The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are Apple’s best-selling iPhone models to date, and now new research from UBS and Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) says Apple has sold mostly 2014 models to buyers looking to buy an iPhone during the first 30 days following the iPhone 6 launch.
FROM EARLIER: Here’s how the iPhone 6 Plus feels to someone who’s never owned a smartphone
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus accounted for 90% of all iPhone sales during the period, beating the previous pair (iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c) that accounted for 84% of consumers buying an iPhone in the first 30 days following the iPhone 5s launch, Business Insider reports.
The iPhone 6 models saw increased interest in China, according to UBS, which also found that 19% of Samsung phone owners it surveyed planned to switch to iPhone. Between the two new iPhone 6 models, the iPhone 6 Plus is slightly more popular in China, the research revealed.
“Our recent UBS Evidence Lab study complements the backward-looking CIRP work in finding impressive iPhone 6 buying intentions,” UBS wrote. “Over 40% of respondents were likely to buy an iPhone 6 in the next year with China surprisingly strong. There is clear share gain — 19% of Samsung users look to switch to Apple for their next purchase. It also found a tilt toward the 6 Plus at over half of indicated purchases. CIRP data show the smaller iPhone 6 is selling more than the 6 Plus, which we expect to continue. But due to supply shortages, we don’t know the underlying 6 Plus demand. The Evidence Lab study suggests the 6 Plus could exceed expectations, especially in Asia.”
Meanwhile, CIRP said that fewer Android users switched from Android to iPhone after the iPhone 6 was launched, with most buyers being already iPhone users.
“The vast majority of new iPhone buyers were already iPhone owners,” CIRP Partner and Co-Founder Josh Lowitz said. “Current iPhone owners accounted for over 80% of buyers after this launch, compared to less than 65% after the iPhone 5S and 5C launch in September 2013. Android owners accounted for a much smaller share of buyers immediately after this year’s iPhone launch, and with smartphones so prevalent in the US, we also saw a smaller percentage of iPhone buyers moving from basic phones.”
Ship times for the iPhone 6 models have not improved in Apple’s online stores, even though the handsets have been available in stores for almost two months. The iPhone 6 has a wait time of up to 10 days, while the bigger iPhone 6 Plus will ship in three to four weeks after purchase.
