There’s no doubt in the fact that both Apple and Samsung have established a duopoly in the global smartphone market. Their respective platforms, iOS and Android, take up a major chunk of the market. Back in June it was reported that for the first time Samsung had outsold Apple in the U.S., primarily due to the fact that its current flagship, the Galaxy S4, has proven to be a hit. Apple is holding its ground with the iPhone though, and there’s a possibility that the company’s share in the smartphone market may increase once it launches the two new iPhones it is expected to, next month. Still, the iPhone is bringing in significantly more first time buyers who are switching to Apple from another smartphone brand.
A recent survey conducted by the Consumer Intelligence Research Partners indicated that Apple is three times more popular with customers who switched brands as compared to Samsung. Data revealed that 33 percent of iPhone customers migrated from other brands while only 11 percent were customers who left their previous brand for a Samsung smartphone. CIRP conducted four quarterly surveys from July 2012 to June 2013, 500 subjects who had purchased a new mobile phone in the preceding 90 days were surveyed in each quarter.
The survey also found that 42 percent of Apple’s customers upgraded from another iPhone. 43 percent of all customers who bought a Samsung phone in this time period previously used an Android one, though not one that was necessarily made by Samsung. The Korean manufacturer does seem to be popular with customers buying a smartphone for the very first time, 37 percent of such customers went for a Samsung smartphone, while only 26 percent went for an iPhone from a feature phone. The survey noted that majority of the customers who migrated to the iPhone previously used a BlackBerry, this certainly spells trouble for the ailing Canadian manufacturer, as its market share continues to decline. It looks like BlackBerry 10 isn’t stopping customers from making the switch. Both Apple and Samsung have evidently been trying to increase their footing in that particular market. Demographics collected during the survey reveal that iPhone users tend to be wealthier and more educated than Samsung users, they also tend to be younger.
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