The share of Apple’s iPhone Plus models is gradually growing compared to “regular size” iPhones, according to a new report.
Research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners notes that the percentage of iPhone customers who bought the larger iPhone 6s Plus in its first 30 days on sale increased to 37 percent, up significantly from the 25 percent who bought the iPhone 6 Plus.
While I’m sure a certain percentage of customers for the iPhone 6s Plus will be iPhone owners who took the extra year to get used to the idea of a larger phone, today’s report notes that the number of Android switchers is higher than ever with the 6s.
Specifically, Android owners accounted for 26 percent of iPhone buyers after the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus launch, compared to 12 percent for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launch.
Despite the fact that Android phablets have existed for a number of years, this suggests that — as we wrote at the time of the iPhone 6 launch — Apple picked just the right moment to jump into the growing phablet market. As IDC has noted, phablet sales at the end of 2014 were predicted to grow more than any other smartphone, tablet or PC category over the next four years. Today’s new study suggests that prediction is well on its way to coming true.
Today’s iPhone study from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners also says 71 percent of iPhone buyers following the iPhone 6s launch were persuaded to buy Apple’s latest handset — a number roughly comparable with the 64 percent of iPhone purchasers who bought the iPhone 5s when it was new, although it’s down from the 91 percent who bought the iPhone 6.