- Samsung has just improved the conditions of its phone trade-in program
- There are no more conditions of purchase and it is open all year round
- It started in South Korea and France and other regions will follow soon
Are you tired of your Samsung phone and want to trade it in for something new? Samsung just improved its Galaxy Trade-In program to offer more generous terms, making it a tempting option if you want to upgrade to one of Samsung’s best phones.
In fact, one of the new changes is that you don’t need to trade in your old Samsung phone for a new one at all: no purchase is necessary, so you can just trade in your old device for cash , if you prefer. You might have to wait a bit to do so: the program has only just started in South Korea and France, with Samsung announcing plans to “expand to more regions through 2025.”
Previously, you had to buy a new Samsung phone from samsung.com or the company’s app every time you traded in an old one. If you already had one in mind and wanted to upgrade, it probably wasn’t much of a problem, but it was less convenient if you just wanted to get rid of an old device and leave it at that. And if you were switching from a Samsung device to an iPhone or another Android product, it wouldn’t have worked for you at all.
And there’s another improvement to the program: you can now get cash for your old phone all year round, no matter where you are in the world. This used to be the case if you lived in the United States or most other Western countries, but in South Korea, trading windows were locked to certain times of the year, limiting your options.
These windows were often linked to major product launches – like those of Samsung Unpacked 2025, for example – but this is no longer the case.
Limited eligibility
This seems like good news for anyone looking to get rid of an old Samsung phone in 2025, whether or not they want to replace it with something better. But there’s one notable catch that means it’s not all positive.
The problem is that right now you can only trade in specific Samsung devices. This includes the Galaxy S20, S21, S22, and S23 series phones. It also covers a few foldable phones, including the Z Flip 3 to Z Flip 5, as well as the Z Fold 3 to Z Fold 5.
Oddly enough, neither the Galaxy S24 nor the Z Flip 6 nor the Z Fold 6 can be exchanged, even though they were only launched last year. This means that the range of products eligible for the program is quite limited.
That said, it’s still a better arrangement than before. While there aren’t a huge number of devices that can be traded in, at least you now have a lot more flexibility if you want to take up Samsung’s offer. If you’re considering trading in your old device anyway, this will be a welcome change.
