Google Really Wants iPhone Users to Trade In for a Pixel Fold

For better or worse, Android users are frequently treated to the bleeding edge of mobile technology. Whether it’s improved charging, new camera tech or sharing audio with multiple Bluetooth headphones, you usually see it on Android first. The greatest single example of this right now is foldable displays, and with the new Pixel Fold offering what looks like an appealing new option, Google is hoping it can lure in curious iPhone owners by offering much larger payouts than usual if you trade in. 

Broadly speaking, Apple products tend to keep their value better when compared to contemporaries. It’s no surprise: iPhones and iPads tend to stay updated and relevant for longer than most, and Apple’s hardware prices rarely drop by much during a product’s life cycle. Compare that to Samsung, which regularly drops the price of its flagship hardware by as much as $200 within the first six months, which naturally lowers the resale value. When you look beyond Samsung, prices tend to drop even faster. 

With that information in mind, it’s hard to not be surprised to see Google offering $850 for an iPhone 13 Pro with the smallest storage capacity, which is what you see if you offer that as your trade-in on Google’s website right now. Compare that to phone reselling site Swappa, where most users are offering only $700 for the same phone.

It’s worth pointing out Google is only offering $300 for this exact same phone if you’re trying to buy a Pixel 7 Pro. In fact, if you’re trying to buy a Pixel Fold and you’re trying to trade in Google’s own Pixel 7 Pro, the site only offers $380. Google is paying more than double for an iPhone released 20 months ago than it is for the Pixel released only seven months ago, and it’s not hard to guess why. 

Every time a cool-looking folding phone gets released, there are people wondering when Apple will get in the game. Google appears to be taking the opportunity to entice iPhone owners into checking out how green the grass is on the other side, with a phone that is set to constantly improve as the next version of Android becomes available. It’s not immediately clear how much this offer will move the needle, but it’s interesting to see Google appealing to wallets in more ways than one to encourage iPhone owners to switch over.