Is a Refurbished iPhone XS Still Worth Buying in 2026?

RefurbMe's Time-to-Refurb median for the iPhone family is 67 days (as of October 2026, RefurbMe iPhone stats). Time-to-Refurb counts the days from Apple's announcement of a model to the first refurbished unit RefurbMe saw in stock. RefurbMe first saw a refurbished iPhone XS on October 23, 2018, at Mac of All Trades. On October 29, 2026, it counted 24 in-stock US offers for the XS, 22 at Back Market and 2 at Amazon Renewed.

Who should buy a refurbished iPhone XS, and who should skip it

Skip it if this will be your main phone. The XS cannot install iOS 26 or iOS 27, gets no Apple Intelligence and has no 5G. Back Market's unlocked 64GB iPhone 11 cost $156 on October 29, $13 more than its unlocked 64GB XS, and it runs iOS 27. Gazelle listed an unlocked 64GB iPhone 11 at $149 on October 22, which may have sold since.

The XS still makes sense as a small spare or a phone for music and podcasts. It has a 5.8-inch OLED display, a telephoto camera and IP68 water resistance, which the cheaper iPhone XR lacks. If you don't need those, Back Market's unlocked 64GB XR cost $125, $18 less than its XS.

Don't buy it for a child's first phone. Every phone in our guide to the best iPhone for kids runs iOS 27, and the XS does not.

Does the iPhone XS still get updates?

Only security fixes on iOS 18. On Apple's security releases page, iOS 27.2 and iOS 26.7.2, both dated October 26, 2026, list iPhone 11 and later, so the XS can install neither. The same day, iOS 18.7.11 listed the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR and iPad 7th generation. (Apple)

Apple publishes no end date for those iOS 18 fixes, so any patch could be the last one without warning. Apple's iOS 27 compatibility list starts at the iPhone 11.

The XS also misses Apple Intelligence. Apple says Apple Intelligence in iOS 27 is "available on iPhone Duo, iPhone 16 models or later, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone Air". (Apple) Our breakdown of how long Apple supports iPhones has the full history.

How much does a refurbished iPhone XS cost?

An unlocked refurbished iPhone XS starts at $143 on RefurbMe today. Apple's launch release priced the iPhone XS from $999, in 64GB, 256GB and 512GB models. Pre-orders opened on September 14, 2018, and the phone reached stores on September 21, 2018. (Apple Newsroom)

These are the cheapest unlocked listings at each seller that were in stock and seen in the past three days, read from RefurbMe's live prices on October 29, 2026.

Amazon Renewed also listed an unlocked 64GB unit at $152 on October 22, which may have sold since. eBay Refurbished had no in-stock iPhone XS listing in RefurbMe's read.

The 256GB row is the surprise. Back Market's unlocked 256GB unit at $160 cost only $17 more than its unlocked 64GB unit at $143. RefurbMe's product page lists the $160 unit and the $127 AT&T unit as Good and the $210 512GB unit as Fair, so read the grade on each listing before you pay.

RefurbMe's iPhone XS stats page puts today's cheapest unit, a $127 carrier-locked phone, 87% below the $999 launch price. Compare every live listing on the refurbished iPhone XS page.

Carrier-locked units cost less at 64GB

The cheapest XS is locked to AT&T. These are the cheapest locked listings by carrier and storage, from the same read.

At 64GB, Back Market's $127 AT&T unit was $16 less than its cheapest unlocked one. At 256GB the locked units cost $5 more than the $160 unlocked unit, so buy unlocked there.

Buy locked only if you already use that carrier. A locked phone works only on that carrier until the carrier unlocks it, and Apple says "Only your current carrier can unlock your iPhone". To check a phone you receive, open Settings, General, About. If "No SIM restrictions" appears next to Carrier Lock, your iPhone is unlocked. (Apple) Our guide to unlocked refurbished iPhones explains the trade-off.

Prices in Canada and the UK

Canada had 9 in-stock offers on October 29, 2026. Orchard had the cheapest unlocked 64GB unit at CA$209, then Amazon Renewed at CA$219. eBay Refurbished had the cheapest unlocked 256GB unit at CA$264.

The UK had 4 in-stock offers. Back Market had an unlocked 64GB unit at £160 and an unlocked 256GB unit at £299. Grade Mobile listed an unlocked 64GB unit at £99 on October 22, which may have sold since. The policy table below uses each seller's US pages, so check the UK or Canadian terms before you order.

What still holds up, and what dates it

The XS has a 5.8-inch OLED display at 2436 by 1125 pixels and 458 ppi, the A12 Bionic chip and dual 12MP wide-angle and telephoto cameras with 2x optical zoom. (Apple) It unlocks with Face ID, weighs 177 grams and is rated IP68 to a depth of 2 meters for up to 30 minutes. It records 4K video at up to 60 fps and takes a nano-SIM and an eSIM.

The rest shows its age. The cellular section lists Gigabit-class LTE and no 5G. The port is Lightning, not USB-C. It charges wirelessly on Qi chargers and reaches 50% in 30 minutes with an 18W adapter or higher. The base model has 64GB of storage.

