Interest in Apple’s latest handsets is nearing an all-time low in the United States. A survey among customers with three of the largest carriers reveals the number of iPhone owners who plan to upgrade to a new iPhone is down more than seven percent.
Apple holds onto customers better than any other smartphone vendor. Services like iMessage, the App Store, and the iPhone Upgrade Program keep customers locked into the Apple ecosystem. But despite the arrival of the most exciting iPhone in years, that trend seems to be changing.
Interest in iPhone is falling
Cowen’s latest quarterly survey of smartphone customers has found that just 80.5 percent of AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint iPhone users plan to get another iPhone when their next upgrade is due.
That’s still a pretty high percentage, but it’s actually one of the lowest Cowen has seen since it started carrying out this survey in 2013. For instance, when asked the same question in the previous quarter, 87.6 percent of iPhone owners said they planned to upgrade to another Apple handset.
The results follow countless reports from Apple analysts who have warned that sales of iPhone X will be lower than previously anticipated. Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities last week slashed his shipment forecast for the current quarter to 18 million units.
That’s significantly fewer than the 20 million to 30 million units analysts previously predicted.
iPhone X’s price tag is still a problem
Cowen attributes this decline in interest to the price of iPhone X, and underwhelming improvements in the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. It also suggests that U.S. customers are simply satisfied with their handsets for longer and don’t feel a need to upgrade as frequently as they once did.
A surprising 34 percent of respondents said they plan to hold onto their existing phone for two or more years, which is a significant jump from 23 percent just a few years ago.
That could have something to do with the fact that smartphones are so powerful now, they work perfectly well for several years. It could also have something to do with the fact that those who can’t afford to spend $1,000 on iPhone X don’t see a need to upgrade to iPhone 8, which offers little extra.
Via: Fierce Wireless
Killian Bell is a freelance writer based in the U.K. He has an interest in all things tech and also covers Android over at CultofAndroid.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell.
4 responses to “What supercycle? Interest in latest iPhones nears all-time low”
That happens with any maturing technology.
I think alot of this is in 2017 was the last year we really had contracts with AT&T. Everyone was used to paying their cell phone bill and every 2 years give apple $200 and get a new iphone. This was the first full year of pay full price for it and finance it with your carrier or apple. Realizing we always basically paid full price for the iphone thru our cell phone bill is something people dont really see from the past. They just know they are saving more on their bill now but have to pay $1000 for the X. It all is about equal but hard to get peoples minds to wrap around that change.
I wouldn’t mind the price if it had more /better features. Eg. Family purchases need to be approved with your password, face ID doesn’t work for that.
A premium device has to be premium on all levels not just the design and screen technology.
My 6se does everything I need to do very well. As noted below, he technology is mature. And my bill is lower.