The iPhone 13’s depreciation rate is half that of the Google Pixel 6, according to a new report from SellCell. The Apple smartphone holds its value by 50% more than the Pixel 6, with Google’s handset only one month into its life cycle, notes the site for selling phones online.
SellCell says Google’s new flagship isn’t looking like an urgent threat to Apple’s crown… at least not just yet. Both smartphones have been subject to the same component shortages as almost all other brands in the tech sector, no matter what hardware they manufacture or design. This means that stock availability has been lower than expected, driving demand up while supplies remain limited. Or, at least, this is what one would expect.
SellCell has compared Apple’s iPhone 13 depreciation over three months with that of Google’s Pixel 6 depreciation one month after launch. Here are the highlights of what it found:
- Apple’s iPhone 13 enjoys continued buoyancy in terms of valuation, recovering yet more of its initial depreciation in months two and three. At an average of 21.8%, this is still the most successful launch an iPhone has seen and represents tremendously low depreciation across the entire smartphone industry.
- Google’s Pixel 6 has not fared so well in its first month. Across all five Pixel 6 models, the range has lost an average of 42.6% in value. This compares to a 24.9% average depreciation value in the iPhone 13’s first month, a difference of 17.7%.
- On average, we saw iPhone depreciation slowing between months one and two; the iPhone 13 lost on average 0.6% of its value. Could the Pixel 6 see a similar uptick in value?
- During months two and three, the depreciation value of the iPhone 13 didn’t increase at all, in fact it decreased from 25.5% in month two, to 21.8% in month three, a recovery of 3.7%, meaning the iPhone 13’s value went up, not down.
- The cheapest of Google’s new handsets, the Pixel 6 128 GB, lost the least value of all Google’s new handset range, with only 36.6% depreciation. By comparison, the least expensive iPhone 13 Mini 128 GB lost 26.9%.
- Every iPhone 13 model has seen a recovery in value compared to the initial depreciation at launch, and all iPhone 13 models are now worth more than they were 2 months ago.
- January 2022 (coincidentally, when Google Store anticipates shipping Pixel 6 handset again) will tell whether the Pixel 6 poses any real threat to the iPhone 13, although initial figures suggest Apple has little to worry about.
The folks at SellCell say they’ve researched trade-in values across over 45 trusted buyback vendors, which illustrates trends associated with the depreciation rates of both the iPhone 13 and the Pixel 6 smartphone ranges.
