Here's how you can save up to a massive $700 on Microsoft's extravagant Surface Duo
There’s no question that Microsoft’s first foray into both foldable handsets and Android devices in general comes with a distinctive design and big productivity ambitions that no other smartphone manufacturer can hope to challenge.
(Almost) anything goes
A mint-condition iPhone 8, 8 Plus, X, XR, Samsung Galaxy S10e, S9, S9+, Google Pixel 4, 4 XL, and even a 3 XL are appraised at $400 apiece, while the regular-sized Pixel 3 is valued at $350.
Incredibly enough, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9 is part of the $550 trade-in club alongside the S10, S10+, iPhone 11, XS, and XS Max, whereas the Galaxy S20 5G, Note 10, Note 10+, and Note 10+ 5G are eligible for an even higher $650 discount.
Things are not much better for current owners of devices like the LG G8X ThinQ, V50 ThinQ 5G, OnePlus 7 Pro, 7T, and 7T Pro McLaren 5G, which are looking at getting only between $100 and $220.
A relatively straightforward trade-in process
Some of the aforementioned discounts are not bad at all and a few offers are actually pretty much irresistible (like the Note 9 one), but before you get too excited, you might want to keep in mind you’ll need to pay the full price of the Surface Duo upfront.
After that, you can use the CExchange-powered Microsoft Store trade-in program to get an individual appraisal for your specific phone, tablet, or laptop. A proof of Surface Duo purchase will then be required to move on to the next step, which involves actually sending Microsoft your old device. Once that thing clears a standard inspection, your discount will be applied directly to your PayPal or bank account.
That sounds like a simple enough process, although we’re fairly certain some of you would prefer receiving the Surface Duo discount a little earlier. Keep in mind that the dual-screen handset is only scheduled to start shipping on September 10, fetching $1,400 in a 128GB storage configuration and $1,500 with twice that local digital hoarding room on deck.
Clearly, this thing is not worth $1,400 and up, but if you can get it at $700, $850, or even $1,000 after a trade-in discount, the value proposition is vastly improved.