Samsung Galaxy S22 lineup's value plummets when used, iPhone 13 lineup holds firm

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra In Woods
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra In Woods (Image credit: Nick Sutrich / iMore)

What you need to know

  • A new study shows that Samsung's Galaxy S22 devices fall in value alarmingly quickly.
  • By comparison, iPhone 13 devices seem to hold their value surprisingly well. -.

Samsung's Galaxy S22 range of devices depreciates almost three times more than the iPhone 13 lineup, according to a new study.

Used device seller SellCell has shared a new report on how quickly devices like Samsung and Apple's flagships lose their value after being unboxed. It's expected that hardware falls in value once it's been used, but the numbers relating to Samsung's Galaxy S22 devices is worrying in the extreme — a top-of-the-line 1TB Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G loses a massive 52% in just a month, despite being in 'like new' condition. Buyers of the 128GB version have things even worse because their device is worth 57.5% less than when it was new.

For comparison, Apple's 1TB iPhone 13 Pro Max falls just 23% in the same timeframe and condition.

Graph showing device depreciation

Graph showing device depreciation (Image credit: SellCell)

Using internal smartphone value data, SellCell has analysed depreciation values (since launch) of Apple, Samsung, and Google's flagship handsets. It has considered the trade-in value of all lines in each range (iPhone 13, Samsung Galaxy S22, and Google Pixel 6) based on the resale value of phones in "like new" and "good" condition. SellCell collected the data across months one and two since launch, to compare depreciation, and to see which brands hold their value. SellCell is the US' No.1 price comparison site for selling phones, so constantly monitors the value of these handsets across 40+ independent buyers.

SellCell also looked at Google's Pixel devices — you can see all of the phones the outfit looked into in the table above. Maybe only check yours if you have money to burn — or have an iPhone!

While we already knew that iPhones hold their value well, the rate at which Samsung's devices lose it is alarming. Perhaps for all the features that Apple touts as being reasons to switch from Android, the value of the used market is the best iPhone feature yet!

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.