During Apple’s “Q4 2014” earnings call, CEO Tim Cook mentioned a couple of times, that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus prompted the highest Android switcher rate of the past three years. CIRP has decided to look into the matter and analysed its available data since 2012.
The market research firm has found that among US iPhone buyers up to 26% switched from an Android smartphone during the analysed period. During the last quarter, however, 19% of surveyed customers were Android switchers.
As CIRP highlights, every new iPhone launch of the past three years has attracted Android switchers on a relatively consistent basis. This, however, contradicts Tim Cook’s words, so CIRP emphasizes its limitations: since it is focused on the US market, it has data from US customers only.
“In the last three ‘launch’ quarters, meaning the first full quarter after a new iPhone model launch, Android users have accounted for roughly the same share of new iPhone buyers,” said Mike Levin, Partner and Co-Founder of CIRP. “Apple CEO Tim Cook indicated the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus ‘experienced the highest Android switcher rate in any of the last three launches.’ The US switch rate for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launch did increase relative to the iPhone 5S/5C launch a year ago, and was about the same as the iPhone 5 launch in 2012.
As a result, Mike Levin, partner and co-founder of CIRO, says the higher switcher rate must come from international markets. Actually, Apple underscored the international success the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus has had, so this sounds like a reasonable explanation.
