- The iPhone 17 Pro Max is the most traded phone right now, according to a major retailer
- This is probably partly because it holds its value well
- Economic factors and software disappointments can also play a role
If we had to guess what the best-selling phone would be, we probably would have assumed it was something popular but two or three years old, like the iPhone 15 or the Samsung Galaxy S24. After all, these are phones that a lot of people have, and many of them will probably be considering upgrades around now. But in fact, according to a retailer, it is actually the iPhone 17 Pro Max that is traded in the most.
It’s a phone we definitely wouldn’t have guessed as even though a lot of people have one, it only launched back in September so we wouldn’t think many would want to replace it just yet.
However, according to SellCell (via MacRumors), the iPhone 17 Pro Max accounts for 11.5% of all top-20 trade-ins.
That 11.5% figure is a little confusing because the top 20 most traded units only account for about 47% of total trade-ins. So presumably the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s overall share is much lower than 11.5%, but regardless, it’s traded far more than any other phone, with the iPhone 15 Pro Max coming in second and accounting for 7.3% of top-20 trade-ins.
It’s still worth a lot
So why is this? While we can’t be sure, SellCell speculates that it’s largely because Apple’s latest flagship is holding its value so well.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max has apparently only lost 25.4% of its value since launch, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max lost around 32.5% of its value over a similar time frame. So sellers are getting a lot more for this phone than they would for most handsets.
Still, you wouldn’t think anyone would sell a phone they liked so quickly, so it’s likely that hard times financially are also a factor for some people, while others may simply be unhappy with the experience for what they paid for the phone – especially with iOS’s Liquid Glass overhaul proving so divisive and many promised Apple Intelligence features still to come.
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