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Study: Apple Maps not affecting iPhone 5 demand
ChangeWave Research and 451 Research surveyed 4,270 North American consumers in September 2012 and found that 32 percent were either somewhat likely (13 percent) or very likely (19 percent) to buy an iPhone 5 despite the recent negative press, says a report in AppleInsider. Most consumers are apparently shrugging off any issues with the iPhone 5. ChangeWave's vice president of Research Dr. Paul Carton said, "Despite the media attention surrounding both the Apple Maps issue and the Apple Lightning port issue, neither has had an impact on the massive numbers of buyers queuing up to buy the iPhone 5. Rather, the survey results show both issues hardly rank as bumps in the road." Recent complaints about the iPhone 5 have centered on legacy accessory compatibility with the new Lightning port and problems with Apple's new Maps app. Surveyed interest in the iPhone is up from last year when the iPhone 4S debuted. A similar survey conducted in October 2011 showed that only 10 percent of consumers were very likely to buy a 4S, while 11.5 percent were somewhat likely. The iPhone 4S turned out to be a very successful product for Apple, and these new survey results bode well for sales of the iPhone 5. [Via AppleInsider]
Daily Update for July 23, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Daily Update for June 5, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Apple iPad dominates the tablet market in the US, Kindle Fire slips
A ChangeWave survey from May shows the iPad maintaining its dominance in the US tablet market. A survey of 2,893 consumers shows that 73 percent of people who plan to buy a tablet within the next 90 days will get an iPad, while only 8 percent want a Kindle Fire. The only other tablet with some consumer interest is the Samsung Galaxy Tab which was on the wish list for only 6 percent of respondents. Not only is the Kindle Fire trailing the iPad, its demand has been gradually falling since launch. The Fire started out hot in November 2011 with 22 percent of tablet customers planning to buy the tablet and dropped precipitously to 7 percent by March 2012. ChangeWave also notes that the Kindle Fire only has a 41 percent "Very Satisfied" rating compared to 81 percent for new iPad owners.
Demand for the iPhone 4S still high six months after its release
A recent ChangeWave survey suggests demand for the iPhone 4S is still high six months after the handset launched. ChangeWave surveyed 4,413 consumers and 56 percent of future smartphone buyers say they plan on purchasing an iPhone. This is up two percentage points from a previous survey conducted in December 2011. During this same period, demand for Samsung's phones stayed the same while Motorola slipped one percentage point. [Via Fortune 2.0]
ChangeWave: 98% of iPad owners satisfied with device
I love my new iPad and it appears that I am not alone. A March 22-28 Changewave survey of 200 new iPad owners shows that 98 percent are satisfied with their device and zero percent is very dissatisfied. Most users (82 percent) are very happy with their tablet and only a small percentage (two percent) are somewhat unsatisfied. Not surprisingly, the feature most people (75 percent) like about the new iPad is the retina display. [Via The Loop]
Survey: iPads the choice of 84% of companies buying tablets
Apple's going to need to keep those supplier factories in China running 24/7 just to meet the demand from corporate buyers. A new ChangeWave Research survey of 1,604 corporate buyers shows that not only are about one in five companies planning on purchasing tablets for employees, but of those companies a whopping 84 percent say that they plan to purchase iPads. That last number is up seven percent from the previous survey, which was done in November of 2011. With the Apple number going up, logically the share for other manufacturers will be declining. ChangeWave's numbers show that the percentage of companies planning to purchase tablets made by Apple arch-rival Samsung is a distant 8 percent. The results are even worse for companies like Lenovo and Motorola, which are the choice of only 2 percent of respondents respectively. ChangeWave also asked the corporate buyers which wireless data carrier they planned to use for the new tablets. The results were split nearly 50-50, with 30 percent of respondents hitching their tablets to the AT&T wagon and 29 percent following the Verizon path. Only 4 percent said they'd choose Sprint -- which doesn't currently carry the iPad -- and 11 percent said they'd forego a wireless plan. The rest of the respondents? They really weren't sure. [via The Loop]
Daily Update for January 10, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
