Trade-ins running up to the release of a new iPhone aren't news. But for the first time, the release of the Samsung Galaxy S Android smartphone, the Galaxy S4, prompted a similar, albeit smaller, dump of phones, including iPhones.
"Traditionally, we only see the iPhone have such a drastic impact on trade-ins," Colin White, managing director for phone trade-in site SellCell, said in a statement. "It is very interesting to note that the Samsung launches are starting to carry the same type of weight."
Trade-ins peaked during the first week of the S4's availability when just two of the four major carriers, AT&T and Sprint, began selling the phone. Total smartphone trade-ins on SellCell.com increased 161 percent from the same time last year, and the trade-ins weren't just from owners of older Galaxy series phones. In fact, iPhone trade-ins for this week increased 137 percent, SellCell said. [See also: Samsung Galaxy S4 Hands-on ]
When the S4 finally hit the shelves of Verizon two weeks later, trade-ins jumped again. During Verizon's first week with the S4, 75 percent more phones were traded through SellCell. And a flood of iPhones were included in the mix, nearly twice the increase as that seen during the AT&T and Sprint release.
However, it's all relative. While trade-ins for the S4 were significantly higher than for last year's S3, even the popular Galaxy series has a way to go to catch up to iPhone. Last year, trade-ins around the iPhone 5 surged 725 percent, a spokeswoman for the company told TechNewsDaily.
Can Apple keep up the pace with its next iPhone release, widely anticipated for this fall, or will those that have already jumped ship for an S4 prevent a repeat performance?
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