How Much Faster Do Androids Lose Their Value vs iPhones?

Walk into any phone store and the price tags make everything look pretty easy. But that sticker price is the tip of a much bigger financial iceberg.

The numbers here are worth paying attention to. After 12 months of ownership, an average Android phone is worth about 43% of what you paid for it while an iPhone still commands around 69% of its original price. Let’s put that in dollars for a second – if you buy a $1,200 Android you’re watching $684 evaporate in the first year alone. An iPhone at that same price point would only lose about $372 in value over those same 12 months.

The depreciation gap doesn’t usually enter into the conversation when customers are shopping for a new phone. Most customers look at the specs, the features and of course that price tag right in front of them – which makes perfect sense. The question of what that same phone will be worth later just doesn’t come up that much. But it matters quite a bit to your wallet, no matter what your upgrade style is. Some customers trade up every year and others hold onto their phones until they die – either way the resale value can directly affect what you’re spending. And the difference between Android and iPhone depreciation has been expanding and makes these numbers worth a look before you pick a side.

Android Phones Lose Half Their Value

Android phones lose about half their value in the first year alone – it’s a pretty big deal when we’re talking about devices that cost over $1,000. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is a perfect example of this problem. Buy one for $1,200 and twelve months later you’re probably only going to get around $600 back when you sell it. The iPhone 14 Pro paints a different picture though. That same $1,200 phone still commands around $900 after a year with a gentler depreciation curve.

Swappa and Gazelle are two of the services that monitor phone resale prices all year long and they put out these reports on what different models are worth over time. Year after year the data shows the exact same trend. Android phones lose value much faster than iPhones do and the difference between them is actually pretty dramatic.

Android phones lose value in their first year and the reasons behind this actually make tons of sense once you see what drives the market. Samsung, Google, OnePlus and other manufacturers release new models multiple times throughout the year and each launch changes the value of existing phones – even the ones that still perform great. Then you have carrier promotions that pop up every few months and they compound the problem. Verizon might run a Galaxy S23 promotion at $400 off and the second that deal goes live, the resale value of every S23 already out there drops.

It’s actually painful to watch your phone’s value drop as it happens. Trade-in calculators are available online any day of the week and the numbers just continue going down. One month your Galaxy could be worth $700 and by the next month it’s already down to $650. But your friend who owns an iPhone and checks the same calculator will see their phone’s value has barely budged at all. The depreciation factor plays a bigger role in buying decisions. When you’re about to drop big money on a high-end Android phone, part of your brain is already doing the math on how much value it’ll lose by next year and it changes the whole equation because that sharp drop in resale value can add to the true cost of ownership.

That competitive price point gets much less interesting once you factor in the depreciation hit.

Premium Android Has a Value Problem

Android phones don’t all depreciate the same way and the variation between different models can be significant. A flagship like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is going to hold onto more of its original price than something like a budget Motorola or a mid-range OnePlus. The premium Android flagships usually shed about 45% of their value within the first year. Those phones can plummet by 60% or more in that same timeframe.

The comparison to iPhones shows something even more striking though. Even the best Android phones on the market still depreciate about twice as fast as comparable iPhones do. That Galaxy S23 Ultra might perform better than other Android devices for value retention but it still can’t come close to matching an iPhone 14 Pro‘s ability to hold its worth over time. The numbers paint a picture that anyone who is shopping for a phone should take into consideration.

Some buyers choose premium Android devices even though they know these phones will lose value faster than an iPhone would. Depreciation isn’t the only factor worth weighing in the choice. Some users like Android’s customization options better or they want features that Apple doesn’t have on their devices. Maybe you need that S Pen stylus for work or you like Google’s camera software and processing. These kinds of preferences can outweigh the financial hit that you’ll eventually take later.

Samsung’s foldable phones don’t depreciate the way most phones do. The Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip models have their own depreciation curve because Apple doesn’t make a foldable phone to compete with them. Samsung doesn’t make as many of these phones and they have features you won’t find anywhere else – it helps them hold their value much better than normal Android flagships.

A flagship Samsung or Google Pixel Pro will actually save you more money in the long run than any budget phone from one of the random companies nobody’s heard of. The problem is that even flagship Android phones lose their value way faster than iPhones do if you compare phones at the same price point. When picking if it’s time to upgrade, these depreciation differences become important factors to remember.

Why the Android Market Gets Flooded

Android phones lose value faster than iPhones and it’s not about how well they’re built or how fast they run. The actual reason can depend on supply and demand economics that don’t usually get talked about in tech circles.

Since Android is an open platform, hundreds of different manufacturers can all make phones that run on it. Samsung, Google, OnePlus, Motorola and plenty of other businesses are all in competition for their share of the market. Add them all up and you’re looking at thousands of new Android models that hit stores each year. Apple puts out maybe three or four new iPhones in a year – it’s the entire lineup.

This massive difference in supply changes the entire game. Whenever you want to sell your Android phone, you’re up against other sellers who want to sell their Pixel 7, their OnePlus 11 and dozens of other recent Android models at the same time. All these phones accomplish the same tasks and have similar features, so buyers have endless options to choose from when they’re shopping around.

Carrier deals make the whole situation even worse. Those “buy one get one free” promotions you see everywhere flood the used market with phones that customers got for free or nearly free. Carriers practically hand out Android phones just to bring in new customers and this drives down what anyone expects to pay for them on the secondhand market.

