Over the past few years, one of the hallmarks of Apple’s strategy to boost iPhone sales has been to actively convince Android users to make the switch over to iOS. All told, it’s been a solid strategy given that iPhone owners, historically speaking, have tended to be more loyal to Apple than Android owners are to whatever brand of smartphone they happen to be using.
That said, the dynamics that govern the smartphone market are always changing. Rules of thumb that may have applied 5 years ago, for example, may be completely different today. As a prime example, the notion that iPhone users upgrade their devices en masse every two years has been completely turned on its head. These days, iPhone users are hanging onto their devices for upwards of four years before upgrading.
In light of that, and with the launch of Apple’s iPhone 11 lineup just around the corner, it’s perhaps a good time to re-examine just how loyal iPhone users are relative to their Android counterparts, especially given how compelling some of the flagship handsets are from the likes of Samsung and Google.
Tackling this issue, SellCell recently surveyed 2066 smartphone owners and came away with some interesting data points.
First off, iPhone users remain as loyal as ever, with the survey finding that 90.5% of current iPhone owners plan to stick with Apple the next time they upgrade. Samsung users, meanwhile, are also quite loyal. Specifically, 86% of Samsung owners plan to stick with the brand the next time they purchase a new smartphone.
Interestingly, though not terribly surprising, 21% of iPhone owners indicated that they’d be more likely to consider Android but for the fact that they’re already too tied into the iOS ecosystem.
As to the 9.5% of iPhone owners looking to embrace Android, the main reason centers on better technology pertaining to items like camera quality and battery life. A secondary factor cited by these users is affordability.
Another group of users loyal to their brand is Google Pixel users, with 84% of users indicating that they intend to stick with Google for their next smartphone purchase.
With iPhone, Samsung, and Google users exhibiting impressive brand loyalty, the same can’t be said for LG and Motorola smartphone users. Tellingly, nearly 40% of current LG and Motorola users are planning to switch to another handset manufacturer when it’s time for them to upgrade.
The main takeaway from this data, I think, is that users are simply loyal to devices that provide best-in-class user experiences. And if we’re being honest, it’s no secret that devices from Apple, Google, and Samsung are simply head and shoulders above devices from the likes of Motorola and LG.
As a final point of interest, it doesn’t seem that Apple delaying its adoption of 5G until 2020 has had much of an impact on iPhone loyalty.
