Shock in the Phone Market: iPhone Air Loses Value Faster Than Any Other New iPhone

 New Data Reveals Decline in Resale Value of Apple's Ultra-Thin iPhone

Apple's iPhone Air

Shock in the Phone Market.. iPhone Air Loses Value Faster Than Any Other New iPhone

New data reveals that the ultra-thin iPhone Air has experienced a sharper decline in resale value during its first ten weeks of availability compared to the rest of the iPhone 17 series, as well as previous iPhone models. 

While it's still too early to label the iPhone Air a "failure," the current data is sufficient to suggest that the phone's performance may not be on par with the rest of Apple's 17 series.

Of course, this is somewhat expected, as it's impossible for all models to achieve identical sales figures. However, with leaks circulating about Apple reducing iPhone Air production to the "end of the production cycle" and postponing the release of the next generation of this model until 2027, the device's situation appears less than ideal, according to a report by the tech news site 9to5Mac.

A new report from the smartphone and tablet retailer SellCell indicates that the iPhone Air experienced a 47.4% drop in resale value during its first ten weeks on the market, which the platform describes as "the worst iPhone resale decline since 2022." 

While ten weeks is too short a period to draw definitive conclusions, SellCell has been conducting the same analysis for years, providing at least a consistent baseline for comparison across different releases.

In the report, the platform analyzed 52 iPhone models since the iPhone 14 series launch and concluded that while the iPhone 16 series saw an even steeper decline in resale value during its first week, with a 42% drop compared to 41% for the iPhone Air and 40% for the iPhone 17 series, the situation changed dramatically after the sixth week.

By that time, the average depreciation of the iPhone Air had reached 43.4%, compared to 40.3% for the iPhone 16 series and only 36.7% for the rest of the iPhone 17 series. SellCell noted that "while the depreciation of the iPhone 17 series stabilizes by week 10, the Air continues to depreciate, suggesting potentially long-term issues with resale confidence."