Double 11 is one of the two major shopping festivals each year. While consumers shop for new phones, an increasing number of them are also opting for second-hand devices. During my research on second-hand phones, I found that domestic mobile phones indeed depreciate faster than iPhones.

Taking the 2019 iPhone 11 as an example, its second-hand price today is approximately 1000 yuan. Similarly, the 2021 Xiaomi 12S, released two years later, is currently selling for around 1000 yuan. Despite a two-year difference in launch dates, their current prices are nearly the same, clearly indicating that the Xiaomi 12S depreciates much faster than the iPhone 11.

The faster depreciation of domestic mobile phones is attributed to their quicker aging process. I currently use several phones, including the Xiaomi 10 and Xiaomi 12X. The Xiaomi 12X, released in 2021, is now three years old and shows noticeable lag in daily use, especially when switching between lighter applications like browsers and cameras. Lag is even more pronounced with heavier applications like games.

Meanwhile, I also use older iPhones such as the iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus, released in 2016 and 2017, respectively. These devices perform similarly to the Xiaomi 10 Lite Edition, released in 2020, when opening official accounts. However, they all struggle with heavier applications like games.

These results prove that the Android system is indeed more resource-intensive, while the iOS system optimizes hardware better, allowing even 8-year-old iPhones to handle lighter applications like browsers today. This results in higher residual value for iPhones, whereas slightly older domestic mobile phones are often discarded.

The faster depreciation of domestic mobile phones is also related to the faster update cycles of domestic mobile phone companies. Generally, domestic flagship phones are released twice a year, while Apple releases only one iPhone model annually. This more frequent release schedule forces domestic companies to quickly discount older models, accelerating the depreciation of their second-hand phones.

Domestic mobile phones also face competition from their own mid-range models. To capture market share, domestic mid-range phones are equipped with the same chips as high-end models but are priced 1000 yuan or more lower. This lowers the value of domestic flagship phones.

The 618 shopping festival this year revealed that domestic consumers are less enthusiastic about new domestic flagship phones. All domestic phones in the top 10 bestsellers were previous-generation Snapdragon 8G2 models, priced at around 2000 yuan, over 1000 yuan cheaper than new domestic flagship phones. None of the new domestic flagship phones made it into the top 10.

It is evident that the rapid depreciation of domestic flagship phones has led to decreasing consumer recognition, impacting sales and driving more consumers to choose iPhones, thereby increasing Apple's market share in China.

Due to the higher value retention of iPhones, many iPhone users choose to sell their devices after two or three years at a discount and then trade up to a new iPhone by adding 2000-3000 yuan. This makes the annual usage cost of iPhones lower than that of domestic phones, further boosting iPhone sales.

It is understood that the iPhone 16 has been quite popular in the Chinese market this year, with sales of iPhones increasing by 20%. Sales of the high-end iPhone 16 Pro have surged by over 40%, highlighting domestic consumers' preference for Apple in the high-end market, which is increasingly unfavorable for domestic mobile phones.