Apple Stores might accept Android trade-ins soon

Photo: Cult of Android

Photo: Cult of Android

Trading up from an Android to iPhone is about to get a lot easier, as Apple plans to incentivize switchers by offering Apple Store credit to customers who bring in their old non-iOS devices for trade.

Apple plans to expand its iPhone Reuse and Recycling Program to include non-iOS devices, reports Buzzfeed’s John Paczkowski, who says Apple Stores will soon take everything from Blackberry’s to Windows Phone handsets.

Apple Stores currently offer up to $175 store credit toward a new iPhone for iPhones that meet certain trade-in criteria. The updated program will go live “in a matter of weeks” say BuzzFeed’s sources, confirming an earlier 9to5Mac report.

It’s not clear how much credit Apple will extend for non-iOS handsets, or what criteria will be used to evaluate them, but it could be a crucial tool toward helping Apple sell more iPhones intandem with Apple Watch, which requires an iPhone 5 or greater.

Tim Cook told investors that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus would trigger an avalanche of Android switchers. Expanding the in-store trade-in program is a brilliant way of increasing sales by making it easier for upgrade-ineligible users to switch over to iOS from any platform while they’re in the store.