Apple Again Leads in Smartphone Resale Value With iPhone 15

[MacRumors]

Apple's iPhone 15 lineup sets a new standard in value retention, outperforming its predecessors and leading the pack among 2023 flagship smartphones, a new report finds.

New data from SellCell, an aggregator of buyback prices from over 40 vendors, reveals that the iPhone 15 range, particularly the 256GB Pro Max model, is depreciating at a notably slower rate compared to other flagship models released in 2023, including those from Samsung, Google, and OnePlus.

Since its launch, the iPhone 15 series has shown strong market value resilience. Initially, the range experienced an average depreciation of 28.8% in the first month. Intriguingly, this figure improved to 27.1% in the second month, indicating a regained value before a slight rise to 27.9% in the third month. Currently, the series stands at a depreciation of 27.4%, underscoring a trend of consistent value retention.

In comparison, Samsung's Galaxy S23 series was unable to match Apple's value retention. The S23 range saw a depreciation of 42.4% by the end of the first month, 43.5% in the second, and 44.5% by the third. This sequence highlights a much more significant drop in value than Apple's rival smartphone series, but it does represent a slight improvement over the company's previous S22 lineup.

The OnePlus 11 series demonstrated a depreciation of 51.5% after two months, recovering to 48.5% in the third month. Google's Pixel 8 range struggled more significantly, with the flagship 1TB Pixel 8 Pro model losing 68.1% of its value in the first month and maintaining this level in the subsequent months.

The iPhone 15 range is also noticeably stronger in value retention compared to the iPhone 14. Apple's latest devices are depreciating up to 11% less across all models, averaging a 5% better value retention than the iPhone 14 range in the same post-launch period. Specifically, the 256GB iPhone 15 Plus model shows a remarkable depreciation of only 11.3% less than its iPhone 14 equivalent.

Overall, the data reinforces the longstanding trend of the iPhone being the best smartphone for value retention and there are indications that this may even be improving further generation-over-generation. Buyers continue to be better off buying an Apple device if resale or trade-in is an essential future prospect.

Article Link: Apple Again Leads in Smartphone Resale Value With iPhone 15

 

[WarmWinterHat]

What's the point of tracking the resale value of the newest model of iPhone? I don't really care what it is, as I don't sell or trade my old devices, but still...who is reselling a 15?

 

[Spock]

What's the point of tracking the resale value of the newest model of iPhone? I don't really care what it is, as I don't sell or trade my old devices, but still...who is reselling a 15?

Someone with a 15 may want to upgrade to a Plus or Pro model, maybe they want more storage..

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Someone with a 15 may want to upgrade to a Plus or Pro model, maybe they want more storage..

This is referencing the 256gb Pro Max model.

 

[_karrol]

I mean, who is interested in the resale value after 2-3 months, seriously. Compare it with 2-3 years as this is the minimum time period after which regular users look to upgrade, if not longer, nowadays.

From my experience, eg Samsungs and Pixels still retain around 50% even after that time, but I never sold any iPhone I used, so this would be interesting to see

 

[ACHD]

This is referencing the 256gb Pro Max model.

people commonly buy the brand new devices at or just below retail to take advantage of a variety of offers and deals and profit on it.


This is pretty common and inflates the resell value of the current models.

A lot of foreign people will buy US made products of the latest model to to either take back with them or export out for additional profit

 

[erikkfi]

What's the point of tracking the resale value of the newest model of iPhone? I don't really care what it is, as I don't sell or trade my old devices, but still...who is reselling a 15?

I resold my 13 Pro after seven months because I found the weight annoying. It can happen!

 

[WarmWinterHat]

I resold my 13 Pro after seven months because I found the weight annoying. It can happen!

What did you replace it with? I've never been happy with the weight of my 13 Pro.

 

[Jimmy Bubbles]

Guys, i just pre-sold my iphone 15 Pro...

 

[spinedoc77]

I wonder how much Samsung's crazy subsidizing of their phones affects this. Virtually anyone can get $50-$100 off for pre-ordering every year, they almost always have crazy priced bundles with headphones, tablets, etc, and trade-in prices are usually incredible. You also have a few addons for extras/cash back like Rakuten.

This past year my $1800 Z Fold 5 cost me a bit under $500 including a case and a set of Galaxy Buds Pro 2, I could have even added the highest end Galaxy Watch for another $100 or so. Conversely with Apple you get squat deals from them, fairly crappy trade-in values, no bundles at all, no cash back deals, etc. That's why I never care about my Samsung's resale value, it's almost always going to be higher than what I paid for it, and even if not I'm virtually guaranteed a great trade-in price.

