Buying a used iPhone makes more sense than ever

It was already there There are plenty of good reasons why you should consider buying a used iPhone instead of a constant upgrade. It is more environmentally friendly and more cost effective, which is a rarity these days. But some recent developments have converged that have suddenly made buying used cars more attractive.

Starting this fall, older iPhones will last longer than ever. Some Apple products will be more expensive. And while buying used — or keeping your own for an extra year or two — means you may miss out on some features, for many people it’s the best option.

“Buying used has never made sense,” says Kyle Wiens, CEO of repair service iFixit. “Phones from the last few years are really good.”

Apple core

If you feel like everything has become more expensive lately, it’s probably because it is. Even big tech giants like Apple are feeling the financial pinch. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal this week, Apple’s outgoing CEO, Tim Cook, said price increases for the company’s products would soon be “inevitable.” He did not specify which Apple products would be affected, or when price increases might occur.

The reason, as described by Cook and many other tech giants, is the ongoing memory shortage, the scarcity of critical storage and memory modules throughout the supply chain that consumer technology companies like Apple rely on to build their devices. This shortage is the result of massive demand for those same components for developing AI data centers around the world. It’s holding everyone back from gamers to Apple. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

This economic uncertainty also comes after a year of extreme market volatility following the Trump administration’s implementation of tariffs and the ongoing conflict with Iran. Getting the stuff needed to make your new iPhone will become more difficult, and Apple and every other company will have to pass those costs on to their customers.

Apple has already been preparing for this. At Apple’s WWDC keynote in early June, the company detailed upcoming changes to its iOS 27 operating system that aim to help iPhones last longer by improving its CPU scheduler — which manages software resources on the device — in a way that will apparently keep the iPhone 11 going. This means you can soon buy a used iPhone with more confidence than ever that it won’t be left behind by an upcoming firmware update.

Maintaining an old iPhone is often cheaper than trying to fix a new one if you need to, and battery replacements for older phones tend to be cheaper than newer options. (Apple charges $119 to replace the battery on a shiny new iPhone 17; an iPhone 13 battery upgrade is $30 cheaper.)

“You can save a lot of money by buying a year-old phone and putting a new battery in it every six months,” Wiens says.

Jitesh Ubrani, research director at IDC, says Apple likely tried to hold back rising prices for as long as possible. So far, Apple has mostly absorbed these additional costs, he noted. It even released the MacBook Neo, the cheapest MacBook ever at $599, in March, when the specter of memory shortages was already setting in.

“The company has also built goodwill in recent months,” Obrani wrote in an email to WIRED. “I don’t see Apple wasting that by massively raising prices.”

The price increases are likely to affect Apple’s newer, already more expensive devices more than its older models. A good place to look for a price hike would be the company’s upcoming hardware announcements, most likely in its professional models. Apple is expected to announce a new iPhone later this year, perhaps alongside an updated MacBook, and eventually a foldable phone. These premium devices are bound to be more expensive for Apple, and may have higher price tags as a result.

Price point

If you’re willing to give up a little camera quality, or don’t have access to the latest AI features on the phone, buying something used may be a better bet in the near future.

(Consider what to think about when purchasing a used smartphone or other refurbished electronics.)