SellCell has looked into tech depreciation and created a large report revealing the least and most devalued hi-tech devices including smartphones, tablets and smartwatches.

It’s no secret that tech loses its value over time, and as new technological advances are made constantly, it can be difficult for the older kit to keep up with newer releases.

Tech depreciation is an unpredictable game – sometimes the products that lose their value the quickest are those that you’d least expect, and sometimes the underdog comes out on top in the end.

To reveal the depreciation levels of tech products throughout 2022, phone & tech trade-in comparison site SellCell has compiled a minute-by-minute device depreciation report up until the end of 2022.

SellCell has compared data from devices by Google, Samsung and Apple, alongside a range of other tech, including tablets, smartphones, games consoles and smartwatches.

2022 Biggest Winners (Devices That Have Held Most Value)

1. Smartphone: 2021 Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, depreciated by 44.6% of its MSRP by December 11th 2022.
2. Tablet: 2021 Apple iPad Pro 11 3rd Gen depreciating by only 56.7% of its value by December 2022.
3. Smartwatch: Apple Watch Series 7 45mm Aluminum, depreciated by 71.2% of its MSRP up to December 2022.
4. Games Console: Sony PlayStation 5 depreciated by 25.0% of their MSRP by December 2022.

2022 Biggest Losers (Devices That Have Lost Most Value)

1. Smartphone: Google 2016 Pixel XL, depreciated by 98.6% of its initial value by December 2022.
2. Tablet: Samsung 2018 Tab A 10.5, depreciated by 94.8% vs. MSRP by December 2022. Samsung 2021 Galaxy Tab A7 Lite, depreciated by 86.9%.
3. Smartwatch: 2020 Samsung Watch 3 45mm has lost 95.6% of its initial value by December 2022.
4. Games Console: 2019 Nintendo Switch Lite, depreciated by 65.0% of its value by December 2022. The Xbox Series S, depreciated by 53.3% of its initial MSRP.

Across most categories, Apple was the clear leader. On average, iPhone depreciation across all models was around 68.8%, having previously been 58.7% in January 2022. Similarly, the iPad has seen an average value loss of 67.9% as of December 2022.

Unfortunately for Samsung, the same can’t be said for their smartphone models, with the average depreciation across all models being around 84.2% by December 2022. In January 2022, that figure was already high at 76.4%. The Samsung tablets have similarly seen a value decrease of 84.3% by December 2022.

Similarly, Google’s line of Pixel phones have seen an average depreciation of 89.5% up until the 11th of December 2022.

Interestingly, smartwatches in general saw significant depreciation regardless of manufacturer, with Apple Watch models losing around 83.3% of their launch price, and Samsung’s smartwatches seeing a depreciation of 87.9%.

Games consoles saw the smallest depreciation levels out of all the tech compiled into the report:

• Sony PlayStation 5 (25%)
• Microsoft Xbox Series X (36%)
• Nintendo Switch (43.3%)
• Microsoft Xbox Series S (53.3%)
• Nintendo Switch Lite (65%)

COO of SellCell.com, Sarah McConomy, commented on the results of the report:

“Tech in general tends to lose its value relatively quickly, as new models of smartphones, and tablets get released all the time and each improves on the previous generation with additional features and higher specs.

“With the high demand and popularity of Apple products, it’s unsurprising to see that they’ve come out on top in most categories this year.” she said.