Since October 2018, BankMyCell has been collecting data on the new device consumers have during the valuation and trade-in of their old iPhones and other smartphones. The latest data shows that flagship Android devices lose value twice as fast as iOS devices.
In the first year, on average, iPhones lost -23.45%; by year two, the total loss is -45.46%. Per BankMyCell, the scary news for $700+ Android flagship users is, the average iPhone’s two-year loss is the same as their one-year depreciation -45.18%.
Tracking devices over four years, iPhone trade-in value decline is a steady decline, losing between -23.45% to -33.09% year on year. In two years, the average iPhone would lose -45.46% of its original resale value -23.45% in year one and -28.75% in year two. In two years, the average Android flagship phone would lose –71.41% of its original resale value, -45.18% and year two -47.85%.
Consumers that opt for budget Android phones my want to shed a tear too; in under 2-years, the average device loses -79.66% of its resale value, according to BankMyCell. On average, Android devices with launch prices of $350 or under lose half their trade-in value in just one year.
Owners of popular budget smartphone brands like Samsung, Motorola, LG, HTC, and Google lost an average of -48.65% of their trade-in value in 2019-2020. In two years, the average budget Android phone would lose –79.66% of its original resale value, -48.65% and year two -44.26%.
Using these average losses, a budget Android released at $299 would only be worth around $27 for trade-in after 3 years. Motorola One released for $349 in Oct 2018, in 14 months it lost 87.68% of its original trade-in value, fetching a measly $43 resale by December 2019.
The three iPhones released in 2018 make up 15.29% of trade-in on the site, and it’s no surprise, as they only lost an average of 23.45% in 2019, so consumers get buyback offers that make upgrades affordable.The iPhone XR lost -21.55% of its trade-in value in the whole of 2019, compared with the Galaxy S10e losing -37.98% in only 9 months.
The iPhone XS lost -23.31% of its trade-in value in the whole of 2019, compared with the Galaxy S10 losing -43.78% in only 9 months. iPhone XS Max lost -25.51% of its trade-in value in the whole of 2019, compared with the Galaxy S10+ losing -45.26% in only nine months.
