According to a new Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) research on Apple’s launch of iPhone 6 / 6 Plus smartphones, results of which were emailed to us earlier today, a smaller percentage of iPhone buyers came from Android, as compared to the percentage coming from Google’s mobile platform after the September 2013 launch of iPhone 5s / 5c handsets.
Analysis of CIRP’s research shows that this year, 12% of iPhone buyers reported having an Android phone, compared to 23% after the iPhone launch last year. Josh Lowitz, CIRP Partner and Co-Founder noted that the vast majority of new iPhone buyers were already iPhone owners. However, he noted that Android owners did buy “more expensive iPhones, relative to the previous launch”. At the September 2014 launch, 85% of iPhone buyers that previously owned an Android phone bought the new iPhone 6 or 6 Plus.
“Current iPhone owners accounted for over 80% of buyers after this launch, compared to less than 65% after the iPhone 5S and 5C launch in September 2013. Android owners accounted for a much smaller share of buyers immediately after this year’s iPhone launch, and with smartphones so prevalent in the US, we also saw a smaller percentage of iPhone buyers moving from basic phones.”
“Former Android owners were attracted to the iPhone flagship models in greater proportion than last year’s launch,” said Mike Levin, Partner and Co-Founder of CIRP. “The addition of the flagship premium iPhone 6 Plus accentuated that improvement. If we look at the price points of the iPhones that Android owners bought, this year 59% of them bought the $649 unsubsidized price iPhone 6 compared to only 52% who bought the new similarly priced iPhone 5S in the same period last year. In addition, another 26% of former Android owners bought the $749 unsubsidized price iPhone 6 Plus.”
CIRP’s analysis is based on a survey of 300 US Apple customers who purchased an iPhone in the 30 days following the September 19, 2014 launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
