A real, consistent, measurable gap — not just a stereotype
"iPhones hold their value better" is one of those claims that gets repeated so often it's worth actually checking against real numbers rather than accepting on faith. The good news: it genuinely holds up under real market data, and the gap is larger than most people assume.
This is one part of a bigger picture — see our complete guide to buying refurbished tech well for the full journey from grading to timing to trusted retailers.
The real numbers
Recent live market tracking shows Apple's flagship iPhone range depreciating roughly 26-33% in the first year when sold in good condition. Samsung's equivalent flagship range, launched around the same period, depreciated 57-66% over a comparable window. That's not a marginal difference — Samsung's flagship line was losing value at somewhere between double and two-and-a-half times the rate of Apple's equivalent range.
This pattern is genuinely consistent across generations, not a one-off comparison — it shows up reliably year after year in resale and trade-in market data, not just in this specific snapshot.
Why the gap exists
Software support window. Apple's iPhones typically receive major software updates for 5-6 years, which keeps older models genuinely usable — and therefore desirable on the secondhand market — for longer than many Android flagships, where update commitments have historically been shorter (though this gap has narrowed somewhat as Android manufacturers extend their own support windows in recent years).
Consistent secondhand demand. There's a large, stable global market specifically for used and refurbished iPhones, which keeps resale prices propped up through sustained demand rather than a shrinking pool of interested buyers.
Slower visible design change. Apple's iPhone design evolves incrementally year to year, meaning a two or three-year-old iPhone doesn't look dramatically dated next to a current model — a real, if slightly intangible, factor in how buyers perceive a used device's worth.
Storage tier and variant matter within the range too. It's not uniform even within one brand — top-tier storage options on the same iPhone model have shown measurably steeper early depreciation than mid-tier storage of the identical phone, since the premium paid upfront doesn't fully carry through to resale.
What this actually means depending on which side you're on
If you're buying new: a phone with slower depreciation gives you more flexibility if you decide to sell or trade in earlier than planned — you're not locking in as steep a loss if your plans change.
If you're buying refurbished or used: faster-depreciating brands can represent genuinely better value secondhand, since the price drop that hurt the original owner works in your favour as the buyer — a lightly-used Samsung flagship a year or two old can be a real bargain precisely because of the same depreciation curve that's bad news for whoever sold it.
If you're planning to sell an existing phone: our full iPhone depreciation curve breaks down the month-by-month pattern specifically, useful for timing a sale if you're weighing when rather than whether to sell.
Compare live trade-in prices across every device on our Trade-In Index, and browse refurbished phones from every brand if depreciation-driven value is exactly what you're shopping for.
Related reading: The iPhone depreciation curve, month by month · Best time to sell your iPhone · When to sell your Samsung Galaxy · Refurbished vs new phone — is it worth it? · All buying guides
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