What is a Refurbished Phone?
And when we say refurbished phones or reconditioned smartphones, we mean used phones that customers have returned to the company that made them, with the aim of replacing them with the latest version or because they suffer from a manufacturing defect, so that after that the company renews them and corrects the malfunctions they suffer from, and replaces their damaged components with new ones, then you put them on sale at a cheaper price than new phones.
The category of refurbished phones also includes phones that have been offered by manufacturers’ agents and tested by customers before purchase because after a period of time companies renew them and resell them at a cheaper price than the refurbished ones. new phones.
Generally, the price of refurbished smartphones is between 20 and 30% cheaper compared to the prices of new phones.
iPhone vs. Samsung race
And iPhone phones were able to sweep refurbished phone sales in 2022, achieving a growth rate of 16%, compared to sales in 2021, taking a 49% share of this market, so Samsung has ranked second with its acquisition of a 26% share, up from a 28% share in 2021, according to a report by Counterpoint Research, a market research firm.
‘Oppo’ and ‘Vivo’ phones ranked third in refurbished phone sales in 2022, with a 3% share for each of the two brands, while ‘Huawei’ came in fourth with a share 2%, and the remaining 17%. was shared by the rest of the phone manufacturers in the world.
India was the top selling country for refurbished smartphones, followed by Latin American countries, while sales of this category of phones in China fell by 17%.
In the past year, 120 million refurbished phones have been sold.
Information technology engineer Muhammad Shami said in an interview with “Sky News Arabia Economy” that the figures mentioned in the Counter Point Research report relate exclusively to the sales of smartphones that have been recovered and refurbished. by their manufacturers, which is referred to when sold as “refurbished”, which is completely different from used phones that do not undergo a renewal process in the company, pointing out that more than 120 million refurbished smartphones were sold in 2022.
According to Shami, the reason why iPhones account for around 50% of refurbished phone sales in 2022 is due to controls imposed by Apple on the renewal process of these phones, which ensure that the user gets a semi-new phone. , guaranteed for one year and cheaper, from 15%, indicating that any phone renewed by Apple receives a new battery and a new external structure, and is equipped with all accessories, cables and the latest operating systems, because all of these play a role in making many users feel like they are dealing with a great deal.
Shami adds that the quality of refurbished phones currently sold in the market ranges from good to very good, while refurbished iPhone phones can be said to be similar to new phones in terms of quality, and that is which encourages users to buy them, pointing out that Apple is currently offering and through its website, the refurbished iPhone 12 Pro Max with a storage capacity of 512 GB is priced at $ 1,000, while the price of this phone is $1300 if new, which means the user can save around $300.
Why the demand for refurbished phones?
According to Shami, the difficult economic situation in the world during the year 2022 has contributed to customer demand to buy refurbished phones, especially in emerging economies like India, Brazil, Mexico and China, in addition to how users think in those countries. accepts the idea of getting a refurbished phone, which may not be acceptable to the rest of the population, especially the wealthy, as they prefer their phones to be completely new, emphasizing that this market will continue to grow in 2023 and the following years.
Shami concludes his speech to “Sky News Arabia Economy” by highlighting that various smartphone manufacturers are working hard to increase levels of trust in refurbished phones, especially in light of the growing trend towards environment, such as refurbishing the phone instead of manufacturing it reduces the percentage of carbon emissions, including up to 70%, and also reduces the use of raw materials.
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