Taking that headline on its face: I can’t say that I’m too surprised that this happened, iPhone Air has remained perhaps the weakest selling model amongst the base 17 & 17 Pro/Pro Max line-up this year.
HOWEVER, the headline’s not supported by the fact’s here. There’s more to be said on the “nearly 50%” number MacRumors ran in their headline (their reporting came from “SellCell” which buys devices from consumers1): looking on popular third-party marketplace Swappa right now, most listings for the device’s base model have it sitting at around $800 and up. On eBay, it’s a similar story, with the cheapest unlocked device I could find sitting at exactly $8002 as well with just a quick search.
The article makes no mention of these alternative marketplaces, which generally give a better look at resale value than just one company’s view, and seems to take it as a matter-of-fact view. For me, it really calls into question the ethics that MacRumors holds themselves to.
It’s my opinion the headline should have, instead, read “New SellCell Report Indicates iPhone Air Could Be Depreciating Faster than Other Models” or something similar. The one they have currently, “iPhone Air’s Resale Value Has Dropped Dramatically, Data Shows”, isn’t the complete truth. The two sites I linked show that the story’s a little less grim than MacRumors makes it out to be.
Be careful what you read.
- So this number, therefore, would only applying to the selling price to a third-party. Not second-hand devices from Swappa, eBay, etc. which more consumers are familar with. I’m not saying SellCell is inherently bad, but to cite it in the headline in such a matter-of-fact way is irresponsible reporting, in my opinion. ↩︎
- There are cheaper models that aren’t unlocked or are broken, which is impressive for a device that hasn’t been out that long. ↩︎