You’ve had two weeks to pre-order Samsung’s new Galaxy S26 lineup, but if you missed your chance, you might’ve also missed out on some exceptional trade-in offers. With the S26 series now on store shelves, Samsung has updated their trade-in values, and the best deals to be had are all but dead.
When pre-orders initially went live after Unpacked, we spotted some fairly impressive trade-in deals, so long as you were handing over either an older Samsung or Apple device. Recent devices like the Galaxy S25 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 6 unsurprisingly gave the biggest rewards, but older entries —including the Galaxy S22 Ultra and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra — proved to be worth more than you might have expected.
Unfortunately, those days appear to be over. Buying a Galaxy S26 Ultra only promises “up to” $720 for your trade-in, down nearly $200 from offers that were available yesterday. The credit you’d receive for a Galaxy Z Fold 6 dropped from $900 to just $400, for example, while the Note 20 Ultra — once the best deal you could score on a pre-order — now only grants you $130. It’s the same story with Apple products, as something like the iPhone 15 Pro Max drops from TK to TK. Pixel owners fare worse of all, with the Pixel 8 Pro dropping from $370 to just $193. For a phone that isn’t even three years old yet, it’s not ideal. And, it should be said, all of these values are significantly lower when purchasing either of Samsung’s new non-Ultra devices.
Obviously, you aren’t completely out of luck yet. IAs usual, carriers are your best place to go once a Samsung device is officially launched, though you’ll need to stay subscribed to keep your best deal. Verizon is offering a free S26+ with a new Unlimited line, AT&T subscribers can score a free Galaxy S26 Ultra while trading in any device with a minimum $230 valuation, and T-Mobile fans can score either a free S26 Ultra on a new line or a free S26+ with eligible trade-ins.
Outside of carriers, Samsung is still offering $150 back in instant credit on all three devices towards additional devices if you forego a trade-in, alongside 15% towards a new pair of Galaxy Buds 4 or 4 Pro. But if you want the best deal possible, you might need to keep waiting for future discounts down the road.
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