Survey finds iPhone demand still strong in North America
The iPhone 4S launched several months ago, and demand remains strong says a new survey from ChangeWave. The December 2011 survey asked customers if they were buying a new smartphone in the next 90 days and which handset they would choose. Similar to previous surveys, the iPhone was the top choice, chosen by a majority (54%) of the respondents. The runner-ups were Samsung and Motorola which grabbed 13% and 7% of shoppers, respectively. The iPhone has slipped a bit, and Samsung has gained some ground since the September 2011 survey. This isn't a sign that Apple is losing its appeal; it's just the natural flow of product launches. ChangeWave surveyed customers in September, just before the launch of the iPhone 4S. People were eager for Apple's new phone and waiting to buy it. In December, the fervor died down and demand dropped slightly. Samsung, however, launched its flagship phone, the Galaxy Nexus in the US in mid-December. Demand climbed because the phone was brand new. It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming months. Apple will continue to provide the 4S, while Samsung will likely reveal a range of handsets at both CES in January and Mobile World Congress in February. Samsung won't surpass Apple in the coming months, but its string of phones could take another percentage point or two from Apple. Of course, Apple will recoup these points when it introduces the iPhone 5. [Via GigaOM]
Daily Update for December 1, 2011
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
Survey shows Steve Jobs' absence not deterring Apple's customers
A ChangeWave survey suggests Steve Jobs' resignation as CEO of Apple will have little impact on the future sales of Apple hardware. Between September 6 and 12, ChangeWave surveyed 2,297 respondents and found that only 4% of people would be less likely to buy Apple products now that Jobs is gone. 89% said Jobs' resignation will have little to no effect on their future purchasing decisions. These results are not surprising at this point.The iPhone and iPad are market leaders and the rest of Apple's product lineup is robust. And it's not like Jobs has completely left the company, he is still actively involved in Apple as Chairman of the Board. It's a change for Apple, but not the end of Apple. As Jobs wrote in his resignation letter, "Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it." [Via CNet]
iPhone growth moving towards Android in US
Things are looking wonderful for Apple's iPhone these days, according to a study of US smartphone buyers by ChangeWave. The study results show that of Americans expecting to buy a smartphone in the next 90 days, 46 percent are planning to get an iPhone while only 32 percent are thinking about an Android phone. This shows that the demand for iPhones is highest ever for a non-launch period, second only to the launch of the iPhone 4 last year when a full 50 percent said they'd go with an Apple product. ChangeWave speculates that the introduction of the Verizon iPhone is what caused the change. At the end of 2010, demand for Android and iPhone was about even; once the Verizon iPhone hit the market, interest in Motorola's Droid phones waned. Other fun facts from the ChangeWave study show that iCloud has the attention of both existing Apple owners and others; that about 70 percent of iPhone owners are very satisfied with their device, compared to a dismal 26 percent for RIM/BlackBerry owners; and that Windows Phone 7 is showing remarkably good satisfaction levels (about 57 percent). The results of the ChangeWave study could be a foretaste of tomorrow's Apple financial call, which will probably divulge spectacular numbers for iPhone and iPad sales for the last quarter.
Survey says AT&T drops more calls than Verizon, these bar charts don't lie
Wondering which carrier you should buy your iPhone on? There's a survey for that. ChangeWave Research has released the results of a poll that hit 4,068 users distributed across Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint. Among those four, VZW came out ahead when it comes to dropped calls, with 1.4 percent of respondents indicating they'd received one in the past three months. AT&T, meanwhile, came in last with 4.6 percent. If you look only at the iPhone 4 users the numbers change a little, 1.8 percent vs. 4.8, but the conclusion stays the same. No, this conclusion sadly will not get you around your ETF, but maybe making a pouty face at the AT&T store will help. Update: AT&T let us know it has some doubts about these results. We're not statisticians but we will, out of fairness, link over to this GWS survey from last year that showed 98.59 percent success rate for non-dropped calls. How do your numbers compare?
