Did you know that there’s a multi-billion dollar market for cracked iPhone repairs?

It’s crazy to think just how many consumers experience that sinking feeling when their iPhones hit the ground and they pick it up to find a cracked screen.

With all the hype that’s been building, it feels like we’ve been waiting for the 10th anniversary iPhone for years. But now that we’ve entered Q3, iPhone 8 (and the 10th anniversary event) is almost upon us.

Each quarter, we analyze data regarding mobile device trade-ins. Our data includes the most-traded devices, an analysis of devices that return the highest trade-in values, the amount of money returned to consumers in the United States, and more.

When you think of a used smartphone, you probably picture a mobile collecting dust in the back of a drawer. Something that is only brought back to life to tide you over when your current device is broken or lost, or as a hand-me-down to a friend or relative in need. But used smartphones shouldn’t just be destined for the drawer.

The unresponsive touchscreen, a flash of light and then the black screen: all things a mobile phone owner has experienced at the death of a device.

Those little signs of a phone losing life fill any technology addict with utter despair as they swing between “I hope it just run out of battery” to the realization they might have to replace it.

April is Earth Month, but a concerted effort on recycling mobile devices would make every month Earth Month.

For nearly a decade, Big Box Retailers like Best Buy and Walmart have been aggressively pursuing mobile phone sales. At this point, smartphones make up a significant portion of revenue.

Insurance is a big part of the mobile ecosystem. In 2013, Warranty Week estimated that more than 60%-66% of smartphones were insured through a protection plan.

Earlier this year, Market Reports Hub estimated the global mobile phone insurance market to be nearly $31B in revenue by the end of 2015.

Consumers think the mobile trade-in process ends when they get their cash or credit towards a new device; but service providers know there’s more to it – especially at the back end.

For nearly 50 years, we’ve come together as a global community to celebrate Earth Day. It may not seem like much, but it’s at least one day when we can unglue ourselves from our electronic devices and focus more on the environment.