However, a much higher percentage of iPhones are sold or exchanged than Android phones. Consumers report that Android phones are recycled or lost, broken or stolen to a much greater extent than iPhone phones, or are simply kept for later use compared to iPhone phones.
In the quarter ending in June, CIRP analyzed smartphones to understand the life cycle of old iPhones and Android phones. CIRP tracked the age of the previous phone for many years and analyzed the tendency of consumers to keep a phone longer.
"Most recently, we found that people keep their previous phones for an average of over three years, up from less than two years just a few years ago," say the study's authors.
Most phones that are withdrawn from use are in good condition, with usable screens and batteries that last for most or most of a day. As a result, many of the previous phones are sold or exchanged, passed on to a friend or family member, or stored for potential future use.
In general, about 80% of older phones have a screen in good condition, either "perfect" or "scratched, but usable." 84% of shoppers with an old iPhone report a "perfect" or "scratched, but usable" screen, compared to 76% of shoppers with an old Android phone.
60% of older phones have a good battery, which lasts either "a full day or more" or "most of the day." Unlike the screen, 30% of shoppers with an old Android phone report a battery that lasts a full day or more, compared to 23% of shoppers with an old iPhone.
The study found some significant differences between the iPhone and Android phones
Almost a third of iPhones are changed to a new phone, compared to 10% of Android phones. In contrast, almost half of Android phones are retained by the consumer for later use, compared to only 29% of iPhone phones.
"Most retired phones still have some functional life in them (…)," said Mike Levin, partner and co-founder of CIRP. "Many of them are kept in reserve or given to a friend or family member. However, resale and exchange greatly favor iPhones. Consumers trade or resell iPhones much more often than Android phones. 31% of old iPhones are resold, compared to 10% of old Android phones. We expect the opportunity to capitalize on an iPhone with a high residual value to accelerate the refresh cycle. ”
Also, 24% of Android phones are either recycled or declared lost, stolen or damaged, while only 17% of iPhones are recycled, lost, stolen or broken.
The analysis is based on 2,000 US subjects who purchased a new or used smartphone in the twelve months ending in June 2021.
According to a study conducted in Romania, by reBuy, an online store of used electronics, almost 22 million unused mobile phones are stored in the homes of Romanians. This places our country on the 9th place, among the 27 countries analyzed (24 in Europe : Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Estonia, England, Portugal, Denmark, Austria, Romania, Slovenia, France, Italy, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Bulgaria, Latvia, Greece, Switzerland, Belgium, Hungary, Croatia, Netherlands, Poland, plus Canada, USA and New Zealand which have been added for a global image), which reveals a fairly large number of unused and stored mobile phones that do not take the path of recycling, as is normal.