A new report shows that Apple's iPhone 15 series has established a new leadership position in value retention, performing better than its predecessor in 2023. The latest data from SellCell, a buyback price aggregation website from more than 40 suppliers, shows that the iPhone 15 series, especially the 256GB Pro Max model, has depreciated significantly slower than other flagship models released in 2023, including models from Samsung, Google and OnePlus.
Since its launch, the iPhone 15 series has shown strong market value flexibility. Initially, the series experienced an average depreciation rate of 28.8% in the first month. Intriguingly, this figure improved to 27.1% in the second month, indicating some recovery in value, before rising slightly to 27.9% in the third month. Currently, the depreciation rate of this series is 27.4%, highlighting the trend of continued value preservation.
In comparison, the value retention rate of Samsung Galaxy S23 series cannot be compared with Apple. The S23 series depreciated 42.4% at the end of the first month, 43.5% in the second month, and 44.5% in the third month. The range is a much steeper depreciation compared to Apple's rival smartphone ranges, but is a slight improvement over the company's previous S22 series.
The OnePlus 11 series depreciated 51.5% after two months, recovering to 48.5% in the third month. Google's Pixel 8 series suffered even greater losses, with the flagship model 1TB Pixel 8 Pro losing 68.1% in value in the first month and maintaining that level in subsequent months.
The iPhone15 series’ ability to retain value is also significantly better than that of the iPhone14. The depreciation rate of all models of Apple's latest devices has been reduced by 11%, and the average value retention rate is 5% higher than that of the iPhone 14 series during the same period after its launch. Specifically, the depreciation rate of the 256GB iPhone 15 Plus model is 11.3% lower than that of the iPhone 14, which is very eye-catching.
Overall, the data reinforces the long-term trend that iPhones retain their value the best among smartphones, and there are signs that this trend may even improve further from generation to generation. If resale or trade-in is an important prospect in the future, then buying an Apple device is still a better option.