The iPhone 17 Pro Max may be the most powerful phone Apple has ever made, but that hasn’t stopped it from flooding the resale market in the United States. With Apple officially announcing the budget-friendly iPhone 17e on Monday, March 2, with sales beginning March 11, the churn is only likely to accelerate.
According to a recent report by SellCell, the iPhone 17 Pro Max now ranks first in the resale market, accounting for 11.5 per cent of the top 20 most traded-in devices. What makes this notable is that the phone is holding its value better than its predecessor, depreciating 25.4 per cent in its first 145 days, compared to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which had fallen 32.5 per cent over the same period.
That’s a 7 per cent slower depreciation rate, suggesting owners are moving their devices while prices are still relatively strong rather than waiting for the value to drop further.
The average resale value of the iPhone 17 Pro Max currently stands at around USD 967.50, down from its launch price of USD 1,200. With a significant chunk of the original investment still recoverable, many owners appear to be timing their exits carefully.
This does not appear to be a case of buyer’s remorse, as 86 per cent of the traded-in devices are in good condition. Instead, the data points to a shift in how iPhone owners think about their devices. Around 76.5 per cent of the trade-ins are unlocked phones, suggesting owners are increasingly treating their iPhones less as long-term tools and more as depreciating financial assets to be turned over at the right moment.
The iPhone 17e, now officially announced and available for pre-order from Wednesday, March 4, is expected to add fresh momentum to this trend. Apple’s more affordable offering, priced at Rs 64,900 for the 256GB model in India and going on sale globally on March 11, is likely to prompt another wave of upgrades, both from users on older models and from those who picked up the Pro Max at launch and are now looking to offset the cost of switching.
With resale values still holding up reasonably well, the window to trade in before depreciation steepens may be a key factor driving the current surge.
| Posted by News Desk | 
