{"id":11902,"date":"2021-09-22T07:11:54","date_gmt":"2021-09-22T14:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flipsy.com\/article\/?p=11902"},"modified":"2026-06-08T09:51:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T16:51:09","slug":"buy-new-iphone-every-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flipsy.com\/article\/11902\/buy-new-iphone-every-year","title":{"rendered":"Why It\u2019s Smart to Buy a New iPhone Every Year"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Should you buy a new iPhone every year? The math makes sense for many people<\/b><\/p>\n<p>People who buy a new iPhone every year pay less than $12\/month more than those who upgrade every three years \u2013 provided they trade in their old phones \u2013 and if they time it right, they can pay less than $4\/month more.<\/p>\n<p>Annual upgraders not only always have the latest and greatest iPhone, they\u2019re also always covered by Apple\u2019s one-year warranty. That\u2019s a key benefit considering that out-of-warranty iPhone repairs can cost more than $500.<\/p>\n<p><b>Here\u2019s how the math works out:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The iPhone 16 cost $799 at launch. It\u2019s currently worth $460 in good condition. The iPhone 17 also costs $799. If you trade in your iPhone 16, your net cost for the iPhone 17 will be $339<\/li>\n<li>If you then buy a new iPhone every year at a net cost of $339 after trade-in, your total net cost over three years would be $1,816 (including the original $799 you paid)<\/li>\n<li>If you wait three years instead, your iPhone 16 will only be worth around $200. Trade it in, and your net cost for the new \u201ciPhone 15\u201d will be $599. Add in the original $799, and your net cost over three years would be $1,398<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Do the math, and you\u2019ll see it only costs $418 more over three years \u2013 or $11.60\/month \u2013 to always have the latest and greatest iPhone, covered under warranty.<\/p>\n<p><b>Timing is everything for iPhone savings<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The total net cost differences are dictated by two time-dependent factors: depreciation and iPhone trade-in values.<\/p>\n<p>iPhone values depreciate by around 40% over one year, but that rate jumps to 75% over three years. Higher trade-in values after one year offset most of the savings you\u2019d get if you waited three years to buy a new iPhone.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, values for old iPhone models drop by 15% or more after a new flagship is released. That means you should sell as soon as possible to get the most money for your used iPhone.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the iPhone 16 value dropped by 17% between Sept. 1 and Sept. 21 \u2013 from $557 to $460 after the iPhone 17 was announced. Price locks can help you avoid the rapid value loss that occurs around a new flagship launch. In this case, you could have locked in the $557 price on Sept. 1, kept your old iPhone until the new model was available, and made $97 more from the sale.<\/p>\n<p>Extrapolate that difference over three years, and your net cost (including trade-in value) to upgrade every year decreases from $1,816 to $1,525 \u2013 or just $3.78\/month more than it costs to upgrade every three years.<\/p>\n<table class=\"flipsy-table\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><strong>Upgrade Every 3 Years<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><strong>Upgrade Every Year<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><strong>Upgrade Every Year w\/30-Day Price Lock<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>Initial iPhone Purchase<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>$799<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>$799<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>$799<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>Year 1 Upgrade<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">&#8211;<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>$339<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>$242<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>Year 2 Upgrade<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" style=\"text-align: left;\">&#8211;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>$339<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>$242<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>Year 3 Upgrade<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>$599<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>$339<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>$242<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>Total Net Cost<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>$1,398<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>$1,816<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>$1,525<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>Total Net Difference Over 3 Years<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">&#8211;<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>$418<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p>$136<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><strong>Net Difference Per Month<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><strong>&#8211;<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><strong>$11.60<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<p><strong>$3.78<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span><a href=\"https:\/\/flipsy.com\/sell\/iPhone\">Lock in a guaranteed best offer for your old iPhone with Flipsy<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Related Help<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&gt;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/flipsy.com\/article\/9035\/where-get-most-phone\">Where to get the most for your iPhone<\/a><\/p>\n<p> &gt;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/flipsy.com\/article\/7928\/iphone-upgrade-program-worth-it\">Is Apple\u2019s iPhone upgrade program worth it?<\/a><\/p>\n<p> &gt;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/flipsy.com\/article\/62\/q-and-a-can-i-sell-an-iphone-thats-icloud-activation-locked\">Can you sell an activation locked iPhone?<\/a><\/p>\n<p> &gt;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/flipsy.com\/article\/8346\/identify-iphone\">How to identify your iPhone<\/a><\/p>\n<p> &gt;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/flipsy.com\/article\/5647\/reset-apple-device\">How to reset your Apple device before you sell it<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Should you buy a new iPhone every year? The math makes sense for many people People who buy a new iPhone every year pay less than $12\/month more than those who upgrade every three years \u2013 provided they trade in their old phones \u2013 and if they time it right, they can pay less than [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12370,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,161],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-iphones","category-phones-2"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why It\u2019s Smart to Buy a New iPhone Every Year - Articles by Flipsy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Should you buy a new iPhone every year? 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