Despite ceding the first place to Samsung, Apple ranks well in consumer satisfaction surveys, with a strong second place, according to ASCI’s recent study. This also means that the majority of iPhone users likely will stick with Apple when upgrading. But, how about the first-time smartphone buyers? The most recent Consumer Intelligence Research Partners report has the details.
The picture looks slightly different in this segment of the smartphone market. As the study points out, there is different dynamic here, and it appears to prefer an Android phone over the iPhone.
The CIRP survey found that first-time smartphone owners favour the Android system relative to iOS, because 56% of the those surveyed opted for a handset running Google’s mobile OS, compared to 35% and iPhone.
“Previous smartphone owners buy Apple iPhones much more than first-time owners. Almost 50 percent of previous owners buy an iPhone, while under one-third of first-time owners buy an iPhone”, the Consumer Intelligence Research Partners report reads.
Also, the first-timers seem to have different buying patterns, spend much less than previous smartphone owners and, according to CIRP, keep their devices much longer and have lower annual income.
The big battle for first-timers and previous smartphone owners appears to be between Apple and Android, because neither BlackBerry nor Windows have any significant share in either market.
