Android Switcher Percentage Increases
Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), today released analysis of the results from its research on Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) with the first in depth view of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus launch on September 25, 2015.
CIRP finds that 71% of iPhone buyers after the launch purchased the new iPhone 6s or 6s Plus (Chart 1). This is similar to the share of the new iPhone 5S in September 2013, when 64% of buyers bought the then-new flagship iPhone, and less than the 91% of buyers who bought a then-new iPhone 6 or 6 Plus in September 2014. The iPhone 6s Plus accounted for 37% of the sales of the new phone models, compared to 25% for the iPhone 6 Plus in September 2015.
Chart 1: iPhone Model Purchased Within 30 Days of iPhone Launch (last three launches)
The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus launch went reasonably well. The share of new phones exceeded the 5S launch, but didn't quite approach that of the 6/6 Plus launch, when Apple finally introduced the larger screen models. Importantly, in the most recent launch, the percent of new model buyers opting for the Plus model increased measurably over the 6/6 Plus launch. This migration to the higher price point model, combined with a move toward greater storage capacities, we expect 6s/6s Plus launch to boost Apple ASPs and margins nicely.
Android owners accounted for a larger share of iPhone buyers after the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus launch (26%) compared to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launch (12%) (Chart 2). Android owners accounted for a similar percentage of iPhone buyers (23%) at the iPhone 5S launch.
Chart 2: Previous Operating System of iPhone Buyers (last three launches)
The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus launch attracted a greater percentage of Android owners compared to a year ago. This says a little more about the very hot iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launch, which motivated more iPhone upgrades than in previous years. The share of buyers coming from the Android platform for this launch more resembles the long-term trend in Android and iOS switching.
CIRP bases its findings on its survey of 300 US Apple customers, surveyed from October 27-November 12, 2015, that purchased an iPhone in the 30 days following the September 25, 2014 launch of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus models. For additional information, please contact CIRP.