iPhone 17 Pro trade-in offer: Apple offering just 40% of iPhone 16 Pro’s MRP when exchanging

Trading in your old iPhone 16 Pro for the iPhone 17 Pro at Apple? Here’s what you’ll actually get.

iPhone 17 models are out, including the iPhone 17 Pro, the 17 Pro Max, the iPhone Air, and the iPhone 17. And with that, many people will be looking to buy these brand-new models, and many will be looking to exchange their old iPhones to get the new ones directly from Apple. We did the same, checked what Apple was offering for our own iPhone models on Apple's website in India, and we found that the amount is not too much.

The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air. (AP)

By Shaurya Sharma

Shaurya Sharma is the Technology Editor at Hindustan Times Digital Streams, where he oversees technology coverage across digital and social platforms. With over eight years of experience across editorial, video production, and digital media, his work focuses on smartphones, AI, consumer gadgets, and shaping audience-first content strategies for modern tech consumers.

He began his career in 2018 as a fashion cinematographer before turning his lifelong passion for technology into a profession. From spending his childhood immersed in tech magazines, video games, and the latest gadgets to covering the global consumer tech industry today, technology has remained a constant throughout his journey.

Over the years, Shaurya has worked with some of India’s leading media organisations, including CNN-News18, Sportskeeda, and Guiding Tech, where he led video initiatives that combined strong editorial storytelling with engaging visual and social-first execution.

A graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication from Manipal University, Shaurya has reviewed hundreds of products across categories including smartphones, laptops, gaming consoles, cameras, and wearables. Beyond work, he is passionate about animal welfare, environmental causes, and automobiles, particularly turbo-petrol cars

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So here's exactly what Apple will give you if you exchange your iPhone 16 Pro, your iPhone 16, or even an old iPhone 15 Pro, and so on. Read on for the details.

What you get for iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Plus, 15 Pro and more

We tried exchanging for the iPhone 17 Pro base model in 256GB. And here’s what Apple’s website promised as exchange prices for the various models, all identified using our own models:

• iPhone 16 Pro 128GB: ₹48,000
• iPhone 16 Plus 512GB: ₹40,900
• iPhone 15 Pro 256GB: ₹50,500
• iPhone 12 128GB: ₹16,900
• iPhone 15 Pro Max 1TB: ₹60,000
• iPhone 14 Pro Max 256GB: ₹48,000

You may get better prices in the offline market

Think about it, the iPhone 16 Pro was Apple’s flagship just last year, retailing at ₹1,19,900 for the 128GB model. Now, less than a year later, Apple is offering only ₹48,000 in exchange, barely 40% of its MRP.

And this is why we also checked with several offline stores if they would be interested in buying/exchanging old iPhone models. And in most cases, they were offering more than Apple officially. For instance, a dealer in Jaipur quoted us ₹67,000 for the iPhone 16 Pro 128GB Indian model. For the iPhone 15 Pro 256GB, we were offered ₹55,000. Based on our observation, this is what you should be doing if you want to get rid of your old phone, so you can get the best price for it this way, and this way, buying the iPhone 17 Pro will be most affordable.