Compare and Recycle
21/03/2024

Is the iPhone 11 Holding Its Value?

Phones lose their value as time goes on, so if you’re looking to upgrade to the next version of a device, it’s helpful to know if there are any minor changes you can make to your buying habits to maximise the money you could get towards a new device. We’ll be looking at the iPhone 11 range depreciation to see what we can learn.

The iPhone 11 took a different turn to previous iPhones by being released at a much cheaper price point than those of the XS range, where the trade-in price of the XS was almost 50% less than the retail price in just one year. The cheaper XR held its value slightly better than the XS, and whether this translates to the iPhone 11 vs the Pro and Pro Max, only time will tell.

iPhone 11 Release Prices


64GB128GB256GB
 iPhone 11£729 £779 £879 
 iPhone 11 Pro £1049£1149 £1399 
 iPhone 11 Pro Max£1149 £1299 £1499 

How Much Value Have the 2019 iPhones Retained?

Looking back at the 2019 devices, we can get a better understanding of what the resale prices will do around the release date of the new iPhone range and how this compares to previous years.

Early signs show that the iPhone 11 trade-in prices have followed the same pattern as previous releases, with the lowest capacity and cheapest iPhones holding a higher percentage of their value compared to the more expensive models.




64GB128GB256GB
 iPhone 1172% 71% 65% 
 iPhone 11 Pro 65%63% 65% 
 iPhone 11 Pro Max63% 58% 53% 

iPhone 11

The iPhone 11 broke the mould of the previous year by releasing a £20 lower price than the previous year’s “budget” iPhone XR, and it became the most popular device of the lot, outselling the Pro and the XR. The popularity of the device as well as the reluctance of people to want to trade it in resulted in higher trade-in prices. This is up to 72% of the device’s original value, so if this stays for another month until the release of the new device, it will be a record breaker.

Sell your Apple iPhone 11 nowGet up to £270.00!

iPhone 11 Pro

The iPhone 11 Pro follows the same pattern, where the lower capacity model retains more value than the higher capacity models. The difference between prices for higher capacity models and lower capacity models is significant this year for the Pro and Pro Max with a £350 difference (and a considerable increase in CO2 emissions.

Sell your Apple iPhone 11 Pro nowGet up to £350.00!

The iPhone 11 Pro Max

The most surprising development of all is how the most premium model of iPhone 11 Pro Max has only retained 53% of its value. This is a clear indication that most people would be better off buying the lower capacity model and being more frugal with their storage or taking advantage of the many cloud storage options available.

Sell your Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max nowGet up to £370.00!

Conclusion and What This Means for the 2020 Releases

There is a lot unconfirmed around the pricing of the new iPhone 12, with the iPhone SE 2020 coming out earlier in the year suggesting that Apple may be planning to release devices that are more accessible in terms of price for the average consumer. It looks as though they’re planning to continue this trend of dropping the price for their flagship devices, which would lower the trade-in prices for older devices.

If you are looking to minimise the depreciation, then our advice will always be to choose the lower capacity versions, as they tend to hold their value for the year, but if you are planning on keeping the phone for 2+ years, then the pro models tend to keep their value a little bit longer.

Andrew Marchant

See more posts by Andrew Marchant

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