It’s a well-known fact that Apple products retain their value for much longer than non-Apple products. Or do they? According to recent data from SellCell , things might be changing.
According to its report, SellCell says that iPhones are still holding their value better than the competition, but they are depreciating faster with each new release.
At the same time, Samsung’s flagship models have started to last a bit longer. In fact — and prepare for a lot of numbers — the iPhone has seen a nearly 5% drop in value year-over-year since the iPhone 12 was released, and the iPhone 16 is losing value 8% faster than the iPhone 15 , losing an average of 41.2% of its value in the first two weeks since launch.
This is a much larger loss than the iPhone 14 and 15 models, at 33% and 33.2%, respectively. Looking at the year-over-year figures for the iPhone 11, it shows a 43.8% depreciation overall in the first year of launch. That grows to 46.2% for the iPhone 13 and 48.2% for the iPhone 15.
By comparison, Samsung’s depreciation rate is slowing. The Galaxy S22 series lost 66.7% of its value in the year after launch, while the Galaxy S23 lost just 61.7%. This is an increase in value retention of 5.6%. Even the Galaxy S24, which hasn’t been available for a full year, shows an average loss of just 50.4% after the first six months across all models – an increase of 3.7% compared to the S23 in the same time period.
The reason phones are losing value is not because of lower quality, but because of increased competition. Samsung is packing more and more value into each of its new releases with improved functionality, new features, and better build quality. Android’s continued improvements have also made it more accessible to Apple-wary users, drawing more customers back and forth.
It’s an unexpected turn in the market, especially considering the reputation Apple devices have for retaining resale value. It shows that Samsung is making improvements with each iteration of its phones and providing more value to the market, but it doesn’t mean Apple is producing a worse product. The iPhone 16 is an amazing phone, but so is the Samsung Galaxy S24 .
As the differences between the two platforms close, the phone market could largely be a matter of style preference rather than brand loyalty.
