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When buying a phone, much like buying a car, you will want to consider how much it is going to be worth when you finish using it. These days, new devices are costing even more than many people's first car, so you should ensure that you consider this before making a purchase.
Here's what we know about the depreciation of the iPhones released in 2018, and what their resale values from our large number of merchants will look like. We know that iPhones hold their value better than all other phone brands, but how has the latest in the range held its value over the last year?
Based on resale prices correct on August 29th we found out that:
When we look at release price of the 2018 iPhones and compare those to the current top resale prices on Compare and Recycle, we can see whether the latest devices are holding their value as well as previous generations of iPhones prior to the release of new devices.
The iPhone XS costs between £999 and £1349, and the gap between the lower capacity model and the higher capacity model is steadily growing, which highlights the importance of choosing the device that will give you the best chance of regaining some value. The top resale price that you can get for the 64GB is £605 (price correct on 29/08/2019, subject to change), marking it as a 39% depreciation from the last year. You can get as much as £691 for the 512GB model (price correct on 29/08/2019, subject to change), meaning that it has lost 49% of its value in less than one year. Sell your Apple iPhone XS nowGet up to £99.00!
The iPhone XS Max cost between £1,099 and an eye watering £1,449 for the 512GB model. The newest and highest capacity model of iPhone has lost the most value, with the current top price on Compare and Recycle being £756 (price correct on 23/08/2019, subject to change). This represents a huge 48% drop on the price you would have got paid just 10 months ago. The 64GB fairs a little better at 42.2% depreciation down to £641 (price correct on 27/08/2019, subject to change). Sell your Apple iPhone XS Max nowGet up to £115.00!
The slightly more affordable iPhone XR released at £749 a month later than the XS in October could be why it has the smallest depreciation since its release. The 64GB model's current top recycling price is £461 (price correct on 29/08/2019, subject to change), marking it the lowest depreciation (just about) at 39.1%. The top price for the 256GB model is £541 (price correct on 27/08/2019, subject to change), dropping 40.5% from the £899 release price. Sell your Apple iPhone XR nowGet up to £165.00!
Before the XS and XR range came out, we looked at what the previous models depreciated by in our iPhone price tracking article. We looked at the iPhone X, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, which showed us how much they had depreciated by in the first year.
Phones are going up in price by on average 20% a year, and this increase in price does in fact stretch to the secondary market. Offering competitive trade-in prices is becoming more difficult, and it’s apparent that the new devices are not holding their value as much as the previous year.
Seeing an average of 44% drop in value in the first year of ownership is going to sting for many looking to keep upgrading to the newest iPhone. We’ll discuss in our next iPhone price tracking article what is happening to 2 year old devices. This might convince you to hold on to your XS or equivalent for another year.
Having said this, we have in the past seen phone prices go up in August as merchants look to increase their supply. If you look at the graph showing the data from the past few years, you can see the slight increase around August. Keep checking throughout the month if you want to guarantee that you get the best deal possible for your old phone.
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