In its earnings call on Wednesday for the second quarter of its fiscal year 2014, Apple revealed that more than two out of three cheap iPhone buyers are switching over from Android, highlighting the move as a success for the company. Apple’s Tim Cook said that on the quarter, 62% of iPhone 4s buyers and 60% of iPhone 5c buyers ditched Android smartphones to purchase an iPhone.
The more than two-year-old iPhone 4s was a hot seller for Apple during the period, and even though the company did not say how many iPhone 4s units it sold out of the total 43 million iPhone sales during the period. Apple’s CFO Luca Maestri said that Apple’s partnership with China Mobile and iPhone 4s sales were the top drivers for Apple’s record iPhone quarter.
Cook also said that in certain markets, 85% of first-time iPhone buyers chose an iPhone 4s, while in some markets 69% of first-time iPhone buyers got the newer iPhone 5c.
Even though the mix of older iPhone models drove iPhone average selling prices down by over $40 during the period, the company seems more than happy to be adding customers no matter what iPhone model they choose. Interestingly, the company also sold a number of iPhone 4 units during the period, likely in India – according to Cook, iPhone 4 sales were in the single digit percentage of available iPhone mix.
“If we can get them in on the entry iPhone, it gives them a great product at a great value and gets them into the ecosystem,” Cook said about the iPhone 4s.
And the ecosystem is quite strong, with Apple revealing that it currently has 800 million iTunes accounts and that most of them have registered a credit card. Furthermore, Apple said its App Store generated 85% more revenue than Google Play in Q2, with app downloads reaching the 70 billion mark.
