iPhone owners can expect a comfortable trade-in return in the first 12-36 months of release

Through 2021-2022, cell phone trade-in site BankMyCell tracked 500 smartphone resale values from multiple vendors hourly — showing consumers which phones are currently burning value by the operating system, brand, and device. And the iPhone trounced Android phones when it comes to depreciation.

Here are some highlights from the BankMyCell report:

° The iPhone was ranked #1 for price retention (-21.93%).

° In 0-36 months, flagship Android devices drop twice as fast as iPhones. Consumers upgrade every 24.7 months on average.

° The iPhone 12/11 range’s resale value held strong at double the rate of the comparable Samsung’s Galaxy S21/S20 series.

° However, the iPhone SE 2020 lost -38.32% in the first 8 months of 2020, and a further -48.74% in 2021-2022. It’s the fastest depreciating iPhone to date.

Here’s part of BankMyCell’s take: Consumers with an iOS device can expect a comfortable trade-in return in the first 12-36 months of release – with iPhones only losing -33.95% of their original buyback value by the end of year three. By comparison, flagship Android devices lost an average of -67.87% in the same period, with year-on-year depreciation consistently averaging double the amount of an iPhone. Consumers buying a budget Android device for $350 would most likely be worth less than $43 after 4 years.