Trade-In Sales Following iPhone 16 Launch Have Increased by Almost 40% vs. iPhone 15
The iPhone 16 launch has seen an increase in trade-in sales values of 38% and volumes of 28.8% vs last year’s iPhone 15 launch.
Most iPhone trade-ins are coming from iPhone 15 Pro Max owners, comprising 27.2% of the launch trade-in volume.
Apple revealed its iPhone 16, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max ranges at its Glowtime Event on Monday 9th September. The new iPhones feature new Action and Camera Control buttons, enhanced camera features, the A18 chip, better battery life and long awaited AI capabilities. Pre-orders with Apple start on September 13th ahead of a September 20th launch.
But, has Apple done enough to motivate their fanboys into ditching their old iPhone handset and upgrading to a new iPhone 16? Early buyer intention looked good with our iPhone 16 Pre-Launch Survey revealing that 62% of existing iPhone owners would look to eventually upgrade to the iPhone 16.
But now the IPhone 16 range is revealed, what does early Apple launch trade-in data look like vs the iPhone 15 launch? SellCell is in a perfect position to find out. By comparing the trade-in sales volumes and values across 40 iPhone buyers vs the iPhone 15 period last year, data can show if there is an increase in users selling iPhones during the iPhone 16 early launch window. Let’s get to the data…
Report Highlights
- The iPhone 16 launch has seen an increase in trade-in sales in the first 2 days since reveal of 38% in value and 28.8% in volume vs. the iPhone 15 last year.
- In-house data also reveals that the iPhone 16 launch is the best launch since the iPhone 13 in 2021 by taking into account YOY volume and value increases.
- Last year the iPhone 15 launch showed a 16% decline in trade-in volume compared to the iPhone 14 during the early launch period.
- The current 2024 trade-in data suggests that more users are trading in their iPhones than the 3 previous launches to upgrade to the new iPhone 16.
- Most iPhone trade-ins (27.2%) are from iPhone 15 Pro Max Users in the first few days post the Apple reveal.
- The data provides early positive signs for Apple that the iPhone 16 is going to be a good launch for them.
Main Findings
SellCell’s data looked at the trade-in sales by volume and value from the Apple Reveal day on 9th September and the following day 10th September. This data has been compared against the reveal date of the iPhone 15 (September 12th 2023) and the following day (September 13th 2023). The data looks at the total number of sales by volume and value across 40 phone buyers to see if there has been an uplift in sales between these two periods year on year.
The findings clearly highlight on the launch date and following day that iPhone trade in volume and values were both up. Trade in volume showing a 28.8% increase on the iPhone 15 launch and value of trade-ins 38% up vs last years launch.
Which iPhone Models are Owners Trading In?
Early data suggest that iPhone users with an iPhone 15 Pro Max are trading their devices in ahead of other iPhone owners. 27.2% of the total iPhone trade-ins over the early launch period are from iPhone 15 Pro Max owners. This is followed by iPhone 14 Pro Max owners that are likely to have come to the end of their two year contract at 15% share of the trade-ins by models.
Conclusions
Early trade-in data suggests that more iPhone Owners are Selling their iPhone to upgrade to an iPhone 16 compared to the same period last year for the iPhone 15 launch. In-house data reveals that the uplift in trade-in data is the best since the iPhone 13 launch.
Apple recently announced that they will no longer be selling the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Maybe this announcement has prompted iPhone 15 Pro Max owners to say goodbye to that phone and hello to the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Time will tell.
Methodology
SellCell.com is the USA’s No 1 Price Comparison Site comparing trade-in prices for old phones and tech for over 40 of the leading buyback companies. SellCell has collated trade-in data across historical iPhone launch windows to look at increases and decreases in trade-in volume and value to produce the report., No personal identifiable data is ever stored.