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iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 15 MaxPro lost 50% of its value in just 18 months - rediculous!

L

lensplay

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 15, 2023
1
25
Hi there,
I bought a brand-new iPhone 15 ProMax back in November 2023 for around $1,380, and now, in May 2025, it is only valued at $630. This is absolutely ridiculous.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my iPhone 15 ProMax, but a devaluation of more than 50% in just 18 months is just not acceptable.
Apple, with their annual and permanent releases of new devices is forcing customers to permanently purchasing new iPhones and Macs almost every year.
The iPhone 15 Plus is still available at the Mac Store, not so all the Pro models.
Maybe this will be my last iPhone Pro model I ever purchased.
My Apple History:
Since the release of the original iPhone back in 2007 I only used iPhones.
Since 1993 I exclusively used Macs, notebooks and desktops, iMacs.
But I am really getting tired of all their insane and greedy product upgrade strategy.
Good luck to all of you - and choose wisely.
 
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lensplay said:
Hi there,
I bought a brand-new iPhone 15 ProMax back in November 2023 for around $1,380, and now, in May 2025, it is only valued at $630. This is absolutely ridiculous.
Click to expand...
Where are you getting this $630 value? I suspect you can get more for it if it’s in good condition.

lensplay said:
Don’t get me wrong, I love my iPhone 15 ProMax, but a devaluation of more than 50% in just 18 months is just not acceptable.
Click to expand...
Don’t ever buy a new car then if you feel this way.


lensplay said:
Apple, with their annual and permanent releases of new devices is forcing customers to permanently purchasing new iPhones and Macs almost every year.
Click to expand...
That makes no sense. Auto makers release cars every year, but they don’t force you to buy a new one. The whole point of releasing your product updated every year is when you buy it you get the latest version.

In this annual update scenario, you got to have an iPhone 15. If Apple updated their phones every four years, for example you would’ve bought an iPhone 12. Then a few months later comes the iPhone 16. You would’ve been really upset that you just bought this phone a few months ago and now it’s old. You would only get maybe a few more years of updates. This is why they incrementally update the hardware every year.

You mentioned someone was forcing you to buy an iPhone every year? If someone’s forcing or coercing you to buy something, you need to report them to the police. At least in the USA this is illegal. Apple is not allowed to do this and your carrier is not allowed to do this either.


lensplay said:
The iPhone 15 Plus is still available at the Mac Store, not so all the Pro models.
Maybe this will be my last iPhone Pro model I ever purchased.
My Apple History:
Since the release of the original iPhone back in 2007 I only used iPhones.
Since 1993 I exclusively used Macs, notebooks and desktops, iMacs.
But I am really getting tired of all their insane and greedy product upgrade strategy.
Good luck to all of you - and choose wisely.
Click to expand...
Wait, you’re saying you had the original iPhone in 2007 and you’ve had iPhones ever since then. The iPhone has been updated annually since then. You didn’t have a problem buying iPhones for 18 years when they were releasing new ones every year but now it’s bothering you? I think you’re overthinking this. What is really bugging you?
 
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lensplay said:
Apple, with their annual and permanent releases of new devices
Click to expand...
Give me a vendor of smartphones with a longer release cycle.
And how many devices does Samsung release in a year? 12? 15?
And Chinese vendors like Xiaomi! 25? 45? More?

No one forces you to buy annually.
My sister is still using her XR and it seems it‘ll run iOS 19 for another year.

Tech products are mass market devices, just like (common) cars are. As soon as you take them out of their box (or with cars: drive of the buyers property) they‘ve already lost at least 1/3 of their value.

If you want to „invest“ in something, go and by luxury watches, not tech-toys!
 
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lensplay said:
Hi there,
I bought a brand-new iPhone 15 ProMax back in November 2023 for around $1,380, and now, in May 2025, it is only valued at $630. This is absolutely ridiculous.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my iPhone 15 ProMax, but a devaluation of more than 50% in just 18 months is just not acceptable.
Apple, with their annual and permanent releases of new devices is forcing customers to permanently purchasing new iPhones and Macs almost every year.
The iPhone 15 Plus is still available at the Mac Store, not so all the Pro models.
Maybe this will be my last iPhone Pro model I ever purchased.
My Apple History:
Since the release of the original iPhone back in 2007 I only used iPhones.
Since 1993 I exclusively used Macs, notebooks and desktops, iMacs.
But I am really getting tired of all their insane and greedy product upgrade strategy.
Good luck to all of you - and choose wisely.
Click to expand...
it was valued at $630 the second you opened the box, that's how tech works
 
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cmcbhi said:
Other reputable places will pay much more than an Apple trade-in.
Click to expand...

It also depends on what you're trading in. The Apple trade-in value for some things aren't as stingy as for iPhones. One of the reasons I went ahead and made an M1 Pro MBP to M4 Pro upgrade last year was because I was very pleasantly surprised at how much they were offering in trade-in value.

I've sold plenty of stuff on my own and have done other trade-in routes so I know I could have gotten more, but the amount they gave me easily cleared the hurdle for being enough to pass off the difference as the cost of convenience.
 
