Subject- Mobility
Published
Written by Alison DeNisco Rayome
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A recent Asymco analysis determined the average lifespan of Apple devices, including iPhones, iPads and Macs.
Want to build a slide deck, pitch or presentation? Here are the big takeaways:
- The average lifespan of an Apple device is four years and three months. – Asymco, 2018
- Two out of every three devices ever sold by Apple are still in use. – Asymco, 2018
How long can you expect your Apple iPhone, iPad or Mac to last? As a recent analysis ofAsymcoTo believe, the average lifespan of all Apple products on the market between 2013 and now is four years and three months.
Mobile analyst Horace Dediu of Asymco created a formula for device lifespan based on the number of units sold versus the number of active units in use.
At Apple CEO Tim Cook's fourth-quarter investor conference, he revealed that there are 1.3 billion active Apple devices every month. This number "is the most important measure of the health of Apple's business," Dediu wrote in the analysis. “It is the most important way the company measures itself, and it is the best available tool for understanding the company's strategy.”
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This is only the second time this number has been revealed, Dediu wrote: In January 2016, Cook said there were 1 billion active devices. Dediu calculated that Apple has sold 2.05 billion units since the launch of the iPhone in 2007. If we subtract the number of active units from cumulative sales, we arrive at 750 million retired Apple units.
The average lifespan of a unit can be determined when cumulative sales equal the number of retired units, the analysis showed. Apple's total sales were 750 million in the third quarter of 2013, so Dediu estimates that the average lifespan of devices between then and now is four years and three months.
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This information is especially useful for business users who are deciding which devices will provide the most bang for their buck. It also removes customer suspicions that Apple is using planned obsolescence, as noted by our sister siteZDNet, after the company relentedlimits performanceof some iPhones in an attempt to prevent the batteries from turning off without warning.
However, ZDNet noted that this average lifespan is still just an estimate, as Apple only provided active device counts in 2016 and 2017. It's also not clear how the average lifespan is affected by the lifespan of Macs or iPads, which customers typically don't do. Not replaced as often as phones.
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Alison DeNisco Rayome
Alison DeNisco Rayome is a senior editor at CNET, leading a team covering software, apps and services. She was previously a senior editor at CNET's sister site TechRepublic.
