From “What Happens to Old Smartphones, and Why?” posted Monday by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners:
iPhones owners report their old phone screens are in better condition, while Android phone owners report that their old phones have better battery life. Still, a much higher percentage of iPhones are sold or traded-in than Android phones. Consumers report Android phones are recycled or lost, broken, or stolen at a much greater rate than iPhones, or merely kept for future use, compared to iPhones…
Almost one-third of iPhones are traded-in for a new phone, compared to 10% of Android phones. In contrast, almost half of Android phones are kept by the consumer for future use, compared to only 29% of iPhones. And, 24% of Android phones are either recycled or reported as lost, stolen, or broken, while only 17% of iPhones are recycled, lost, stolen, or broken.
Click to enlarge.
My take: I used to give my old iPhone to the family member who needed it most. Apple’s trade-in program put an end to that.
Kept tells me the handset still works but has no value. In fact, you could attribute all of the Android numbers, when compared to iPhone numbers, to not having as much remaining value.
Hell, my original iPhone, bought on day one is still selling for $125.
So that leaves Android recycling, or if still operational, being stuck into a drawer for “just in case” situations. Old iPhones do end up in drawers too, but some with still tangible value and unless broken, usually in operational condition. IMO, Apple has a better program to recycle old iPhones, a good refurbishment program for applicable condition trade-ins, and a user base which just might be more inclined to properly trade-in or hand-me-down their products, or recycle them for the good of the environment.
At least that’s what Apple has encouraged us to do.
The family/friend category often includes some free ‘support’ from the giver – more validation of the power of the ecosystem.
Apple also has Daisy robots that quickly dissect many models for recycling and best-in-class Material Recovery facilities (subcontractors have been caught selling supposedly ‘recycled’ iPhones to Africa/Asia):
https://nr.apple.com/dE4R1T0A6O
Note to Philip: Very trendy to put those ‘chasing arrows’ up as the story photo. California being in an uproar right now over that recycling logo.
It’s because of their high trade in value that I continue to give my old phones to family. It makes for a nicer, more appreciated gift.