Battery life is the weak spot. Apple rated the XS at up to 14 hours of wireless video playback when new, against up to 16 hours for the XR and up to 17 hours for the iPhone 11.

Battery health on a 2018 phone

Ask for 85 percent battery health or more and treat 80 percent as the floor. Apple says batteries of iPhone 14 models and earlier are designed to retain 80 percent of their original capacity at 500 complete charge cycles under ideal conditions. (Apple)

The XS shows less battery data than newer models. Apple says the cycle count appears in Settings only on iPhone 15 models and later. Open Settings, tap Battery, then tap Battery Health & Charging to see the maximum capacity, and do it the day the phone arrives, inside the return window.

Then open Settings, tap General, and then tap About. If the phone has been repaired, you see a Parts and Service History section there. (Apple) A recent genuine battery replacement is good news on a 2018 phone. If the battery is worn, Apple's battery service page gives an estimate for your model, and Apple says "We'll inspect your device to determine the final service fee." Our iPhone battery health guide explains what happens below 80 percent.

Each seller sets its own battery floor. Back Market promises a minimum 80 percent battery capacity on its Excellent, Good and Fair phones and 90 percent on Premium. Amazon Renewed promises more than 80 percent, and more than 90 percent on Renewed Premium.

Seller grades and warranties compared

One seller's "Excellent" is not another's, so compare the terms as well as the price. The table below comes from each seller's own US policy pages, fetched on October 29, 2026.

Back Market says an Excellent device shows "Almost no signs of wear. The body may have very light micro-scratches." Its limited warranty covers defects "for 12 months after the delivery date". Amazon sorts Renewed products into "one of four conditions: Premium, Excellent, Good, or Acceptable", and says most Renewed items include a 90-day return period. For how grades map across sellers, see our guide to refurbished grades A, B and C.

iPhone XS vs iPhone XR vs iPhone 11: which to pick

The iPhone 11 is the only one of the three on Apple's iOS 27 list, and that decides it for a main phone. The XR is the cheaper spare.

Sources: Apple's iPhone XS, iPhone XR and iPhone 11 spec pages and the iOS 27 compatibility list; prices from RefurbMe's live listings seen in the past three days.

Buy the iPhone 11 for a main phone. For $13 more at Back Market it adds the A13 Bionic chip, an Ultra Wide camera, a video playback rating three hours longer and iOS 27. Our refurbished iPhone 11 guide has its sellers.

Buy the XR for the cheapest spare. It has the same A12 Bionic chip and the same iOS 18 ceiling, a bigger LCD and a longer-rated battery, and Back Market's unlocked 64GB XR cost $18 less than its XS. Pick the XS over it for the OLED display, the telephoto camera and the lighter body. Our refurbished iPhone XR guide covers that model.

If you want 5G, the iPhone 12 has it and runs iOS 27. Back Market's unlocked 64GB iPhone 12 cost $168, and Gazelle listed one at $159 on October 22. Our refurbished iPhone 12 guide compares its sellers.

The older iPhone X cost the same $143 for an unlocked 64GB unit at Back Market. Our guide to whether the iPhone X is still worth buying covers that model.

64GB, 256GB or 512GB: which storage to pick

Take 256GB while the gap is this small. Back Market's unlocked 256GB XS at $160 cost $17 more than its unlocked 64GB unit at $143, and 64GB fills fast once photos and 4K video pile up.

Skip 512GB. At $210 it cost $50 more than the 256GB unit, for a phone that gets no new iOS versions.

Where to buy a refurbished iPhone XS

We list the sellers by the best offer on an unlocked 64GB iPhone XS, from RefurbMe's live prices on October 29, 2026. Grades were not checked listing by listing, so read each listing's grade before you pay.

1. Back Market. The cheapest unlocked 64GB unit at $143, an unlocked 256GB unit at $160 and an AT&T 64GB unit at $127. Back Market promises a minimum 80 percent battery capacity on its Excellent, Good and Fair phones, with a 12-month warranty and 30-day free returns.
2. Amazon Renewed. An unlocked 64GB unit at $154. Most Renewed items come with a 90-day return period. Select items instead have 30-day returns followed by an 11-month Asurion warranty, so check the product page.
3. eBay Refurbished. No in-stock iPhone XS in RefurbMe's read on October 29, 2026, but it set the US record low, so it is worth a price alert.

For more detail on each seller, read our guide to the best places to buy refurbished iPhones and the reviews of Back Market and Amazon Renewed.

Will refurbished iPhone XS prices keep falling?

They already sit near the bottom. The lowest price RefurbMe has recorded for a refurbished iPhone XS in the US is $79, at eBay Refurbished on September 18, 2026. Today's cheapest unit, at $127, is $48 above that record.

RefurbMe's Refurb Discount for the iPhone family, the median saving of a refurbished unit against its launch price, is 77 percent (as of October 2026, RefurbMe iPhone stats). That median covers every iPhone RefurbMe tracks, new and old, so it says little about where the XS goes next. If you can wait for a sub-$100 unit, set a price alert.

FAQ

To compare every refurbished iPhone XS listing across sellers in real time, head to the refurbished iPhone page and filter by model, grade and price.