iOS vs. Android Phones: U.S. Consumers Hoard $47 Billion Worth of iOS iPhones and Android Mobile Phones, Says Study
Americans have approximately $47 billion worth of unused mobile phones in their household according to a new study.
Known as the "2014 Mobile Mountain Study," SellCell.com, a mobile phone recycling price comparison in the United States (U.S.), revealed one in two consumers stated they have two or more unused mobile phones in their household. Conducted by research agency OnePoll, the study noted the average handset could be worth up to $91 when recycled online. As a result, on average, Americans could be receiving more than $160 on the old mobile phones hoarded at home.
SellCell.com estimated Americans have approximately $47 billion worth of old phones, which is a 39 percent increase based on the website's 2012 study. The $47 billion figure was calculated by multiplying the average $91 value of a mobile phone on SellCell.com by the total number of U.S. mobile phone owners per Pew Internet, which was noted at 287,924,000, along with the average number of unused phones per household -- 1.8 devices.
The "2014 Mobile Mountain Study" also estimated the differences between devices utilizing the Google Android and Apple iOS operating systems. Based on the research, SellCell.com projected Apple owners have a total worth of $14 billion iPhones hoarded while Android accounted for $16 billion.
The monetary figure for Android and iOS devices were calculated by multiplying the total U.S. population of 316.4 million by the average cost of a recycled phone -- $91 -- and the average number of devices owned by iPhone or Android owner respectively. The study noted the average iOS user have 1.97 devices unused while Android ticked slightly higher with 2.1 devices. In addition, the calculation took into account the percentage of people that owned an iPhone or Android device based on a Pew Internet study, which stood at 25 percent to 28 percent, respectively.
A reason why people kept their old phones was due to simply maintaining a spare device in case their current gadget broke. The study accounted 39.5 percent of responders used that aforementioned excuse while 36 percent responded that they "don't know what else to do" with their old phone. Approximately one in five Americans admitted to being "too lazy" to throw away their old phone, which represented 17.4 percent of responders.
"This year's Mobile Mountain study highlights how many Americans are still unaware of the money they can make by trading in their old mobile phone, which is largely due to the fact that Americans see phone recycling to be an overwhelming and time-consuming process," said SellCell.com Founder Keir McConomy.
According to the Sell.Com founder, mobile phones that were released more than two years ago, such as the iPhone 4s, are still valuable as it could be recycled for up to $110 on his website.
In regards to gender, men are more likely to trade-in their phone with 37.7 percent ready to receive cash for the recycled device or selling it in a shop. Women accounted for 28.2 percent. Women, however, are more likely to donate their old phone to a family member or friend than men with 22.5 percent to 17.8 percent, respectively.
The study polled 1,000 adults over the age of 18 in the U.S. between Jan. 31 and Feb. 2.
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