Verizon iPhone 4 owners report fewer dropped calls than AT&T customers
ChangeWave conducted a survey of 4,068 wireless customers to determine the difference between Verizon iPhone owners and AT&T iPhone owners. The survey was completed on March 28, and it takes into account Verizon owners' initial response to the iPhone's performance on the CDMA network. The results show that, overall, Verizon iPhone owners are equally as satisfied as their AT&T counterparts with 82 percent of Verizon owners and 80 percent of AT&T owners reporting they are very satisfied with their current service. Dropped calls on the two carriers differed greatly with AT&T iPhone customers reporting up to 4.8 percent of dropped calls and Verizon customers coming in with a much lower 1.8 percent. Over the two-year survey, Verizon's overall dropped call rate has decreased from 2.7 percent in 2008 to 1.4 percent in March 2011. AT&T, on the other hand, has shown an increase from 3.6 percent in 2008 to the current 4.6 percent in March 2011. This 4.6 percent is encouraging and shows that AT&T is trying to address this problem. Though its dropped call rate is higher than 2008, this rate is slowly falling down from a high of 6 percent reported by AT&T iPhone owners in September 2010. [Via AppleInsider]
Up to 20% of iPad owners expected to upgrade
Mike Abramsky, a technology analyst for RBC Capital Markets, predicts up to 20% of the original iPad's buyers will upgrade to the iPad 2 over the next 12 months. But Abramsky suggests the number of customers upgrading to iPad 2 will be eclipsed by buyers new to the platform. With over 15 million units sold since launching last April, the original iPad is considered to be one of the most successful technology product launches in history. Abramsky, like many analysts, expects the iPad 2 to outperform its predecessor from day one. His predictions indicate Apple will sell at least 500,000 units of the iPad 2 this weekend and 28 million units before the end of 2011. These numbers suggest Apple will welcome at least 25 million new iPad customers in the coming months. Customers bought approximately 300,000 iPads on its first day of availability in April, 2010, and analysts are expecting almost twice as many to sell over the next few days.
Survey finds customers confident in Apple without Steve Jobs
If Steve Jobs were to step down as the CEO of Apple, what effect -- if any -- would it have on the likelihood of buying Apple products in the future? Research firms RBC Capital Markets and ChangeWave asked Apple customers this question in a survey conducted between January 31 and February 9. Of the 3,091 respondents, 84% said Steve Jobs departing Apple would have no impact on their buying decisions, and only 7% said they would be less likely to purchase Apple products. The new results are a notable change from a similar survey completed in June 2008. In the 2008 survey, 18% of respondents expressed a lower interest in buying from Apple if Steve Jobs left the company. On January 17, Apple announced Jobs would take his third leave of absence for medical reasons, igniting new concerns among investors and fans about the future of Apple without Jobs at the helm. This past week, Apple shares tumbled about 7% after new worries about the CEO's health began to circulate. Analyst Mike Abramsky suggests this survey shows that Apple may be bigger than its CEO; that Apple isn't just about Jobs anymore. "Consumers have had 3 years to evolve their perception of the Apple brand around its creative new products, cutting edge innovation, iTunes/App Store ecosystem and premium quality positioning -- beyond the buying pull of Apple's iconic CEO," Abramsky said. When Steve Jobs took a medical leave of absence in 2009, customers watched Apple perform successfully with Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook running the company. The company's stock rose 144%, revenue grew by 20%, and Apple shipped 25 million iPhones. This success seems to have boosted customer confidence in Apple. Does Apple lose its bite without Steve Jobs at the helm and become just another technology company? Will you continue to buy Apple products if he leaves? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
AT&T could lose 26% of iPhone customers, study suggests
