Apple ‘Reuse and Recycle’ programme to expand to broken iPhones, allowing people to sell their smashed handsets

Company will also let people get screen protectors installed on their phone at stores

Apple is going to start buying people’s broken iPhones to try and help them upgrade, according to a report.

The company is broadening its Reuse and Recycle scheme to allow people to sell their phones on for store credit, which they can then use to buy a new one, according to 9to5mac.

The company has long allowed people to sell back their old phones, trading it for credit towards a new one. But it has been limited to phones with only limited damage, but now phones with cracked screens or broken buttons will be a part of the plan.

The company is also introducing new tools that will allow its stores to install third-party screen protectors, which can help the phone avoid having their screens cracked in the first place.

The company hopes that broadening the reuse and recycle plan will allow it to sell more iPhones, since using the plan may sometimes be cheaper than paying for Apple to fix the old one.

If a device is completely broken, Apple has long allowed people to recycle it for free — even if it’s not an Apple phone or computer. “Even if your equipment isn’t functional or doesn’t have any value, you can recycle your iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, PC or smartphone responsibly through Apple for free,” the company’s site reads.