Apple plans to start accepting non-Apple devices as trade-ins, a person with knowledge of the matter said, as the company seeks to extend market-share gains against smartphones based on Google’s Android software.
The iPhone maker started a trade-in programme in 2013 to get more users to upgrade to its newest products. Now, that plan is being expanded to include Android smartphones, as well as BlackBerry devices, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public.
Apple is reported to be opening its first store in the UAE this year.
The company is seeking to fuel even more iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sales after selling 74.5 million units in the last three months of 2014, up 46 per cent from a year earlier. Thanks to record sales, shipments of devices based on Apple’s mobile iOS software surpassed Android in the US, according to Kantar Worldpanel Comtech, with 47.7 per cent of the market compared with Android’s 47.6 per cent.
Teresa Brewer, a spokeswoman for Cupertino, California-based Apple, declined to comment on the new trade-programme, which was first reported by the website 9to5Mac.
Apple had more Android “switchers” in the past quarter compared with any period in at least three years, chief executive Tim Cook said on the latest earnings call.
Apple’s current iPhone trade-in programme is a partnership with Brightstar Corp, which resells the devices to overseas customers for a profit. It’s not clear whether the new Android trade-in programme will include Brightstar. Erik Hofmeyer, a spokesman for Miami-based Brightstar, declined to comment.
Elizabeth Markman, a spokeswoman for Mountain View, California-based Google, declined to comment.
While Android phones don’t hold their value as well as iPhones, it still makes sense for Apple Stores to accept them, according to Israel Ganot, former CEO of Gazelle, an online mobile device trade-in company.
“Apple can afford to pay more than the market value to get you to switch over, on the idea that you’re going to fall in love with the iOS ecosystem and stay for a long time,” Ganot said in an interview.
If Apple Stores start accepting Android-based Samsung smartphones before the company’s new high-end Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge go on sale next month, “it’s going to make a lot of Galaxy S5 users think twice” about upgrading, Ganot said.
Samsung’s new devices are set to debut in 20 countries starting April 10.
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Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Favourite books: 'Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life' by Jane D. Mathews and ‘The Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates
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Sunday
Watford 2 Leicester City 1
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
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The Matrix Resurrections
Director: Lana Wachowski
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick
Rating:****
The flights: South African Airways flies from Dubai International Airport with a stop in Johannesburg, with prices starting from around Dh4,000 return. Emirates can get you there with a stop in Lusaka from around Dh4,600 return.
The details: Visas are available for 247 Zambian kwacha or US$20 (Dh73) per person on arrival at Livingstone Airport. Single entry into Victoria Falls for international visitors costs 371 kwacha or $30 (Dh110). Microlight flights are available through Batoka Sky, with 15-minute flights costing 2,265 kwacha (Dh680).
Accommodation: The Royal Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel by Anantara is an ideal place to stay, within walking distance of the falls and right on the Zambezi River. Rooms here start from 6,635 kwacha (Dh2,398) per night, including breakfast, taxes and Wi-Fi. Water arrivals cost from 587 kwacha (Dh212) per person.
