went up this year, so the cut you're looking for won't come from Apple's store. Check Apple's list price, check the going rate for the same model pre-owned, and buy when the gap suits you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the iPhone 17 price drop when the 18 comes out?

No, not at Apple so far. Its list price for the iPhone 17 is $100 higher than before the September event. Apple's next list-price change, if there is one, has usually come at a September event, so before then any lower price on an iPhone 17 would come from a retailer, a carrier or the pre-owned market. See whether the iPhone 17 goes on sale on Black Friday for that holiday.

Which month is cheapest to buy an iPhone?

Possibly November, but nobody can prove it for iPhones. Third-party price data for smartphones overall puts November lowest. The same tracker says its Apple phone history is too thin "to say which month is cheapest," and warns that "sale dates move and a new model can reset prices."

Does iPhone trade-in value decrease after a new release?

Yes, and it starts before the new phone ships. Ahead of the iPhone 17 release, one trade-in comparison site found 50 of 54 iPhones lost value in 10 days, an average of $36.46. The largest percentage drop it recorded was an iPhone 15 Plus 128GB, from $440 to $351, down 20.2%.