Refurbished iPhone X - A Long Term Review

The iPhone X was released just over three years ago, in 2017, but it remains one of the most impressive releases from Apple in the smartphone realm. It hit a lot of milestones straight off the bat, including being the first iPhone to utilize Face ID and an OLED display and the smartphone that popularized the notch screen design, allowing for more screen space.
In spite of the fact that Apple has discontinued production of New iPhone X’s, a refurbished iPhone X is available for a price far more affordable than that of a new model. You can get your hands on the refurbished version of the iPhone X for $579 AUD or $619 AUD depending on whether you’re getting the 64GB or 256GB model and Grade respectively.
On top of saving you anywhere between $100 and $300 or even more on a phone with all the bells and whistles of a new model, buying refurbished phones is also generally great for environmentally conscious consumers as it leads to a significant reduction in electronic waste. So not only are you getting a high-quality iPhone with many features that have not been included in the newer models, you’re also saving money and the environment in the process. It’s a win-win-win situation.
Below we consider the general specs of the iPhone X, explain what “conditions” means in relation to refurbished phones, and give you some tips to ensure you’re getting the best value for money possible when buying your refurbished iPhone.

The iPhone X specs

The iPhone X has always felt like a good quality phone, with its steel rim and sleek glass screen, as well as it’s heightened ability to keep dust out of its ports and its water resistance which allows it to be submerged in up to 1 metre of liquid for as long as 30 minutes.
Display-wise, as mentioned above, the iPhone X introduced and popularized the use of OLED displays and its 5.8-inch True Tone technology screen presents bright colours with sharper contrast and dark colours with deeper, more true to life hues. It’s incredibly aesthetically pleasing and well worth owning for its visual performance alone.
In a similar vein, it has high performance back and front-facing cameras. The back-facing camera has a dual 12MP sensory array, an aperture of f/2.4 and optical image stabilisation, ensuring that you capture photographs in stunning detail even in mixed to low light.
It’s got a stunning A11 chipset, an 18-hour battery and a fantastic luxury weight to it. If you pick up a Apple refurbished, you’ll be getting up an exceptionally well-designed phone for a fraction of its original price. Be sure to go for the iPhone X 256gb version if you have a lot of data.

Is there a difference between refurbished and resold?

Yes, there is and this is something you should definitely look out for. Wherever it is you go to get the phone, be it from in-store or online, check the descriptions or ask a member of staff whether or not the phone is refurbished on simply resold.
The difference being that a refurbished phone may have had certain parts replaced like broken screens, faulty jack ports or microphones. Bear in mind, refurbished can also mean that it was a handset that suffered a fault and was returned, fixed and then sent back out at a discount. This means you could be getting a near brand new phone for much less than retail value.
The devices which are sent back due to the change of mind policy of the store, these devices are also sold as refurbished phones.
Reselling however is simply purchasing from the customer, wiping the phone of whatever was saved on it, maybe they’ll unlock it too, but mostly it’s just selling it back on afterwards with a mark up from purchase price.
In most cases, both phones will have a warranty supplied by the store or website so they are free to purchase without too much worry of further failure.

What do different conditions mean?

If you decide to go for a iPhone X refurbished unlocked, make sure you keep an eye out for the rating of the refurbishment. Some may have had extensive repair but some may only have the screen replaced there is a very real chance that the phone could still have slight scratches on it. The screen might not be perfect if you go for a lower grade but it functions like a new phone.
Be sure to look at what the condition rating is wherever you go, they usually rate down from Like New, Open Box, Grade A, and Grade B.

What to look out for when buying a refurbished iPhone X?

Be sure to keep an eye out for the rating and the retailer as we said but the key is the price of the item. At times they can be sold for significantly less than market price but others may try to knock barely 5% off. Going for a refurbished phone can be a great idea, especially with the iPhone X, which remains a tremendous bit of kit. Just make sure it’s in good enough shape when you do.

Is a refurbished iPhone x worth it?

Yes, absolutely. Not only does the phone hold up as an exceptionally practical and well-designed phone that is still so highly rated that it’s tough to beat by more modern standards but all that for a lower than average price. So long as you keep everything we’ve said in mind when going for it, they’re an absolute yes. 

Click here if you'd like to see our comparison between the iPhone X and the XS.