Consumers are following the siren song of artificial intelligence (AI), trading in mobile devices at a record pace in exchange for ones that offer AI capabilities, according to the Assurant Q3 Mobile Trade-In and Upgrade Industry Trends Report.
The research discovered that consumers traded in $1.59 billion in devices during the period, marking the third record-breaking quarter in a row, a 46% year-over-year increase, and a 19% increase over the previous quarter.
For the first three quarters of 2025, trade-in programs have returned a total of $4.17 billion in value to consumers, according to Assurant. That is 54% more than the same period in 2024. These trade-in programs are on track to surpass last year’s record total of $4.5 billion.
Some other highlights from the mobile report:
- For the fifth straight quarter, Apple’s iPhone 13 and Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G were the brands most frequently turned-in devices from trade-in and upgrade programs.
- The top five trade-ins came from the iPhone 13 and 14 generations for the first time, replacing older models like the iPhone 11 and 12.
“This year is shaping up to break records for total value returned to consumers through trade-in programs,” Biju Nair, Assurant president of global connected living, said in a prepared statement about the mobile trade-in report.
“Consumers are trading in later-generation devices earlier to access AI-enabled features, and their embrace of more personalized experiences that newer devices deliver is powering a rapidly growing secondary market. This has created a ripple effect for affordability and sustainability as an influx of higher value devices are re-entering the ecosystem and are beginning to drive some additional emerging trends which we hope to report on in the next quarter.”
In addition to AI capabilities, consumers are seeking devices with rich data capabilities. According to a recent CTIA report, last year 132 trillion MB of mobile data was consumed. Total growth was 32 trillion MB, which marked the biggest year-over-year increase ever and was the third consecutive year of approximately 35% growth.
