Although the words "renovation" and "second-hand transaction" sound like a risky operation mode, many consumers still choose the refurbished old iPhone. According to relevant reports, in 2022, the global sales of refurbished smartphones increased by 5% year-on-year, among which iPhone became the most popular refurbished smartphone with a market share of 49%.
Is it cost-effective to renovate the iPhone? Is it worth buying a refurbished iPhone?
For refurbished machines, Apple official website said: You will receive a refurbished equipment, which has been thoroughly cleaned and inspected, and genuine Apple parts have been replaced as needed. Refurbished iOS devices will be equipped with brand new batteries and housings. In other words, only some parts of the refurbished iPhone can't be used normally, and there is no serious quality problem in itself. Apple officially confirmed the products that entered the recycling link, and then returned to the market after replacing genuine parts.
Refurbishing iPhone is cost-effective.
Apple's official renovation store has not launched a mobile phone category in Chinese mainland for the time being, but we can also find projects to renovate the iPhone in shopping malls in the United States, Japan and other countries. At present, only iPhone 12ProMax is on sale in the official Apple renovation store in the United States. The price of the 5 12GB version is 1009 USD, which is about 6975 yuan. We also provide one-year after-sales service of AppleCare+, and the plan for this service in China is two years 1 198 RMB. Assuming that 1 year is only worth half the price, the after-sales service provided by Apple's official renovation shop is also worth about 500 yuan.
This is Apple's official iPhone transformation project. In addition to official sales channels, Apple also has some partners around the world, such as BlackMarket, Amazon, GEEPCanada and so on. These manufacturers are consistent with Apple's official recycling process, but there are differences in sales channels and after-sales service, and their pricing is relatively free, which can meet the needs of different consumers.
Of course, if you pursue the best cost performance and don't care so much about after-sales service, you can also go to the free market to find out, and the price will be even more surprising.
At present, there are three main channels for refurbishing iPhone: official refurbishing shops, third-party refurbishing shops and free circulation markets. The first two have been officially certified by Apple and have relatively perfect after-sales service, but the disadvantage is high price; The biggest advantage of the free circulation market, that is, individual businesses or uncertified institutions, is its cheapness. Apple's officially certified refurbished equipment can basically confirm that its components come from official or officially trusted companies, such as batteries, display panels and back glass, which are relatively easy to fake. In order to reduce the maintenance cost, Apple chose a more detachable back cover glass design on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14Plus, which greatly reduced the maintenance difficulty. This also means that if these refurbished iPhone are only externally damaged, the maintenance is not difficult and the cost is not high, and the quality of the refurbished products will not be a big problem.
However, the refurbished machines of individual merchants or unauthenticated institutional merchants are still not recommended to everyone, and there is almost no guarantee.
Refurbished iPhone is still worth buying, but if you lack digital knowledge and have no habit of buying refurbished iPhone, it is still recommended to buy it from an officially certified retailer. After all, the plan to renovate the equipment is still more or less risky.
After purchasing a refurbished iPhone, users can check the machine at the first time to see if the equipment has been disassembled and replaced. It is safer to buy a refurbished iPhone.
In fact, what you want to buy is the cost performance of refurbished iPhone. Consumers can buy mobile phones with guaranteed quality and after-sales service at cheaper prices, and businesses can also dispose of these models that cannot flow into normal sales channels at preferential prices. This is a win-win solution.