Price erosion curves for flagship smartphones available/launched over the past 18-24 months have been prepared from PriceTRAX data. Both contract and unsubsidised pricing details have been compared for the iPhone 5s, Samsung Galaxy S5, Sony Xperia Z3, LG G3, HTC One M8 and Nokia Lumia 930 up to 4 quarters from launch.

Quarterly unsubsidised price erosion for the UK has been reported in this database extract, however these charts can be created across any of the 48 countries tracked by PriceTRAX using weekly, monthly or quarterly pricing. Regional or global erosion curves can also be generated for any of the 4600 smartphones that have historical pricing data within the PriceTRAX database.

When analysing device pricing on contracts the weekly Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) has been calculated for iPhone 6 & 6+ & Galaxy S6 Flat & Edge. TCO uses the upfront device price combined with the monthly plan price, finance price (where available) and contract term. In this extract Bouygues Telecom (France) TCO has been used across 3 data allowances. In addition weekly upfront device prices have been compared for a 3GB plan from T-Mobile, Germany.

Apple’s iPhone 5s shows the lowest level of price decline at just -7% after 4 quarters from the launch price, whereas the LG G3 devalued by 35% during this time. The Sony, Samsung & LG devices showed steady price declines of 5-7% QoQ.