A new report reveals that Apple’s iPhone 15 lineup leads the pack among 2023 flagship smartphones and sets a new benchmark in value retention, surpassing its predecessors.
The 256GB Pro Max model of the iPhone 15 is depreciating at a noticeably slower rate than other flagship models released in 2023, such as those from Samsung, Google, and OnePlus, according to new data from SellCell, an aggregator of buyback prices from over 40 vendors.
Following its release, the iPhone 15 series has demonstrated a robust ability to hold its value in the market. The range’s average depreciation during the first month was 28.8% at first. Strangely, this number increased to 27.1% in the second month, suggesting that a value had been regained, and then slightly increased to 27.9% in the third month. The series’ depreciation as of right now, which is 27.4%, highlights a pattern of steady value preservation.
Apple’s value retention was superior to that of Samsung’s Galaxy S23 series. By the end of the first month, the S23 range had depreciated 42.4%, by the end of the second, 43.5%, and by the end of the third, 44.5%. While this series represents a slight improvement over the company’s previous S22 lineup, it still shows a much more significant decline in value than Apple’s rival smartphone lineup.
After two months, there was a 51.5% depreciation in the OnePlus 11 series, but by the third month, it had recovered to 48.5%. In the first month, the flagship 1TB Pixel 8 Pro model lost 68.1% of its value, and it continued to lose this much in the following months. Google’s Pixel 8 range fared worse.
Additionally, when compared to the iPhone 14, the value retention of the iPhone 15 range is noticeably higher. After a year of release, Apple’s most recent devices have lost value on average 5% more than the iPhone 14 series, with depreciation falling by up to 11% across the board. With regard to depreciation, the 256GB iPhone 15 Plus model in particular exhibits an impressive 11.3% decrease in comparison to the corresponding iPhone 14 model.
All in all, the data supports the well-established trend that the iPhone is the best smartphone for value retention, and there are even signs that this trend may be getting better with each passing generation. If trade-in or resale value is a key consideration for buyers, they are still better off purchasing an Apple product.