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lensplay said:
Hi there,
I bought a brand-new iPhone 15 ProMax back in November 2023 for around $1,380, and now, in May 2025, it is only valued at $630. This is absolutely ridiculous.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my iPhone 15 ProMax, but a devaluation of more than 50% in just 18 months is just not acceptable.
Apple, with their annual and permanent releases of new devices is forcing customers to permanently purchasing new iPhones and Macs almost every year.
The iPhone 15 Plus is still available at the Mac Store, not so all the Pro models.
Maybe this will be my last iPhone Pro model I ever purchased.
My Apple History:
Since the release of the original iPhone back in 2007 I only used iPhones.
Since 1993 I exclusively used Macs, notebooks and desktops, iMacs.
But I am really getting tired of all their insane and greedy product upgrade strategy.
Good luck to all of you - and choose wisely.
Click to expand...
I agreed that the price devaluation is bad but I disagree that Apple is forcing customers to purchase new phones almost every year. What don’t you hold on to your 15PM for 5 or more years instead? If you’re worried about battery health get a battery replacement. LSS Apple is not forcing you to do anything.
 
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lensplay said:
My Apple History:
Since the release of the original iPhone back in 2007 I only used iPhones.
Since 1993 I exclusively used Macs, notebooks and desktops, iMacs.
Click to expand...
All that says is that for 32 years you've been a good loyal customer and Apple does not have to do anything to earn your business. There have been some absolutely terrible offerings from Apple (especially in the 1990s), and yet you still used their products pretty much exclusively. I'm not sure why you would expect a company to prioritize your wants or needs if you constantly prove to them that you'll gladly pay them for whatever pile of electronic garbage they throw at you regardless.
 
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lensplay said:
Hi there,
I bought a brand-new iPhone 15 ProMax back in November 2023 for around $1,380, and now, in May 2025, it is only valued at $630. This is absolutely ridiculous.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my iPhone 15 ProMax, but a devaluation of more than 50% in just 18 months is just not acceptable.
Apple, with their annual and permanent releases of new devices is forcing customers to permanently purchasing new iPhones and Macs almost every year.
The iPhone 15 Plus is still available at the Mac Store, not so all the Pro models.
Maybe this will be my last iPhone Pro model I ever purchased.
My Apple History:
Since the release of the original iPhone back in 2007 I only used iPhones.
Since 1993 I exclusively used Macs, notebooks and desktops, iMacs.
But I am really getting tired of all their insane and greedy product upgrade strategy.
Good luck to all of you - and choose wisely.
Click to expand...
Not forcing customers to do anything.
 
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lensplay said:
Hi there,
I bought a brand-new iPhone 15 ProMax back in November 2023 for around $1,380, and now, in May 2025, it is only valued at $630. This is absolutely ridiculous.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my iPhone 15 ProMax, but a devaluation of more than 50% in just 18 months is just not acceptable.
Apple, with their annual and permanent releases of new devices is forcing customers to permanently purchasing new iPhones and Macs almost every year.
The iPhone 15 Plus is still available at the Mac Store, not so all the Pro models.
Maybe this will be my last iPhone Pro model I ever purchased.
My Apple History:
Since the release of the original iPhone back in 2007 I only used iPhones.
Since 1993 I exclusively used Macs, notebooks and desktops, iMacs.
But I am really getting tired of all their insane and greedy product upgrade strategy.
Good luck to all of you - and choose wisely.
Click to expand...
I suggest you try Swappa or another third-party selling site. You will get much more direct value for your device.
 
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lensplay said:
I bought a brand-new iPhone 15 ProMax back in November 2023 for around $1,380, and now, in May 2025, it is only valued at $630. This is absolutely ridiculous.
Click to expand...

Newsflash: high end consumer electronics are not assets or investments, they are tools. Or toys.

Use it to do the job you bought it for until it no longer fulfils that purpose then replace.

Given that the typical expected lifespan for a phone is 2-3 years, you're approximately 50% into that time-frame so 50% retained value sounds about right.
 
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lensplay said:
Hi there,
I bought a brand-new iPhone 15 ProMax back in November 2023 for around $1,380, and now, in May 2025, it is only valued at $630. This is absolutely ridiculous.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my iPhone 15 ProMax, but a devaluation of more than 50% in just 18 months is just not acceptable.
Apple, with their annual and permanent releases of new devices is forcing customers to permanently purchasing new iPhones and Macs almost every year.
The iPhone 15 Plus is still available at the Mac Store, not so all the Pro models.
Maybe this will be my last iPhone Pro model I ever purchased.
My Apple History:
Since the release of the original iPhone back in 2007 I only used iPhones.
Since 1993 I exclusively used Macs, notebooks and desktops, iMacs.
But I am really getting tired of all their insane and greedy product upgrade strategy.
Good luck to all of you - and choose wisely.
Click to expand...
Then leave Apple, no need to announce your departure from us. Apple will be okay without your money, they will gain another customer.
 
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630, not bad. assume apple's gross margin is around 30 % (r and d, marketing, etc costs) , add another 10 % for the retailer's costs . then you are getting about 80 % of the intrinsic value - assume 3 year depreciation to disposal value , from an accounting perspective I'd venture the number looks pretty good
 
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