Study: iPhone 5S Demand Still Strong 6 Months Into Product Cycle

Gene Munster, managing director and senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray, found that the iPhone 5S is still in strong demand, even though rumours of a new iPhone are in full gear.

The analyst conducted a survey on over 1,000 consumers about which smartphone they would be likely to purchase in the next three months. The results found that the iPhone 5S remains on top, despite the likely release of a new model later this year, which may contain a larger display.

Out of all the consumers who are looking to purchase a smartphone within the next three months, 39 percent of them expect to purchase an iPhone 5S. However, only 6 percent expect to purchase an iPhone 5C, which may signal less interest for Apple’s lower cost smartphone. Munster said:

“Of those consumers looking to purchase a smartphone, 39% expect to purchase an iPhone compared to 44% in Dec-13 and 50% in Sep-13 (immediately after the iPhone 5S launch). We believe the positive news from our survey is that the iPhone 5S seems to be holding its ground well even though we are approaching six months in age (half life in terms of timeline to the next launch). 33% of smartphone buyers expect to buy an iPhone 5S vs 35% in Dec-13. However, the iPhone 5C seem to be fading from its already lower position in consumers’ minds as only 6% of buyers intend to buy a 5C vs 9% in Dec-13. We remain comfortable with our 37.5 million iPhone unit estimate (flat y/y) for March.”

Canaccord Genuity’s T. Michael Walkley increased his target price for Apple stock to $600, which is up from $570. Walkley says:

“In fact, our February wireless store surveys indicated the iPhone 5s was still the most aspirational smartphone and the top selling device in the U.S. and in many international markets despite seasonally slower sales trends.”

Both analysts have shown that the iPhone 5S, even though it is almost six months into its lifecycle, is still very popular among consumers.

Today, Apple announced CarPlay which allows iPhone users to control various aspects of their phone directly from the car’s in-dash displays. The new service only works with lightning-enabled iPhone models, which could help increase the iPhone 5S’ popularity even more.

[via Barron’s]