14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is not only looking to offer new devices to its existing base of customers but also to get some of the Android pie as well.
Convincing people to upgrade their current iPhone to a new one is fine and dandy, but Apple also needs to get new customers. So, they can either find some lonely people somewhere that didn’t have a phone until now or they can attract some Android users.
Of course, Apple is usually coy about publishing details about its sales, and we can only form an image when the quarterly figures are released. And even then, it’s difficult to distinguish exactly the relative numbers.
This where companies such as CIRP (Consumer Intelligence Research Partners) comes into play. A recently released report paints a very optimistic picture for Apple, at least when it comes to gathering some much need Android users.
It’s all about the iPhone XR
Apple decided to launch the 6.1-inch iPhone XR, a cheaper model than the iPhone XS series. It comes with the same Apple A12 Bionic chips as the more expensive models, but a different display. The idea was not only to offer an alternative to people that couldn’t afford a regular iPhone but also to steal some of the Android clients.
The CIRP report states that “among iPhone buyers, 82% upgraded from an iPhone, while 16% upgraded from an Android phone. At the November 2017 launch of iPhone X, 86% upgraded from an iPhone, and 11% upgraded from Android. Following the September 2017 launch of iPhone 8 and 8 Plus and before the iPhone X was available, 87% upgraded from an iPhone, while 12% upgraded from Android.”
A 4-5% increase might not sound a lot, but it’s clear that Apple’s strategy seems to be working, at least in part. But there are caveats as well. First of all, these numbers are based on a survey of 165 US Apple customers that purchased an iPhone in the US in the 30 days following the launch of iPhone XR. It’s not a big sample of people.
Secondly, there are people out there that have both an iPhone and Android, and counting them is just as difficult. The bottom line is that Apple is seeing a significant decrease in sales, and the company as most likely hit a peak, either in pricing or market saturation.