How Apple's iPhone 18 price increases impact your trade-in value at Verizon, T-Mobile, or AT&T

Wall Street thinks sales of the pricier new Apple ( AAPL ) iPhone 18 lineup are off to a brisk start. That's good news from an economic standpoint because it's not cheap to buy one in-store, despite stepped-up carrier promotions.

US wireless carriers Verizon ( VZ ), T-Mobile ( TMUS ), and AT&T ( T ) have increased incentives for iPhone purchases, according to analysis by Bank of America's Michael Funk. The maximum trade-in credits for the iPhone 18 Pro Max increased to $1,200, up from $1,100 for the iPhone 17 Pro Max and $1,000 for the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The trade-in credit for the iPhone 18 Pro is also $1,200.

As part of the financing, customers are required to pay an activation fee ($35-$40) and tax on the device's full retail price. The cost increases by $150 with the addition of an AppleCare+ plan.

Based on a scenario where a customer purchases the new iPhone by trading in a phone that qualifies for the highest credits, the initial cost, says Funk, is $291-$296 for the new iPhone 18 Pro and $400-$405 for iPhone 18 Pro Max.

Apple officially instituted a $100 price hike across its entire flagship smartphone lineup this year, raising the starting price for its latest hardware. The hikes reflect surging global memory-component costs and elevated chip manufacturing expenses.

The new foldable iPhone Duo starts at a price of $1,999.

Preorders for the phone began on Sept. 12, with the hardware officially hitting stores today.

"We expect a strong iPhone cycle with the higher ASPs [average selling prices] and uptake of Duo. Siri AI should drive increased interest in upgrades," Funk said.

Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor, host of the ' Power Players With Brian Sozzi' podcast and a member of Yahoo Finance's editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi , Instagram , and LinkedIn . Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.