Consumer Intelligence Research Partners has released analysis of mobile phones for the 12 months ended June 30, 2021. CIRP finds a higher percentage of iPhones are sold or traded-in compared to Android phones.
The research group says iPhone owners report old phone screens are in better condition, while Android phone owners report their old phones have better battery life.
“With the end of phone subsidies on two-year contracts, consumers now keep phones for longer,” said Josh Lowitz, CIRP partner and co-founder. “Beyond wanting new features, we sought to understand at why customers retire old, paid-for phones. The usability of their old phone is one factor. Our data shows that less than 10% of retiring iPhones and Android phones have unusably cracked displays, with iPhones generally in better screen condition. Battery life is a slightly bigger problem. Around 40% of retiring phone batteries last less than a full day, with more iPhones than Android phones needing a charge every few hours or more.”
Mike Levin, CIRP partner and co-founder, added: “Most retired phones still have some functional life left, which influences disposition. Many are kept as a back-up or given to a friend or family member. Resale and trade-in greatly favors iPhones, however. Consumers trade-in or resell iPhones much more often than Android phones, with 31% of old iPhones traded in, compared to 10% of old Android phones. We expect the opportunity to trade-in an iPhone with a high residual value speeds the upgrade cycle.”
CIRP based its findings on its survey of 2,000 US customers that activated a new or used phone in the July 2020-June 2021 period.
