Google slahes trade-in values by as much as 85% on Pixel and non-Pixel phones

During the summer, Google had a great trade-in deal for the Pixel 6a. By giving owners of the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL as much as $300 in a trade-in, a new Pixel 6a cost only $149. And when Google released the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro in October, Pixel 6 Pro users received as much as $600 toward the purchase of the new model with a trade. And trading in a 128GB Pixel 6 for a 128GB Pixel 7 required an outlay of only $20.

But these trade-in values are always subject to change. And 9to5Google notes that Google has slashed the trade-in value of Pixel handsets. For example, on October 7th, the Pixel 6 Pro would fetch you $480 from the Google Store in a trade. Now, trading in that model will bring you just a $190 credit. That works out to a 60% drop in valuation for the phone. The Pixel 6 also had its trade-in value decline (by a whopping 66%) from $440 to $150.

Check out the 85% decline in valuation for the trade-in value of the Pixel 3 from $247 down to $37. And the Pixel 2 XL has dropped 75% in value from $100 to $25.01. Even non-Pixel models have seen their trade-in values get whacked. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has seen its trade-in value at the Google Store fall from $775 to $285 for a 63% tumble. On the other hand, the valuation for the iPhone 13 has remained steady dropping from $600 to $550 for a mere 8.3% decline.

The only way to take advantage of Google's promotion offering a Pixel 7 "free with qualifying trade-in" is to trade in an iPhone 13 or other recent iPhone models. Holding steady is the Galaxy S21 which now has a trade valuation of $366 compared to the previous $489 for a 25% decline. Strangely, a Galaxy S22 Ultra, as previously noted, will give you only $285 toward the purchase of a Pixel 7 series handset.

Again, these prices can change depending on any promotion that Google has running at the time. Most likely the next time you'll see trade-in prices surge will be during the release of the Pixel 7a which could be unveiled in May during Google I/O 2023. The phone is expected to sport a 6.1-inch OLED panel with a 1080 x 2400 resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. Under the hood, you'll find the 5nm Google Tensor G2 SoC.

The Pixel 7a should feature 6GB of memory and 128GB of storage. There is no microSD slot on the device. Even though this model is a mid-ranger, it is expected to be equipped with a 64MP image sensor and a 13MP ultra-wide camera. The unit might come with a premium ceramic body.