 

[Timo_Existencia]

This is referencing the 256gb Pro Max model.

Actually, the numbers quoted are an "average" of all models. I'm not sure why this article calls out the 256gb Pro Max. But, click on the article and you can see the chart for all models.

One thing I found interesting (in light of certain other threads today), the larger SSD you buy initially, the worse is your depreciation. The 256 gb models tend to depreciate less.

 

[sw1tcher]

Since its launch, the iPhone 15 series has shown strong market value resilience. Initially, the range experienced an average depreciation of 28.8% in the first month. . . .

Am I understanding this correctly? An iPhone 15 lost 28.8% of its value within the 1st month it was purchased?

Isn't that similar to the depreciation for a brand new car after you drive it off the dealer's lot? 🤣

 

[Spock]

This is referencing the 256gb Pro Max model.

I was responding to your specific post.

 

[Timo_Existencia]

Am I understanding this correctly? An iPhone 15 lost 28.8% of its value within the 1st month it was purchased?

Isn't that similar to the depreciation for a brand new car after you drive it off the dealer's lot? 🤣

The Galaxy S23's, according to this study, lose about 42% after 1 month. 53% total since they were launched.

 

[Timo_Existencia]

These trends, which in my experience hold up across their product lines, are why I don't compare costs with other manufacturers on a 1-1 basis. In my experience, my Apple products keep their value longer, and tend to last longer, than do products from the competition.

 

[erikkfi]

What did you replace it with? I've never been happy with the weight of my 13 Pro.

A 13 Mini. Since those aren't available anymore, a regular 14 or 15 might be worth checking out. They're more than a full ounce lighter than the 13 Pro, but the 13 Mini is a further full ounce lighter and is just right for me.

 

[klasma]

This is referencing the 256gb Pro Max model.

They may want to sidegrade to a smaller/lighter phone.

 

[webkit]

What's the point of tracking the resale value of the newest model of iPhone? I don't really care what it is, as I don't sell or trade my old devices, but still...who is reselling a 15?

I think they are attempting to use it as a gauge of how the various smartphone models will depreciate longer term.

 

[webkit]

Part of the problem with these types of reports is that resales are compared against launch MSRP. Some companies discount their phones shortly after launch and several times during the year while Apple doesn't usually discount phones until after one year. The iPhone resale may still be better than other brands/models but not necessarily to the degree reflected in the data since other phones can often be purchased at less than launch MSRP.

 

[Christopher Kim]

One thing I found interesting (in light of certain other threads today), the larger SSD you buy initially, the worse is your depreciation. The 256 gb models tend to depreciate less.

Yes, that's fairly true across all Apple products (Macs, iPads, iPhones) - it's really because of Apple's still-crazy upgrade prices for adding memory or storage... once that device gets old, the "newer technology" is worth comparatively more than the fact it has more storage. So prices of eg. a 2yr old or 3yrd old device, will tend to be more clustered together, and definitely not have the same +$100/+$200 difference per increment of storage or memory increase.

Given this dynamic, ppl who need more storage or memory, it makes less economic sense to upgrade as frequently. Still might make sense for the individual, but generally speaking, the ones where it makes "the most sense" are those that buy the base model / storage config.

 

[klasma]

One thing I found interesting (in light of certain other threads today), the larger SSD you buy initially, the worse is your depreciation.

That’s because the demand is lower. Higher demand, higher resale value. In addition, those who can’t afford a new phone also tend to not strictly need higher storage.

 

[Christopher Kim]

Am I understanding this correctly? An iPhone 15 lost 28.8% of its value within the 1st month it was purchased?

Isn't that similar to the depreciation for a brand new car after you drive it off the dealer's lot? 🤣

While that's true, I'd argue that the depreciation curve for iPhones really hold up well after that initial drop (which is really because it's "used"). I would guess from Month 1 > Month 12, there may only be another 5-10% drop in value. And then from Month 12 > Month 24, I'd say roughly 10-15% drop. So a 2yr old device might be worth a bit more than 50% of MSRP, which is still pretty great.

 

[ssspinball]

Seems like those interested in Samsung devices would be smart to buy a very slightly used model at a whopping half off.

 

[sw1tcher]

Part of the problem with these types of reports is that resales are compared against launch MSRP. Some companies discount their phones shortly after launch and several times during the year while Apple doesn't usually discount phones until after one year.

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[Timo_Existencia]

That’s because the demand is lower. Higher demand, higher resale value. In addition, those who can’t afford a new phone also tend to not strictly need higher storage.

But I'd think that works in reverse. There would be a ton of 256gb models on the market, and very few 512 or 1T models, thus upping the value of the higher storage models.