With Apple getting ready to debut two new iPhones on September 10th, the question of how many upgrades it can coax out of its current user base is one of many quandaries that will take center stage in the coming weeks. As it turns out, new findings released as part of a recent study by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners have provide good news for Apple. According to CIRP, iPhone users are still the most loyal smartphone owners out there despite Android’s rapid rise. The firm’s study found that 81% of iPhone owners who upgraded to new phones between July 2012 and June 2013 bought another iPhone. That compares to 68% of Android users who stayed in Google’s camp when upgrading, AllThingsD reported. Apple will undoubtedly do its best to keep that loyalty figure high when it launches the new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C on September 20th.
“We think loyalty is product of comfort with a platform that meets a consumer’s needs, and the belief that platform will continue to meet their needs better than any other,” CIRP co-founder Josh Lowitz said. “For a ‘loyal’ iOS user, there is no question, the next iPhone will create a satisfying ownership experience. For a ‘loyal’ Android user, there is uncertainty about brand switching and the different features that each manufacturer brings, so even a loyal Android user faces an open market with a new set of decisions.”
His colleague Michael Levin added, “The fragmentation among Android devices has two sides to it. It does create an environment where buyers are less loyal generally, at least to a brand of phone, which probably does extend to operating system to an extent. Yet it also allows buyers to move among hardware brands,and yet stay within the Android ecosystem.”
