Android devices suffer trade-in losses of 71.41% to 79.66% in the first 2 years.
From BankMyCell’s “Cell Phone Depreciation Statistics 2019-2020“:
By tracking hourly buyback program pricing drops on almost 300 devices from their initial trade-in value, we’ve mapped out the average yearly depreciation of flagship iOS and Android devices, as well as budget Android phones below $350.
As you’ll see from the chart below, the depreciation of iOS devices is very consistent compared to flagship Android phones that drop in value at twice the rate in the first 24 months. Consumers that opt for budget Android phones my want to shed a tear too; in under 2-years, the average device loses -79.66% of its resale value.
- iOS devices lose an average of -23.45% of their resale value in the first year, with 4 year loses ranging between 45% to 33.09% year on year
- Compared to iPhones, on average, Android flagship phones depreciate twice as fast, losing 45.18% of their trade-in value in the first year (iPhone’s lose 45.46% on average by the end of year two).
- Android devices suffer huge trade-in losses of 71.41% to 79.66% in the first 2 years, then depreciation less than 10% in years 3&4
- Budget Android resale value drops are the most aggressive, losing half of their resale value in one year, with an average decline across the brands of -48.65%.
My take: Color me unsurprised.
Now compare this data to the ignorant comments on the segment featuring Judge Napolitano earlier. What really happened was Apple slowed down the phone to extend battery life and offered battery replacement precisely to prevent older iPhones from going obsolete.
The savings to the vendors and consumers is an illusion. Older models don’t get software updates. The net cost of buying a new Android every two years or so is slightly elevated compared to an iPhone with resale taken into consideration.
Apple slowly grinds away. The 5G modem is just one more piece.
I recently sold my doughter‘s 4 year old iPhone 7 (after 4 years of usage within our family) for 190 Euros on ebay: So it cost somerhing like 100 Euros per year, 25 Cents per day! A very good argument for anybody who has rhe „feeling“ an IPhone is more expensive than an Andoid!
A second look – A two year old budget Android is worth 20% of price, $40 or less.
“Quality will out.”
The hallmark of truly caring.