Cars are generally considered to be a poor investment, deprecating by an average of about 40 percent during the first three years. But that’s nothing compared to smartphones.
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According to Flipsy, the leading online price guide for books, devices, and other items, the value of a smartphone plummets rapidly over the first three year. Depending on the model, smartphones lose between 38 percent and 76 percent of their original values over the course of the first year.

Cars vs. Phones
Flipsy
Compare this to cars, which generally lose about 20 percent of their value during the first year, then around 10 percent each year after.
Deprecation does depend on the model. According to the data, iPhones tend to hold value longer than Samsung Galaxy phones, with other Android phones being the worst.
Flipsy has the data to prove this. After crunching the numbers the company found that after a year the iPhone X depreciated by 45 percent, while the Galaxy S8 lost as much as 57 percent. But things get worse, with the LG G6 dropped a whopping 73 percent within a year of its launch.
If you’re the sort of person who holds onto smartphones until they decay into ashes in your hands, this isn’t much of an issue. But if you like to sell handsets, then this information allows you to get the most from your investment and then sell it and get the most back.
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