Different countries have different opinions about which phone manufacturers are worth buying used. A Xiaomi phone can hold most of its value in India. But that exact same model could be worth almost nothing in the United States. Samsung phones hold up great in South Korea. But they depreciate much faster across most of Europe. These regional preferences make the Android resale market a mess to figure out.

Apple borrowed a page right from the luxury brand playbook and they’ve been running with it ever since. They control how their products hit the market and demand stays strong month after month. With fewer phones floating around out there, each one holds its value way longer.

How Updates Can Affect Your Phone Value

Software updates are actually one of the biggest factors that affect phone depreciation and most buyers don’t even know just how much they matter. When looking for a used phone, the very first consideration any savvy buyer wants to know is how many years of updates that phone has left. And for this very reason.

Apple keeps its iPhones updated for 5-7 years with all the latest iOS features and security patches. Android phone makers usually only give you 2-4 years of support and then you’re on your own. A perfect comparison would be the iPhone 12 and the Galaxy S20. These two phones launched in 2020. But now the iPhone is still getting every new iOS feature as the Samsung is about to lose its support completely.

This support difference makes a massive gap in what these phones are worth on the used market. Nobody in their right mind wants to buy a phone that will stop getting security patches in a year. The hardware could be in mint condition and run like a dream. But none of that matters. Once those updates stop and the phone turns into a security liability and pretty soon the apps won’t even run on it anymore.

Google had an idea when they announced 7 years of updates for their newer Pixel phones. We won’t know for some time if this actually helps Pixels hold onto their value better in the long run. The other Android phone makers haven’t followed this lead yet and to be honest, most of the buyers have no idea Google even made this commitment.

Android’s resale value problem gets worse from here and it all feeds on itself in the worst possible way. Anyone who looks for a used Android phone that’s already 2 years old knows that the software support is probably about to disappear completely. They won’t pay decent money for a phone that’s at the end of its life. But that same-age iPhone still has another 3-4 years of updates ahead of it and this explains why buyers are happy to pay more for one.

Trade Value Between Platforms

The used phone market shows us quite a bit about the long-term value of each platform and the differences are pretty big. Apple has built their trade-in program specifically to manage this problem and it guarantees that your old iPhone will always have some value when you’re ready to upgrade. A three-year-old iPhone can still bring in a respectable amount of money through Apple’s official channels and it’s something that you don’t usually see from Android manufacturers. Most of them just don’t give you that same level of long-term support for their older devices.

Visit any carrier store for an upgrade and the price difference between Android and iPhone trade-ins is pretty hard to miss. Verizon might give you around $800 for your iPhone 12 if you want the latest model. But a Samsung Galaxy S21 from the exact same year will probably see closer to $400 on the trade-in quote. The math speaks for itself and it doesn’t matter which carrier you check with either.

An iPhone 14 Pro tells you what you’re buying and most buyers have an idea of the features included. Android phones are a mess though. Nobody can explain the difference between a Samsung Galaxy A54 5G and an A53 5G off the top of their head and this confusion is terrible for resale values. When buyers aren’t confident in their purchase they won’t pay as much for it.

The repair ecosystem shows just how different these phones are in terms of their value. Almost every mall in America has at least one shop that can fix your iPhone screen in about 1 hour or less. These businesses stock iPhone parts all the time because they know customers will come back for repairs. Android phones are a different story. When an Android screen breaks, owners usually just buy a new phone instead of repairing it – the repair cost is usually close to what you’d pay for a replacement anyway.

iPhones hold their value even when they’re broken – especially interesting. I see damaged units sell all the time – some buyers want them specifically for parts and others use them to practice repair skills. A shattered Android phone ends up in an electronics recycling bin nine times out of ten because there’s just no secondary market for those parts.

Trade Your Old Phone for Cash Today

The numbers around phone depreciation tell an interesting story and the financial effect on your wallet is actually pretty significant. Personal preference plays a large part though and it can depend on what features and functionality matter most in your standard life. Android phones lose their value faster than iPhones do – it’s just how the market operates. Even with this, millions of consumers still choose Android devices and their reasoning makes perfect sense. Some users want lots of customization options, others need features that only Android offers and plenty just like the Android ecosystem better.

The most sensible way to go is to know about the financial implications and depreciation rates when you’re picking either platform. Android phones lose value faster than iPhones – it’s something worth remembering when you’re planning your next buy. Especially if you upgrade every couple of years or so. But if you hold onto your phones for three or four or maybe even five years, the resale value difference between Android and iPhone gets irrelevant. After that much time, neither one is worth much anyway. At that point, all that matters is that your phone still works and does what you need it for.

The smartphone market continues to change in interesting ways and some recent developments might actually affect how much value these devices lose over time. A handful of Android manufacturers have recently promised to support their phones with software updates for much longer than they used to and this should help those models hold onto more of their original price. At the same time, the secondhand phone market has matured and lots of consumers feel fine about buying a used device. These changes could change the depreciation patterns we’ve become used to for Android and Apple phones alike. One strategy that works regardless of which brand you like is to wait for new models to drop and then buy. The second that a new flagship launches, last year’s version usually sees a big price cut. For anyone who can live without the absolute newest features, patience like this saves you $hundreds on day one.

At EcoATM, we make it easy to get some money back from your old phone whenever you’re ready for an upgrade. We have over 6000 kiosks all across the country and the whole process takes just a few minutes – you walk in with your old phone and walk out with cash. Our kiosks test your phone right there and give you a price based on what model you have and its condition. You can take the cash or have us send the payment electronically and either option helps you pay for that new phone. Your old device also gets recycled responsibly instead of just sitting in a drawer somewhere or ending up in a landfill.