iPhone 16 sparks more trade-ins ahead of preorders than iPhone 15, with a surprise twist

The iPhone 16 will go on preorder on Friday in dozens of markets around the world, and it’ll be interesting to see how well the new iPhone does. Apple has the difficult task of selling AI iPhones that have no AI features on board at launch. Apple Intelligence will arrive in October, but it will not be complete even then.

That said, the iPhone 16 phones and iOS 18 have plenty of exciting features that have nothing to do with generative AI. Many iPhone owners who are due an update won’t be wrong to preorder an iPhone. You wouldn’t be wrong to upgrade this year to a regular iPhone 16 or 16 Plus instead of the iPhone 16 Pros. That’s how good the base models will be.

A last-minute report from SellCell suggests the iPhone 16 is generating quite a buzz among iPhone owners looking to upgrade. The iPhone 16 has sparked a higher wave of trade-ins than the iPhone 15 series. What’s more surprising is the kind of buyer who wants to ditch their current iPhone in favor of a new model.

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SellCell compared trade-in sales volumes and values across 40 iPhone buyers against the iPhone 15 period last year. The company found that the iPhone 16 launch saw an increase in trade-in sales in the first two days after the launch event of 38% in value and 28.8% in volume compared to the iPhone 15.

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Last year, the iPhone 15 launch saw a 16% decline in trade-in volume compared to the iPhone 14.

The company also notes that the iPhone 16 launch is the best launch since the iPhone 13. According to its data, more users are trading in their iPhones for the iPhone 16 than the previous three launches.

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The iPhone trade-in data SellCell registered for the first two days after the iPhone 16 launch event also reveals an unexpected trend ahead of the start of preorders.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max accounts for 27.2% of trade-in volume, making it the most traded-in iPhone ahead of the iPhone 16 preorders start.

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Moreover, the iPhone 15 Pro sits in third place with 9.7%. The iPhone 14 Pro Max takes second place with 15% trade-in volume.

iPhone 16 Pro color options and Camera Control button. Image source: Apple Inc.

Ahead of the iPhone 16 launch, I said the only iPhones worth buying and keeping were the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max . These handsets can run Apple Intelligence and will do so for a few years beyond iOS 18.

Upgrading from the iPhone 15 Pros to the iPhone 16 isn’t necessarily the best idea unless you really want that Camera Control button. The A18 chips and camera upgrades are also interesting but not exactly groundbreaking.

Then again, I’ll get an iPhone 16 fully knowing I’ll upgrade to the iPhone 17 Air next year. I get that some buyers might be more excited about the newest generation even though they’re already using last year’s flagship.

On the other hand, if you own an iPhone 15 or 15 Plus and want Apple Intelligence, you will need to buy an iPhone 16. There’s no other way to get Apple’s AI on those phones.

While SellCell’s data is interesting, it’s still a limited sample. Also, we’re only looking at iPhone owners who want to trade in their handsets for the iPhone 16. It’s unclear whether SellCell’s survey can predict the actual preorder success of the iPhone series.

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