Your old iPhone is about to be worth a whole lot less
Within 24 hours of the iPhone 11 unveiling, older models could drop up to 30% in trade-in value, a report says.
- I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.
Older iPhones could lose 30% of their trade-in value within 24 hours of the iPhone 11 unveiling.
Older iPhones will soon "dramatically drop" in value, according to a research report Thursday from Decluttr, a phone refurbishment service where you can trade in your old phone. Within 24 hours of the new iPhone 11 being announced, previous models could lose up to 30% of their current resale value, the company said.
Apple is set to unveil the iPhone 11 on Sept. 10 at 10 a.m. PT at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California. The tech giant sent out invitations earlier Thursday.
Even new iPhones, however, tend to drop by around 40% in value in the first month after their launch, and then by 1% each month after that, Decluttr said.
Since launching less than a year ago, the iPhone X has lost 59% of its original value, the iPhone XS 49% and the iPhone XR 43%. Decluttr said in its 2019 phone depreciation study. At the moment, those phones are worth $482, $646 and $462, respectively, on the site.
The iPhone 7 has lost 81% of its value, the iPhone 8 65% and the iPhone 8 Plus 61%, Decluttr said.
On the Android side, Decluttr said the Samsung Galaxy S10 has already lost 57% of its value just months after launching, while the Galaxy S10 Plus has lost 52% upon trade-in. Decluttr's findings tie in with a report in June that revealed S10 phones lost half their value in their first 30 days after launch.
The Google Pixel 3XL has depreciated by 58% six months after launching, according to Decluttr.
The depreciation in value is because of "a lack of innovation," said Liam Howley, Decluttr's chief marketing officer.
