Apple pays 61% less for a damaged device
Apple advertises a single "up to" trade-in figure per product line. It doesn't publish what it pays once a device is damaged. We asked Apple's own trade-in system for every configuration it accepts, in both conditions, and these are the results.
What we found
- Damage costs an average of 61% of the trade-in offer in the US store (57% in the UK), across 1,973 configurations.
- Apple Watchs are treated hardest (68% average cut) and iPhones most leniently (58%).
- The biggest single drop is $2,235: a Mac Studio M3 Ultra 32-Core CPU and 80-Core GPU (Early 2025) 16TB SSD falls from $3,725 to $1,490.
- 19 configurations drop to no credit at all once damaged — Apple offers free recycling instead.
- Apple doesn't publish any of this. Its website shows one "up to" figure per product line, for undamaged devices only.
Damage cut by device type
| Device | Average cut when damaged | Configurations |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Watch | 68% | 81 |
| Mac | 61% | 611 |
| iPad | 60% | 205 |
| iPhone | 58% | 35 |
US store, Good condition versus damaged-but-working, 22 October 2026.
The ten biggest drops
| Configuration | Good | Damaged | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mac Studio M3 Ultra 32-Core CPU and 80-Core GPU (Early 2025) 16TB SSD | $3,725 | $1,490 | −$2,235 |
| MacBook Pro M4 Max 16-Core CPU and 40-Core GPU 16" (Late 2024) 8TB SSD | $3,580 | $1,430 | −$2,150 |
| Mac Studio M3 Ultra 28-Core CPU and 60-Core GPU (Early 2025) 16TB SSD | $3,475 | $1,390 | −$2,085 |
| Mac Studio M3 Ultra 32-Core CPU and 80-Core GPU (Early 2025) 8TB SSD | $3,410 | $1,360 | −$2,050 |
| MacBook Pro M3 Max 16-Core CPU and 40-Core GPU 16" (Late 2023) 8TB SSD | $3,315 | $1,325 | −$1,990 |
| MacBook Pro M4 Max 16-Core CPU and 40-Core GPU 14" (Late 2024) 8TB SSD | $3,110 | $1,245 | −$1,865 |
| Mac Studio M3 Ultra 28-Core CPU and 60-Core GPU (Early 2025) 8TB SSD | $3,100 | $1,240 | −$1,860 |
| Mac Studio M3 Ultra 32-Core CPU and 80-Core GPU (Early 2025) 4TB SSD | $3,100 | $1,240 | −$1,860 |
| MacBook Pro M4 Max 16-Core CPU and 40-Core GPU 16" (Late 2024) 4TB SSD | $3,045 | $1,220 | −$1,825 |
| Mac Pro M2 Ultra 24-Core CPU and 76-Core GPU (Mid 2023) 8TB SSD | $2,825 | $1,130 | −$1,695 |
Method
We queried Apple's own trade-in system (the one behind the trade-in step at checkout on apple.com and apple.com/uk) for every model and configuration in its catalogue, on 22 October 2026. For each one we recorded the Good-condition offer and the offer for a device that is damaged but still working — Apple's "Damaged" path with every follow-up answered favourably, which is the best case for a damaged device. Figures are Apple's own estimates, and Apple confirms the final amount after inspecting the device. 1,973 configurations had a price in both conditions.