Apple's Refurbished iPhone Models Become More Popular Than Cheap Android Smartphones

According to report from market analysis company CounterPoint Research that the current refurbished smartphone market is growing at a very...

According to report from market analysis company CounterPoint Research that the current refurbished smartphone market is growing at a very rapid rate, in which Apple's one of the most profitable companies, and suggests that growth isn't Google's vision for super-cheap, simple Android phones.

It's well-known that iPhone has maintained a high average selling price in the entire smart phone field, mainly because iPhones are usually more expensive than other smartphones, so not everyone will choose iPhone. However, the refurbished iPhone is different, the quality does not seems much different from the new phone, but prices has dropped significantly.

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"Those refurbished models are having a big impact on the market". Counterpoint Research Director Tom Kang says, "with 13 percent growth, refurbished smartphones are now close to 10 percent of the total global smartphone market." This has already forced over one hundred discount phone makers out of business in China, after pushing many PC makers such as HP out of the handset business

Kang stated that the mid low-end market for new smartphones are being cannibalized by refurbished high-end phones, mostly from Apple iPhones, and to a lesser extent, Samsung's premium Galaxy smartphones.

Peter Richardson, head of research at the firm, went on to comment that “it's a surprise to many that the fastest growing smartphone market in 2017 was not India or any other emerging market, but the refurb market. With refurb smartphones in play we think the market for new devices will slow further in 2018."

He believes that used and refurbished cell phones allow various stakeholders to maximize the value of the devices over their life cycle. The profitability of these devices exceeds that of new smartphones, so as the refurbished smartphone grows, the new smartphones market, may further slow down of growth in 2018.