Apple has different sales strategies for its regular iPhones and the Pro handsets: the regular models will stay in the range for several years, but if you want the Pro, you need to buy it in the 12 months after it’s released, and then it’s gone. However, Apple just brought the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, in some countries, on its refurbished site—and at a price that’s up to 15% lower. So, why has Apple made this move so unexpectedly early, and what does it mean for the countries who haven’t seen it return to sale yet?
Right now, those countries don’t include the U.S. or the U.K., but the refurbished 15 Pro models are available from several of Apple’s online stores, including in Spain, Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland.
On the Spanish site, for instance, the iPhone 15 Pro in titanium black with 128GB storage is available for 949€ ($971), saving 170€ compared to the original 1,119€ sticker price. As is common with Apple’s refurbished products, not all colors are available, and in this case it’s just the black model. The storage options with 256GB and 512GB are also back, in black, for 1,059€, saving 190€, and 1,269€, saving 230€, respectively.
Note that the stock for these iPhones may not be huge, as the 256GB model is unavailable in Spain at the time of posting. Similarly, the only other iPhone capable of Apple Intelligence apart from the class of 2024, the iPhone 15 Pro Max, is available refurbished for 240€ off the original price, that is, it’s reduced from 1,599€ to 1,359€, which is a full 15% reduction. That’s for the 512GB storage model, also in black.
Stocks vary by country, unsurprisingly, so the German Apple website has the 512GB iPhone 15 Pro, for 1,259€ price (10€ less than in Spain), but no other Pro configurations, but there’s more choice for the iPhone 15 Pro Max. You can choose the 256GB storage model for 1,129€, reduced by 200€ from the previous 1,329€ price, which is also 15% off. The French website has just one refurbished 15 Pro series, that’s the iPhone 15 Pro Max with 512GB, reduced from 1,609 to 1,369€, a 240€ price drop.
The fact that they are now available in these European sites suggest U.S. releases may not be far off.
As a reference, this is much earlier in the cycle than last year: the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max reappeared in May 2024, a full four months later in the year.
So, why so early? Well, a few days ago, there were only two iPhones (iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus) in the refurbished stores in EU countries, because of the legislation that meant phones without USB-C connectors could no longer be sold there, new or refurbished. This saw the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone SE suddenly withdrawn from sale in 27 countries of the EU, plus Switzerland and one part of the U.K., Northern Ireland. With this move, there are two new handsets available at lower prices.
It also means that two more phones capable of running Apple Intelligence are now on sale, in readiness for the deployment of the features in Europe in the spring.
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