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Whichever option you choose to trade in your device -- whether it's through a carrier promotion or exchanging through a marketplace -- be aware that the longer you wait, the more your device eventually depreciates in value. In particular, since Apple reduces the costs of earlier iPhone models every September, it's quite likely that your personal device's value will drop around that time every year.
And if you are banking on a lucrative carrier promotion, those values will also depreciate or depart entirely as time goes on. For instance, the $1,000 trade-in promotion I mentioned earlier is only available when using an iPhone 12 Pro model or newer. If you are still holding onto an iPhone 11 Pro or earlier, you'll likely receive a much lower trade-in estimate from a carrier or a trade-in website. It's not a bad thing to hold onto older iPhone models that were first purchased in 2018 or later as they are still getting software updates like iOS 18, but the chances of getting a good trade-in promotion or high selling price will become more challenging.
Source: cnet.com