Apple has long offered a refurbished store on its website, where it sells recent generation products at a pretty sizable discount. Unlike other refurbished offerings, Apple guarantees a replaced outer shell, battery, and glass – ensuring no wear and tear. You also get a 1 year Apple warranty and the ability to add AppleCare if you’d like.
That sounds great, but is it actually worth it? Well, it depends. We’ll be delving into Apple refurbished listings, and comparing it to other offerings on the market.
Apple Refurbished
One great thing about Apple Refurbished is that a lot of the time, you can buy current-generation products. For example, the M4 MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini are all available on the store. Apple is pretty great about putting new Macs on the store pretty quickly.
iPads and iPhones, on the other hand, aren’t the same. You can’t buy an M4 iPad Pro or M2 iPad Air on the refurbished store yet, despite those products being a year old. The most recent iPads on the refurbished store are 2022’s iPad 10th generation and M2 iPad Pro. When it comes to iPhones, you can only buy iPhone 14 models.
That said, a lot of people (including myself) love Apple Refurbished, mainly because you can effectively purchase products in new condition, just with some less fancy packaging. Instead of a traditional Apple box, you get a plain white box with the text “MacBook Pro” instead of a printed image. It’s also covered with a 1 year Apple warranty, so even if something goes wrong, you’re covered.
Amazon Renewed Premium
While there are a number of ways to buy refurbished Apple products out there, I think Amazon Renewed Premium is the best comparison.
Why? Amazon offers a 1 year return window, allowing you to get your money back if any issues crop up. Yes, that’s a full 365 day return window. Amazon promises 90% battery health as well. Amazon’s Renewed Premium program likely is the closest thing to Apple’s refurbished program.
To be clear, there’s also a the standard “Amazon Renewed” program, which only offers a 90 day return window. However, that won’t be used in this price comparison.
Price comparison
Now, to answer the ultimate question: Is Apple refurbished worth it? We’ll be comparing prices across a number of products. These prices will vary, and are accurate at the time of writing.
In short, Apple Refurbished can be a good deal depending on what you’re shopping for. iPhones are almost always a bad deal on Apple Refurbished. Amazon has better deals than what Apple offers, and also offers devices that Apple doesn’t yet.
For example, Amazon has a renewed premium iPhone 16 Pro for $883, something that Apple just can’t compete with. Amazon also offers iPhone 15 Pro for $715, whereas Apple Refurbished iPhone 15 Pro comes in at $759.
Amazon’s 1 year return window with Renewed Premium is also undoubtedly a good offering, in case you end up changing your mind or realizing a product isn’t the right fit for you.
That said, when it comes to the latest products, its hard to beat Apple Refurbished. Apple offers the latest M4 MacBook Pro for $1359, whereas Amazon can only offer M3 MacBook Pro models under its renewed premium program.
Apple Refurbished can also be more expensive than new offerings sometimes. For example, Apple offers refurbished AirPods Pro 2 for $209, something that you can often buy brand new for cheaper. Amazon is currently selling new AirPods Pro 2 for $169, for example.
Ultimately, the conclusion here is that if you’re looking for a high-quality purchasing experience with refurbished tech, Apple refurbished can be a great option. It just isn’t the only one, and you should always cross-shop before making a purchase.
My favorite Apple accessory recommendations:
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