By With 283 MILLION smartphones used units sold last year
Inflation and mediocre technology People are flocking to buy used devices that cost at least $300 less than new ones because of new features.
According to data, 283 million used handsets were sold in the United States last year, representing an 11.5 percent increase from 2021, and the market is expected to be worth $99 billion in 2026.
Sales of new smartphones fell in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic began, but rising prices kept customers away – an iPhone costs at least $100 more today than it did two years ago.
According to CCS Insight, Apple’s iPhones account for more than 80% of this ‘circular’ economy.
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), the surge in used smartphones is due in part to trade-in programs offered by Apple and other major smartphone manufacturers.
When electronics manufacturers were forced to close due to lockdown restrictions, smartphone sales began to fall two years ago.
China, the world’s sole source of iPhones, implemented lockdowns first and kept them in place longer, slowing Apple production.
Many users, however, have noticed that each new iPhone appears to be the same as the last.
Instead of spending more money, they are either sticking with their current model or upgrading to a used one.
The iPhone 8, which was released in 2018, costs $599, but the latest device, which was released in September 2022, costs $799 – and this is only for the ‘affordable model.’
Smartphones in general appear to have lost their luster.
Consumers have been carrying these tiny computers in their pockets for over a decade, and each year, the devices do not appear to be any more revolutionary than the previous.
‘I remember about 6-7 years ago, when we had the iPhone 4S,’ one Redditor said. With its new 4′ screen, the iPhone 5 appeared revolutionary. The 5S appeared revolutionary the following year, with its new Touch ID sensor (the 5C not so much).
‘Then we got the 6, with 4.7′ and 5.5′ screen sizes, which were a much-needed improvement. After three years, we finally got the X. (the 6S, 7, and 8 are all slightly upgraded versions of the 6 to me, nothing revolutionary). Since the X, none of the new iPhone releases (XS, XR, 11, 11 Pro…) have surprised me.’
The bulky frames and buttons of early devices have been replaced by technologies such as facial recognition that most of us only fantasized about while watching science fiction films.
While current features are superior, they appear to have reached a stalemate – and many users have stated that smartphones are “downright boring.”
According to CCS Insight, 1.3 billion phones will reach their first end-of-life in 2022, with many being resold on the second-hand market.
CCS notes that Apple leads the pack in the ‘circular’ economy because’many phones from other brands have limited value in this industry and are frequently discarded or passed down to family members.’
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