iPhone Upgrade Program customers can trade in phones through the mail

Apple seems to be making it easier to trade in iPhones through the iPhone Upgrade Program with a new mail-in kit option, as spotted by John Angarano over at the MacRumors forums.

Apple launched the iPhone Upgrade Program two years ago alongside the iPhone 6S as an alternative for customers looking to upgrade their phone without being tied to any one carrier.

But if you were looking to upgrade your phone to a new model, you had to schedule an appointment in an Apple Store to trade in the old phone, something that seems to finally be changing with the new mail-in kit.

It’s still not entirely clear how the mail-in process will work. Ideally, it could mean that Apple will allow users to preorder phones directly to their homes and then return the old devices by mail within a certain amount of time, without requiring the middle step of going to an Apple Store.

Either way, the new Trade-in Kits should hopefully help prevent issues like last year, when many iPhone Upgrade Program users found themselves unable to get a new phone due to low stock in stores.

The timing for the new system is particularly fitting, given that Apple is expected to launch new iPhones tomorrow at its upcoming event.

(THE VERGE)