MWC 2025: Smartphone users upgrade devices faster as AI cranks up

The latest Assurant study of the secondary device market has found that across 2024 as a whole, artificial intelligence (AI) is potentially emerging as a higher priority in consumers’ decisions to upgrade devices in 2025, as newer, 5G-capable smartphones became the top turned-in devices in the second half of 2024.

According to Assurant’s 2024 mobile trade-in and upgrade industry trends report, which incorporates data from its Device IQ analytics platform, as well as broader industry insights, consumers who turned in their devices in 2024 received greater value from trade-in programmes, with US consumers receiving a total of $4.5bn in value, a 5% increase compared with 2023.

Analysing trends across the 12-month period, the data showed that in the first quarter of the year, consumers were holding onto their devices longer than in the previous quarter, with the average age of turned-in devices exceeding 3.6 years. Drilling deeper, there was also a shift in Android device age after the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy 24, going from 3.67 years in the first quarter to 3.38 in the third quarter. Similarly, the average age of Apple iPhones reached 3.78 years in the second quarter, declining to 3.63 years in the fourth quarter on the launch of the iPhone 16. 

The analyst suggested that the reduction in average age coinciding with AI-enabled device launches could indicate “early adopters” turning in newer generation 5G devices for the latest AI-enabled smartphones.

For 2024 overall, there was a noticeable shift in most turned-in devices. The study found that while the iPhone 11 remained the most frequently turned-in device from trade-in and upgrade programmes for the year, it was overtaken in the second half of the year by the iPhone 13. For the second consecutive year, the Samsung Galaxy S21 was the most turned-in Android device. However, the Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G became the second most turned-in Android device for the year and the top Android model traded in during the second half.

As AI starts to deliver meaningful capabilities and more devices become available, we may see more consumers trading in their newer 5G smartphones to take advantage of emerging AI-enabled capabilities

Assurant noted that its Connected consumer trend report revealed that nearly half of US consumers expect their next smartphone to support AI features, services and tools, with roughly 20% considering AI to be “very important” to their purchase decision.

It added that with nearly 11% of US consumers reporting a recent upgrade and approximately 16% planning to upgrade within the next six months, as many as a third of US consumers are expected to own an AI-enabled device by mid-year.

Moreover, Assurant noted that when data from its “connected decade” research is combined with the notable decline in the average age of Apple and Android devices turned in through trade-in and upgrade programmes towards the latter half of the year, it appeared that demand for the new generation of AI-enabled devices could accelerate upgrade cycles.

“At the beginning of 2024, consumers prioritised getting the most out of their existing devices, but with major advancements in AI, and trends we are seeing in terms of device age towards the end of the year, that may be shifting,” commented Biju Nair, president of global connected living and international at Assurant.

“Though it is still too early to tell, as AI starts to deliver meaningful capabilities and more devices become available, we may see more consumers trading in their newer 5G smartphones to take advantage of emerging AI-enabled capabilities,” he added.