Historically, one of the best attributes iPhones have enjoyed is a higher resale value than Android phones. However, although Apple devices maintain a relatively low depreciation rate even in 2024, market trends appear to be shifting.
A new study by SellCell shows that, over the past few years, Apple's flagship phones lost value faster than ever. And they continue to depreciate at a faster rate with every release.
Conversely, Samsung Galaxy phones have depreciated more slowly. iPhones maintain the lead in this comparison, but it's no coincidence that Galaxy phones are gaining ground while iPhones are doing worse every year.
People are starting to put more value on Galaxy
This new data shows that iPhones have been depreciating faster with every new generation.
While the iPhone 11 had a depreciation rate of 43.8% after 12 months on the market, the iPhone 15 series lost 48.2% of its value one year after release.
Comparatively, the Galaxy S22 series depreciated 66.7% after 12 months, and the sequel massively improved that figure. In one year, the Galaxy S23 depreciated 61.1%.
Meanwhile, six months after its release, the Galaxy S24 is seeing only a 50.4% depreciation, which means its value is 3.7% higher than the S23's was when it was six months old.
Apple is still leading this race, but the long-term value gap between iPhones and Galaxy flagship phones is narrowing fast, and if the trend continues, Apple might be in trouble.
The story continues after the video
Over the past couple of years, Samsung has done many things to improve the long-term value of its Galaxy flagship phones, from increasing durability and adopting long-lasting designs with stronger frames to employing more consumer-friendly firmware update policies.
The latest Galaxy flagship phones will enjoy support for seven major OS upgrades, which could be another factor to drive up the long-term value of Samsung devices.
The Galaxy S24 FE is the first Fan Edition device to benefit from this policy. And even low-cost phones, such as the Galaxy A16, are now getting better support, with Samsung promising six years of updates.
