Apple will begin rolling out an iPhone trade-in program in China in the near future. The option may become available in stores as soon as March 31st, allowing Chinese users to take advantage of the program that has helped boost iPhone sales in several countries already, including the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
Chinese retail employees will determine the condition of the phone being traded in, and offer Apple Store credit to customers, Bloomberg reports. Devices that are traded in will be sold to Foxconn by Apple. The manufacturing partner will then make any necessary repairs and resell them through its own online outlets:
While Apple is soon launching an Android trade-in program that lets users switching from competing handsets earn money toward their new iPhone by handing over their old device, the China trade-in offer will apply to iPhones only for the time being.
Following China, only a few major markets with Apple Stores, such as Turkey and Brazil, will be left without in-house iPhone trade-in options. Apple’s new retail chief has been focusing on improving the company’s presence in China, with several new Apple Stores opening within the country in recent months.
