Before Pixel 6’s launch, there was hope that Google’s 2021 flagship series would be a serious challenger to the iPhone, but one metric indicates that isn’t the case. Mobile marketplace and price comparison site SellCell has found that the Apple iPhone 13 range is holding its value better than the latest Pixels.
Based on data from more than 45 buyback vendors, the Pixel 6 range lost an average of nearly 43 percent of its value within a month of launch. In contrast, the iPhone 13 line had depreciated by around 25 percent in the first month of release.
On top of that, the iPhone 13 has begun recouping the lost value, and that includes the iPhone 13 mini as well, which has been the least popular model. One interesting finding is that the lowest-end Pixel 6 model lost around 37 percent of its value which is comparable to the 35 percent the 512GB iPhone 13 mini lost after one month in the market, which seems to suggest Google may have a better chance of crushing Apple in the lower-end flagship market.
SellCell isn’t so optimistic about the Pixel 6 phones experiencing the same trajectory as the four iPhone 13 models, which are now worth more than they were two months back, and at this rate, their depreciation may reach a plateau in the next couple of months.
That said, anything could happen by the time Pixel 6’s supply situation gets better in 2022, but for now, iOS remains the better option for those who don’t stick with one handset for too long and trade in their devices frequently to upgrade to the latest phone and Pixel 6 is just another Android phone that’s nowhere near the iPhone when its comes to value retention.
Of course, the disappointing resale value doesn’t mean that the iPhone 13 is the better phone and all things considered, the Pixel 6 is one of the best smartphones of 2021 (so is the iPhone 13) and most people hold on to their devices for more than two years now, so the value depreciation shouldn’t really be a cause for concern.
