Buying previous iPhone model can save around a fifth of the price

• Notable discounts are hard to come by in the first year of an iPhone launching

• Shoppers advised to consider buying the iPhone 14 when the iPhone 15 launches

Apple has, on average, increased the RRP of the last three iPhones (standard model) by around 10% each time. If rumours are to be believed, there may be an even bigger increase for the iPhone 15 range when it’s released later this month.

While many avid Apple fans will snap up this latest model as soon as physically possible, regardless of the price tag, others will want to wait it out to get the best price possible. To help those looking to get a good deal, PriceSpy, the impartial price and product comparison service, has conducted a price analysis across some of the most popular smartphones on the market.

Bigger price drops to be found on iPhone Pro and Pro Max

In a price analysis of the last five Apple iPhones, PriceSpy found the standard model will have lost, on average, 22% of its value when the next model launches. This increases to 33% on the Pro Max models and 39% on the Pro models.

The Pro and Pro Max models are where Apple seemingly experiments the most with the price point. Both the iPhone 12 and 13 Pro [and Pro Max] had lower RRPs than their respective predecessors, though a sharp 14% increase on the iPhone 14 Pro Max and 15% increase on the iPhone 14 Pro indicate that Apple is testing higher prices with its latest tech.

Liisa Matinvesi-Bassett, UK country manager at PriceSpy comments: “Bigger price drops on the iPhone Pro and Pro Max mean that, by the time a new model launches, the Pro and Pro Max versions of the previous iPhone will cost around the same price as the standard version of the new iPhone. For this reason, it’s important that shoppers take the time to look at the specific features of each phone as - when prices are levelled - it may be that the older model suits their needs better.” 

iPhone price drops are hard to predict and, comparatively, relatively low

When looking at the standard models of both Apple iPhones and Samsung Galaxies (as the two leading smartphones on the market), it’s clear that iPhones hold their value far better than Galaxies:

Based on the last five models:

Liisa explains: “Compared to other smartphones on the market, like the Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel ranges, Apple iPhones tend to have a far stronger depreciation value. Significant, sustained price drops are rarely seen until around the year mark post-launch. Which usually coincides with a new model coming to market.”

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Notes to editors

All data based on price history information collected by PriceSpy on SIM-free handsets