With Verizon picking up the iPhone 4 in the US, market research firm ChangeWave decided to see just how much of an impact the new carrier would have on AT&T. The result of a survey of over 4,000 U.S. consumers shows that a whopping 26 percent of respondents said that they would drop AT&T for Verizon. 42 percent of the folks who say they're going to move to VZW say that they're tired of the poor reception they get on the AT&T network, while 27 percent stated that dropped calls were the reason. Paul Carton, director of research at ChangeWave, noted that AT&T's current "churn rate" -- the number of subscribers who say they are planning to change carriers in the next 90 days -- is at an all-time high of around 15 percent at this point. Only last June, that rate was at about 9 percent. Verizon's churn rate is only about 4 percent by comparison. ChangeWave did find a sliver lining to AT&T's cloudy future, as the carrier has improved the rate at which it drops calls. Only 4.7 percent of AT&T subscribers reported a dropped call in the last 90 days, down from 6 percent back in September of 2010. TUAW would like to perform its own market research with our awesome readers, so we'd like to know if current AT&T iPhone customers are planning on jumping ship for Verizon Wireless. Take our reader poll and enjoy the results. Update: An AT&T spokesperson noted that both Piper Jaffray and Hudson Square published information today showing that only 6 - 8 percent of people in line today were previously with AT&T; much less than one would expect from the ChangeWave figures. Forbes ran a post that also talked about the light turnout for the Verizon iPhone. The AT&T spokesperson also noted that they're seeing record low churn -- about 1.15 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, much less than ChangeWave's numbers show. %Poll-59975%
Survey: Apple iPad catching up to Kindle
There is still a big price difference, but the iPad is challenging the Amazon Kindle as a preferred device for reading e-books in ownership and satisfaction. That's according to a ChangeWave survey of more than 2,800 U.S. consumers. Of iPad owners, 75% said they were "very satisfied" with their devices, while only 54% of Kindle owners could say the same. When the "somewhat satisfied" numbers are added, it's a tighter competition, with the iPad scoring 96% and the Kindle getting 92%. According to ChangeWave's director of Research, Paul Carton, the iPad has doubled its share of the e-reader market since August and is now within 15% of the Amazon Kindle. ChangeWave says the iPad has 32% of the e-reader market, which is up 16% since August, with the Kindle at a 47% share, down 15% in the same period.
Apple set to have a great holiday season, says Changewave
The holiday shopping season kicked off in America with Black Friday today, and Apple should finish out the rest of 2010 with a bang. ChangeWave, a firm that covers consumer trends, has told Apple 2.0/Fortune Tech that one of its surveys has consumers leaping for laptops, specifically those made by Apple. 10 percent of respondents told the firm they plan to buy a laptop in the next 90 days, and of those, 36 percent say they're looking for a Mac. That's an 11 point jump since the last time ChangeWave did this research, which one of its analysts says is "the highest level of planned laptop buying ever for Apple in a ChangeWave survey." In short, Apple is likely to sell a lot of laptops this holiday season. That's not all -- NPD is saying that according to its research, 11 percent of consumers (that's all consumers) are planning to buy iPads from Apple by February of next year. That's pretty nuts -- the iPad's sales chart has been heading upward for a long time, and the end of the year will apparently be no different. NPD also shared that iPad use time seems to increase the longer that consumers own the device, starting with 15 hours a week or so near purchase, up to 18 hours or more after a few months of ownership. Sounds like Apple's going to have a nice and profitable holiday season -- not surprising, given its growth already in this and past years.
Apple and HTC lead charge as smartphone market looks set to grow and grow
A recent survey of 4,028 US consumers by ChangeWave has thrown up a number of illuminating statistics, which you might consider as predictable as they are informative. The chief takeaway is that people are keen on buying smartphones like never before, with 16% of respondents saying that they'll be taking the plunge within the next 90 days, which marks the biggest increase in the survey's history. Secondly, and crucially for vendor loyalists, Apple and HTC seem to be the biggest beneficiaries (or are they the stimulants?) of this interest, with both improving their share by over 50 percent between March and June of this year. RIM and Motorola have taken a tumble in that same timespan, while Palm has sadly failed to register even a single percentage point. We can definitely see the Droid X and BlackBerry 6 remedying things for the big boys, but Palm's route out of ignominy seems a little less straightforward. You'll find a chart of customer satisfaction -- dominated by Apple in imperious fashion -- after the break, and the full breakdown at the source link.