People who often pay attention to the second-hand market should have discovered a phenomenon: although electronic products will depreciate, the depreciation rate of Android flagship phones is much faster than that of iPhones, and they often drop off a cliff.
For example, the starting price of the 128GB version of the iPhone 11 released three years ago was 5,999 yuan. The current second-hand price of 90% new is about 2,500 yuan, which is equivalent to a depreciation of nearly 58%. Not only that, iPhones can be said to be hard currency in the second-hand market. As long as the price is right and the source is transparent, they can usually be sold in two or three days.
At the same time, the Android flagship Samsung Note10, 8+25, started at 6,599 yuan in China. In three years, the price dropped to about 1,500 yuan, and it was not easy to sell. After all, there are many so-called parallel imports of Samsung flagship from various channels, so the price is difficult to stabilize. But in my opinion, these three reasons are the key reasons why the depreciation rate of iPhone is not as high as that of Android phones.
First of all, the reason why the iPhone maintains its value is because consumers believe that it can last for another 5 years without lag. Here I have to mention the concept of CPU single-core performance. Although CPU is divided into single-core and multi-core, multi-core determines multi-thread processing capabilities, such as opening multiple software to perform calculations in the background. A single core determines the performance of the front-end APP and directly determines the fluency of the system.
For a device with a small screen like a mobile phone, and in most cases the front desk can only operate an APP, strong single-core performance is absolutely strong. Unfortunately, the single-core running score of the 2022 Android flagship core, such as Dimensity 9000 and Geekbench5, is only around 1,300, which is basically the same level as the A13, leaving a two-year gap.
Secondly, although after so many years of catching up, Android and iOS have been basically the same in terms of functionality, this cannot conceal the more efficient nature of iOS. For example, the unified push mechanism of iOS saves memory usage, and downloading hundreds of apps will not cause the phone to become stuck. At the same time, the unified app store of iOS solves the problem of ecological fragmentation, and there is no need to worry about encountering rogue software and abusing hardware resources.
iOS system, as a private closed-loop system exclusive to and Apple , will also bring a certain degree of premium, which is one of the key reasons why the iPhone maintains its value. At the same time, the closed loop of iOS has also greatly reduced the competitive pressure on Apple. It does not need to compare parameters, faster charging, and higher refresh rates with Android manufacturers. It only needs to squeeze out toothpaste steadily and slowly improve the experience. The principle is the same as intel in previous years. Once new products squeeze out toothpaste, old products will retain their value.
Third, Apple is not building a system, but an ecosystem across multiple devices, which makes the iPhone a necessity. If you are a loyal user of iPad, Mac, Apple TV, then you will most likely buy an iPhone. Because if it is not an iOS system, the linkage with other devices will be greatly reduced. Because of this, although the proportion of users of the iOS system is not as good as that of Android, user loyalty exceeds that of Android.
In this case, there is no shortage of sales for second-hand iPhones, because as Apple fans buy more and more Apple devices, the iPhone has become an unquestionable standard. When switching to an Android phone, you may be thinking about which model is more cost-effective. But Apple fans are thinking about which iPhone their budget can afford.
To sum up, there are three reasons why the iPhone retains its value far better than Android: the A-series chip guarantees a two-year lead in fluency, the exclusive iOS system reduces competitive pressure, and is irreplaceable as a part of the Apple ecosystem. What do you think about this? Welcome to discuss it together.
