iPhone Air Could Be An Unexpected Holiday Bargain

The iPhone 17 series has been a massive success for Apple, with a recent report showing the iPhone 17 models will not only drive record revenue for Apple this quarter but also help improve global sales for 2025 compared to previous estimates. BGR has been tracking Apple stock availability since the launch, and three of the four models have consistently been sold out, especially the base iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Max. The iPhone Air is the only 2025 iPhone not to see a similar reception. The phone has been available online since launch in the various markets we've been tracking. Only China experienced a brief stock disruption for the iPhone Air.

While the Air doesn't have the same appeal as the other three models, fans of the ultra-slim handset who didn't buy an iPhone Air will be happy to hear that you might find an unexpected bargain this holiday season, as long as you don't mind buying a slightly used model or a new handset from the used market. That seems to be the conclusion from a recent SellCell report. The smartphone trade-in experts, whose job is to track prices of used devices, have checked with more than 40 U.S. buyback companies, finding that the iPhone Air experienced the worst resale drop of any iPhone since 2022. The handset lost up to 47.7% of its value in 10 weeks. The figure applies to the 1TB iPhone Air, which costs $1,399 if you buy it from Apple. The iPhone Air's average depreciation sits at 44.3%, which suggests you can get good discounts if you don't mind buying a used iPhone Air unit.

To score savings of up to 40% on the iPhone Air, you'd have to look for unused or second-hand units sold on third-party websites, including auction sites like eBay. The downside is that you may have to buy the phone from an untrusted source if purchasing it from an individual rather than a company. The upside is getting a phone that's been used for less than three months at a great discount. Apple has not discounted the iPhone Air in its stores.

SellCell's data doesn't guarantee the savings but signals that iPhone Air owners are willing to sell the handset at much lower values than expected for a new iPhone. SellCell noted in its report that the iPhone Air's depreciation is 12.4% worse than the iPhone 15, 7.7% worse than the iPhone 14, and 5.3% worse than the iPhone 16.

The iPhone 17 series saw an average depreciation of 34.6% after 10 weeks, according to SellCell's research. The resale value is in line with expectations for the first 10-week period, but it outperforms previous generations. The iPhone 16 series and the iPhone 14 series depreciated by 39% and 36.6% during their first 10 weeks of sales, respectively. The iPhone 17 models retained 9.7% more value than the iPhone Air. The best-performing iPhone 17 variant is the 256GB iPhone 17 Pro Max, at 26.1% depreciation. Put differently, an iPhone 17 model is a better investment than the iPhone Air if you plan on trading the phone in at some point in the future. SellCell's data also suggests that buying an iPhone 17 variant from the used market would be cheaper than getting it from Apple and its partners, assuming there's enough stock from unofficial retailers.