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Smartwatches Can Lose Up to 60% of Their Value in Six Months, New Research Finds
01 Sept 2026
Wareable analysed 6,372 used smartwatch sales on eBay US and found sharp differences in resale value between brands, with Garmin leading and Samsung falling to the bottom of the table.
Smartwatches may look like long-term fitness and productivity tools, but their resale value can collapse surprisingly quickly.
New research from Wareable analysed 6,372 used smartwatch sales on eBay US and found that devices can lose between 24% and 60% of their original value within just six months.
The study shows a clear divide between dedicated sports watches and more conventional smartwatches. Garmin devices retained 69% of their original value on average, ahead of Apple at 58% and Google at around 56%. Samsung came last among the major brands analysed, with its watches retaining only around 42%.
Premium Watches Lose Less in Percentage Terms, But More in Dollars
Wareable also found an interesting split between premium and budget devices.
Budget smartwatches lost around 50% of their value after six months, while premium models lost closer to 37%.
However, premium watches started from a much higher average launch price of around $960. That means they still lost more money in absolute terms.
On average, premium watches depreciated by about $307 after six months, compared with $133 for budget watches.
For buyers, that creates a useful distinction between percentage value retention and actual money lost.
A premium watch may hold its value better on paper, but the financial hit can still be larger.
Garmin Leads the Resale Market
Garmin was the strongest major brand in the study, retaining 69% of its original price.
Conor Allison, Chief Editor at Wareable, argues that the reason comes down to how consumers value specialised sports watches.
“Dedicated sports watches are valued as durable fitness tools, while traditional smartwatches face the same challenges as other modern electronics,” he said.
Unlike more general-purpose smartwatches, Garmin devices are often bought for features such as tracking accuracy, long battery life and mapping.
Those functions tend to remain useful even when a newer model appears.
That gives specialised wearables a different depreciation profile from devices that compete more directly with smartphones and annual upgrade cycles.
Samsung Faces the Steepest Drop
Samsung ranked at the bottom of the study, with devices retaining around 42% of their launch price after six months.
Allison links that weakness to the broader dynamics of mainstream consumer electronics.
Samsung smartwatches sit closely within the smartphone ecosystem and face frequent product refreshes, promotional discounting and incremental annual upgrades.
That can put pressure on older models almost immediately.
If the newest watch is discounted heavily soon after launch, consumers have less reason to pay a premium for last year’s version on the second-hand market.
The same pressure can affect other mainstream smartwatch ranges, including Apple’s mid-tier Series devices and Google’s Pixel Watch line.
Coros Pace 4 Was the Best Individual Performer
The strongest single model in Wareable’s analysis was the Coros Pace 4.
The watch launched at $249 and resold for an average of $190 after six months, meaning it retained around 76% of its original value.
That is notable because Coros is still a relatively young brand compared with Garmin, Apple or Samsung.
The company entered the consumer wearable market in 2018 and has built a following among runners by focusing on battery life, performance and competitive pricing.
Allison described Coros as one of the more interesting brands to watch, although he also noted the smaller secondary-market sample size.
Even so, the result supports a broader pattern in the research: performance-led sports watches appear to hold their value better than more general-purpose smartwatches.
Why Smartwatches Depreciate So Quickly
The fast depreciation reflects the pace of the wearable technology market.
Smartwatch brands release new devices regularly, and even relatively small upgrades can push older models down in price.
At the same time, promotions on new devices can quickly reduce the appeal of used hardware.
This matters because smartwatches sit somewhere between traditional watches and consumer electronics.
A mechanical watch may hold value because of craftsmanship, scarcity or brand heritage. A smartwatch, by contrast, depends on software support, battery health and compatibility with a wider digital ecosystem.
That makes its value more vulnerable to product cycles.
What Buyers Should Consider
For consumers who care about resale value, the findings suggest that brand and product category matter.
Dedicated sports watches may hold their value better because buyers continue to see utility in older models. General-purpose smartwatches are more exposed to software changes, annual launches and aggressive discounting.
Price also matters.
A cheaper watch may lose a larger percentage of its value, but a premium watch can still cost more in actual depreciation.
For buyers who replace devices frequently, resale value may therefore be worth considering alongside battery life, features and ecosystem compatibility.
About the Research
Wareable’s research team analysed 6,372 used smartwatch sales on eBay US to compare resale values after six months.
The study looked at both brand-level performance and individual models across budget and premium categories.
Full report: https://www.wareable.com/news/report-smartwatches-lose-up-to-60-of-value-in-6-months
