To walk into a room while iOS and Android users are going back and forth over which is the better operating system is becoming more and more common place as more and more people upgrade their existing phones, or purchase their first smartphone. To stay in the room, or offer your own opinion is a fool’s errand. Both camps are entrenched in their beliefs supporting their decision. Few minds are ever changed, but the battle will certainly continue on for quite some time. However, thanks to Investment firm Piper Jaffray, and its study of the resale value of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) products versus Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) ‘s iPhone, a concrete point in this argument can be made, Apple’s devices hold their value better than Samsung’s smartphones.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhones vs Samsung Galaxy
Piper Jaffray has been monitoring online auctions for popular Apple and Samsung smartphones since March of this year. Each week, analyst Gene Munster and his analysts look at the last 50 phones sold to determine the value that should be given to each model.
Their data found that Apple’s three-year-old iPhone 4 gained 10.31 percent in resale value on eBay since April. The iPhone 4S dropped by 11.85 percent, while the iPhone 5 lost less than 4 percent. During the same span, eBay prices of Samsung’s Galaxy S III fell 27.32 percent, while the Galaxy Note II was off 35.54 percent.
Piper Jaffray also looks at the same data on the online auction site Taobao in China. There, the iPhone 4 also grew in value since April by 1.42 percent, while the iPhone 4 was off 14.32 percent, and the iPhone 5 fell 7.22 percent. While these numbers are considerably different than eBay’s, the trend is the same. The Galaxy S III was down 24.17 percent, the Galaxy Note II fell 23.67 percent, and the company’s latest flagship Galaxy S4 lost 14.39 percent of its resale value.
Munster noted the importance of this and that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is winning the battle over Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) by “maintaining mindshare in the high-end market.”
Earlier Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and Samsung Galaxy survey
These results are consistent with the result’s that Piper Jaffray first published in May after two months of the study.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 5’s ability to retain its value suggests that iPhone 5 users and others are waiting for the iPhone 6 before making a decision on which OS they will look to in the future.
“The residual value of an iPhone stays so high, and there is so much demand for it, and that makes the trade-in programs more lucrative to a win-win from many points of view,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook earlier this year.
