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Three times as many Samsung users switch to iPhone than the other way around
Though Samsung's snarky ads like to make jest of iPhone users, while Apple's just show how well various functions -- the camera, the music player and FaceTime -- work, new information from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) suggests those Samsung ads aren't too effective. As reported by Fortune, the CIRP report reveals that three times more people switch from Samsung handsets to iPhone than the other way around. The CIRP numbers also show that iPhone users tend to skew younger (about 69 percent are younger than 35 years old, compared to about 64 percent for Samsung), have more income (only 32 percent of Apple buyers have less than a US$50,000 income, while almost 45 percent of Samsung buyers are in that range) and are more educated (about 48 percent with a college degree or greater, compared to only about 32 percent for Samsung buyers). The Fortune post by Philip Elmer-DeWitt has some other gems that show just where the two companies get most of their customers. It's some of the best demographic information that we've seen so far detailing the customer base for the two largest smartphone manufacturers. [via 9to5Mac]
Daily Update for August 19, 2013
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
Older model iPhones remain popular
Apple is poised to announce its quarterly earnings today and everyone is wondering how many iPhones and iPads the company sold. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) took a close look at the iPhone market and broke sales down by device. According to CIRP's survey data and reported by GigaOM, Apple iPhone sales are shifting away from the newer model and towards the older ones. In previous years, the new models grabbed the lion's share of sales (>70 percent) and the older models accounted for a small portion. A few months after the iPhone 4S launched (April 2012), the iPhone 4S was the dominant model with 73 percent of all iPhone sales. The iPhone 4 grabbed a small 22 percent of all iPhone sales, while the iPhone 3GS sat at 5 percent. This year (March 2013), though, the iPhone 5 represents only 53 percent of all iPhones sold worldwide in the first three months of this year. The older iPhone 4S accounted for 33 percent and the even older iPhone 4 grabbed 14 percent of iPhone sales in that same time period. A similar trend is seen in the iPad with legacy models grabbing a larger chunk of the sales than has been seen in previous years. GigaOM attributes this trend to budget-conscious consumers who still find the older, but cheaper iOS devices attractive. (ed. note: fixed the last line of the second paragraph to reflect the iPhone 3GS at 5 percent, instead of the erroneous 4 percent figure originally cited in the article)
New iPad owners increasingly interested in business use
A recent research report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) suggests more people are buying the iPad to use at work, according to AllThingsD which had access to the report. A survey of 1000 customers who purchased iPads between December 2011 and April 2012 shows that 21 percent will use the device for business purposes. This is an 8 percent jump from the previous survey. AllThingsD attributed the jump to a friendlier corporate attitude towards the iPad and an increase in the number businesses that have "bring your own device" policies. In a BYOD setup, employees are free to choose an iPad (or any other tablet) for mobile use and in many cases the company will grant it secure access to the corporate network -- or, at a minimum, provide baseline assistance for setting up email and calendaring on the device. It's not just journalists and market analysis companies noticing this trend. Speaking during the iPad unveiling earlier this year, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that the tablet device is being used in 92 percent of the Fortune 500 companies. This is up from the 65 to 80 percent figure tossed around in early 2011. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
Sprint's share of iPhone sales at big box stores double that at Apple retailers
A new study by CIRP shows that even though Sprint is finally carrying the iPhone in the U.S., it might have come a little too late to the party. According to the study, Sprint is selling twice as many iPhones at big box retail stores like Best Buy than it's selling at Apple Stores. That's interesting, mostly because AT&T and Verizon's sales are about the same share in both places. So why is Sprint at such a disadvantage in Apple Stores as compared to more traditional places like Best Buy? CIRP says it's simply because both users and retailers are more used to AT&T and Verizon selling the iPhone, and that Sprint might have fallen back simply because it only started selling the iPhone recently. When current AT&T or Verizon users go to upgrade their phone, or when new users go to pick up a phone, Sprint ends up being last on the list at the Apple Store. AT&T's got the original base of users, Verizon has the folks who were waiting for a second carrier and Sprint has gotten lost in the mix. Sprint didn't confirm this information, and realistically, outside of working on a better partnership with Apple or separate advertising, there's not a lot it can do to beef up its Apple Store sales. But it is interesting to hear that Sprint might have arrived slightly late to the iPhone party. [via MacRumors]
Study: 38% of iPhone customers come from RIM, Android
With sales of iPhones still booming, you might be wondering where all of those customers are coming from. Philip Elmer-DeWitt at Fortune is citing an April survey by the Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) that shows that more iPhones were sold to consumers leaving Apple's competitors than to owners of earlier iPhone models. Data from CIRP indicate that 42 percent of iPhone buyers in April were switching from another smartphone, up from 36 percent in February. 38 percent of those buyers were switching from either Android or BlackBerry -- that's up from 29 percent in February. Buyers who were coming from a feature phone or who had never owned a mobile phone before accounted for 24 percent of the buyers, while 34 percent were upgrading from an earlier model of the iPhone. Just after the iPhone 4S launched last October, that number was at about 71 percent.
Research: Walmart sold 1.3 million iPads in March quarter
While in many minds the term Walmart has the connotation of low prices on "stuff" ranging from tires to baby clothing, some new research from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) shows that the discount retailer is an increasingly important part of Apple's overall distribution efforts. Business Insider notes that Tim Cook highlighted Walmart during the recent earnings call, saying that the company is "an increasingly more substantial partner in the iPad space... and an evolving partner on iPhone. And so we're working with them and enjoy working with them and hope to continue expanding." How much of a partner is Walmart? The company sold 1.3 million iPads in the quarter ending March 30, 2012, which means that the company sells 11 percent of all iPads. The only bigger retailers are Apple itself (with a 26 percent share of sales) and Best Buy (24 percent). While Walmart has the distribution channel to help Apple sell a lot of iPads, CIRP pointed out that this drives down the average selling price of the devices to that Walmart can make a "reasonable gross profit." In the long run, that may be a downside to Apple.
