Khaberni - The resale markets have recently witnessed a notable rise in the number of iPhone 17 Pro Max units offered in excellent or very good condition, raising questions about whether "Apple's" flagship phone is facing a real crisis in popularity.
However, a recent report from the "SellCell" platform suggests that this trend doesn't necessarily indicate a commercial failure, but could reflect a striking paradox: the phone retains its value very strongly, thus encouraging its owners to sell it early in order to achieve the highest possible return.
Despite the increased supply in resale markets, the phone cannot be described as a failure, as it ranked fourth in the list of the world's best-selling phones last year.
Data shows that the iPhone 17 Pro Max lost only about 25.4% of its value after 145 days of its launch, compared to a 32.5% loss for the iPhone 16 Pro Max during the same time period after its release, according to a report published by "phonearena".
This difference means that owners of the newer edition can resell it at a relatively higher price, which explains why it leads the list of the most traded phones in exchange programs, ahead of the iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
According to the report, the phone's share of total replacement transactions has increased from 5.1% in November 2025 to 11.5% currently, reflecting significant activity in the resale market.
Where are users going?
The report did not specify the destinations of users after selling their devices, but the most likely probability is that they are moving to less expensive models such as the iPhone 17 Pro or the standard version of iPhone 17, or even returning to the previous generation.
Despite the hypothesis of switching to the Android system, data indicates that 19 out of 20 phones within the most traded list in replacement programs bear the "Apple" logo, with the only exception being the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra at seventeenth place.
Older devices such as the iPhone 13, iPhone 11, and iPhone XR still maintain their appeal in the used market, reflecting the strength of the brand and its devices' ability to retain their value compared to a large number of Android phones.
What does this mean for the iPhone 18 series?
The sales of the iPhone 17 series may not be affected in the short term, but the continued phenomenon of rapid resale may cause concern to "Apple" ahead of the launch of the iPhone 18 Pro Max.
Predictions suggest that the standard version of the iPhone 18 may not arrive until next year, which could put additional pressure on higher-priced models if they do not offer substantial improvements that convince users to keep them for a longer period.
Observers believe that the significant similarity between the iPhone 17 Pro Max and its predecessor may have played a role in accelerating sale decisions, which means that any significant upgrade in the next generation — without raising the prices — could quickly restore balance.
Ultimately, it seems that the phone does not suffer from weak demand, but rather from an inverse equation: a high value drives users to part with it early to realize gains, a phenomenon that may reshape the contours of the market for flagship phones in the years to come.
