More iPhone buyers ‘retiring’ their smartphones at slightly younger age than before

How long do iPhone owners keep their phones? According to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) data through the December 2024 quarter, over the long-term, iPhone buyers have kept their phones for a longer time. 

Except for the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the holding period steadily increased since 2014, when CIRP began tracking this data. However, in the most recent quarter, there was a slight change to that trend. 

There were more iPhone buyers retiring “younger” phones compared to earlier quarters. Specifically, 36% of iPhone buyers in the December 2024 quarter reported having their previous phone for two years or less, compared to 31% in the December 2023 quarter.

Conversely, slightly fewer buyers had a phone for three years or more (33%) or for two to three years (30%) compared to 2023. The shift from 2023 to 2024 was divided evenly between these two categories. Now, the ownership pattern for a previous phone almost exactly matches that in 2020.

“What accounts for the recent shift?” Asks CIRP. “A range of factors may help explain it, including ongoing deals from carriers and continuing incentives to upgrade a previous phone around two years after it was purchased, even for those with longer installment purchase agreements.”

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