Chinese customers will soon be able to trade-in their old Apple phones for a discount on the purchase of the company’s latest iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
Bloomberg cited sources familiar with the matter as saying that the iPhone maker has reportedly teamed up with Taiwanese firm Foxconn, which will renew the older models and sell the phones to customers through eFeihu, FLNet, and Alibaba’s e-commerce site.
Apple’s retail staff are likely to check the condition of the old phones before they offer store credit and, later on, Foxconn will buy the phone directly without Apple taking ownership of the devices.
The Chinese programme is drawn upon the success of a similar programme in the US where the iPhone maker also accepted non- Apple phones.
According to reports, the trade-in programme is expected to go online after its initial launch, with Foxconn also likely to sell the refurbished phones through physical stores.
Apple CEO Tim Cook previously highlighted about the demand for iPhones in the Chinese market, which reportedly surged after the launch of the big screen iPhone.
The Chinese demand was an important contributor to the company’s $18bn profit during the final quarter last year.
The company is also planning to double the number of physical stores in Greater China.
