Survey Finds Almost All Retired iPhones Have a Usable Display and Most Have Usable Battery [Chart]

Almost all retired iPhones have a usable display and most have a usable battery, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. Following the announcement of Apple's Self Service Repair program, CIRP surveyed users to examine whether the program will extend device life.

“Based on what consumers say about the condition of the old iPhones they are retiring, it seems that relatively few owners would use the Self Service Repair program to postpone their next iPhone purchase,” said Josh Lowitz, CIRP Partner and Co-Founder. “Yesterday Apple announced it will now sell repair kits, including parts and tools, to replace iPhone batteries and displays. We looked at the data on condition of the old iPhone of new iPhone buyers in the last twelve months. Clearly, Apple’s ongoing efforts to improve display durability and battery quality have paid off, even though consumers continue to complain, especially about battery life. Based on what consumers say about the condition of their old iPhones, most new iPhone buyers have more than adequately useable phones.”

“It seems battery life affects consumers more than screen condition,” said Mike Levin, CIRP Partner and Co-Founder. “14% of iPhone buyers reported needing to charge a battery in their old iPhone every few hours. Only 6% of iPhone buyers said they had a cracked screen that made the old phone unusable, while another 12% had a cracked screen that was still useable. Of course, buyers have many reasons for upgrading from an old iPhone, including processor performance or storage capacity. So, at best a small fraction of buyers are likely to postpone a new iPhone purchase by repairing an old phone through the Self Service Repair program.”


Check out the chart below for a breakdown of device condition. Do you have an iPhone that you would restore under Apple's new program? Let us know in the comments!