Indians are buying pricier refurbished phones; iPhones are leading the trend

Shifting consumer preferences around purchasing, selling, and upgrading devices are driving a notable evolution in India’s refurbished smartphone market. Driven by escalating smartphone costs, evolving replacement cycles, and a heightened appetite for high-end technology, the secondary device landscape is transforming. Consequently, more recent models are making their way into secondary sales channels faster, and consumers are showing a greater willingness to invest in higher-priced refurbished units.

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An analysis by Cashify underscores key market developments that may affect future upgrade choices, including old device valuations and the expanding influence of structured resale networks. Beyond consumer habits, these insights point toward significant prospects for the broader Indian electronics industry.

Refurbished demand moves upmarket

Cashify’s Great Indian Upgrade 2026 says refurbished phone demand grew 30.8% in 2025, while demand for devices priced above ₹45,000 increased to 17.4%. The ₹20,000 - ₹45,000 band accounted for the largest share of refurbished sales, while the sub - ₹10,000 segment declined to about 8.4% of D2C sales from 10.7% in 2024.

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Apple accounted for more than 65% of refurbished smartphone sales, with the iPhone 13 the most bought-back and purchased device. Laptops, tablets, smartwatches and other categories made up 16.7% of refurbished sales, up from 8% in 2024.

Newer devices enter resale

Mobile buybacks grew 29% year-on-year, while the average buyback value rose 34% to ₹8,573. The share of 5G devices sold to Cashify increased from 5% in 2022 to over 54% in 2025. The iPhone 13 accounted for 6.93% of buybacks and up to 15.5% of refurbished sales. iPhone 14 and 15 are beginning to follow the same path.

Seven in 10 Indians continue to hold two to three unused phones at home. Trade-ins, certified buybacks, IMEI verification and warranty-backed resale could help bring these devices back into circulation.

India eyes a bigger role

India has more than 300 mobile manufacturing units, while mobile-phone exports reached ₹2 lakh crore in FY2024-25. Under the government’s Electronics Repair Services Outsourcing pilot, Lenovo and Flex tested repairing imported electronics in India for re-export.

India generated more than 14 lakh metric tonnes of e-waste in FY2025-26, of which over 9.79 lakh metric tonnes were recycled. The report says extending device lifecycles through reuse, repair and refurbishment could help India build a global refurbishment ecosystem.