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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1234839
in the mid range and cluster around zero quickly. this is the hear t of the "old but valuable" proposition. Depreciation rates might seem academic but depreciation is an indicator of a real perception of value and that in itself is a reflection of utility. Users are likely to pay for a used product only if they think it can still be useful in proportion to the price. new product buyers might pay for other things like prestige, status signaling or just wanting to be first. But used buyers are more mindful of what the product can do–they are less likely to benefit from signaling. Analogously, the used car market often shows the underlying quality or reliability of a car model. if a luxury car plummets in value it means that it becomes a huge burden to late usage, usually due to servicing costs. in previous decades luxury cars were also durable cars but with complexity they became money pits. In the used phone market hardware repair and maintenance are less consequential but there is a concern for software support, security and privacy. the serviceability of the battery, the camera quality and the fit and finish of the body matter. Buyers are not stupid. the market speaks words of wisdom. a phone that is worth more will reflect more inherent utility. Remember that a phone is unlocked more than 80 times a day. if it has 4 years of use then it get unlocked 116,000 times. that's not "uses" but unlocks. actual usage in terms of taps, swipes, or glances could be triple that figure. there are phones on the list that are 7 years old. it's not unreasonable to assume that a moderately well used iPhone has enabled a quarter million interactions. Remember that phones are used all day, ever y day. at home and at work. in cars and in planes. Even on weekends, and on holidays. and even when you're "social distancing". In fact, the more physically isolated you are the more likely you are to rely on the phone as your social lifeline. in difficult times the product people turn to first and last isn't one of luxury or frivolity. it's a product that keeps you informed, connected, lets you help others and may even keep you alive. It's in difficult times that the true character of a product shines through. the smartphone, derided, mocked and blamed for all kinds of societal ills is what we turn to first to avoid getting ill.