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If you bought an iPhone XS, here’s why upgrading now could pay off.
Written by Andrew Marchant, Marketing Manager | Privacy, Money-Saving and Parenting Advice
Last updated on 26 March 2026
Were you one of the lucky ones to buy an XS last year? You could be in for a treat when you come to upgrade your device. Read on to find out why.
Last year, Apple introduced the iPhone XS which resulted in Apple discontinuing the groundbreaking iPhone X from the official Apple store. While this could have been disheartening for iPhone X owners, in actual fact it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The prices of the iPhone X had some of the highest trade-in-compared-to-initial-purchase prices ever.
After the initial 8 months of fluctuation, on the release of the iPhone XS and subsequent news of discontinuation of the iPhone X, the iPhone X depreciation slowed down to an unprecedented level. Our graph below highlights the monthly change in top prices for the iPhone X.
You can see that there was little movement throughout 2019, then in August during the annual trade-in price increase we saw prices rise to the equivalent to what they were a year before.
Amongst the announcement for the iPhone 11 and Pro range, it was suggested that the iPhone XS would no longer be available from the official store. This piqued our interest, as Apple have not usually resorted to discontinuing one year old devices. In fact, the iPhone X was the first time they did this, and we saw a levelling-out of resale prices for the following year. With the iPhone XS and XS Max also getting discontinued, we could see the same pattern of the slowing down of resale prices in 2019/2020.
Following the announcement, we have kept a close eye on the trade-in prices for all iPhones. The price changes in the official store usually have a knock-on effect on resale prices. Apple have also chosen to not increase the prices for their new devices this year for the first time since records began, and even dropped prices for 2/3 year old devices in the store by more than they usually would. This leaves no real market price for the iPhone XS, and a much shorter supply for the device moving forward.
iPhone 8 – Get up to £290 (£20 drop since the 1st of August)
iPhone 8 Plus – up to £348 (£16 drop since the 1st of August)
iPhone X – up to £445 (£35 drop since the 1st of August)
iPhone XS Max – up to £702 (£33 drop since the 1st of August) just 4% drop
iPhone XS – up to £681 (Just a £9 drop since the August) a 1% drop
iPhone XR – up to £535 (£61 drop since the 1st of August)
While it has only been a matter of hours since the iPhone 11 has been released, iPhone XS and XS Plus owners who may already be planning their upgrade, may want to look toward the iPhone 12 if they really want to make the most of this amazing trade-in differential.
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