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iPhone Upgrades - Not Android Switchers - Drive Apple Sales, Bernstein Says 68

Posted by msmash from the reality-check dept.
In a new analysis, research firm Bernstein challenges the conventional wisdom surrounding Apple's iPhone sales fluctuations, arguing that perceived market share shifts between Apple and Android devices are largely illusory. The report, which Bernstein sent to its clients, contends that the majority of iPhone buyers are existing users upgrading their devices, rather than switchers from Android platforms.

Bernstein posits that year-to-year changes in iPhone unit sales are predominantly driven by Apple's upgrade rates within its established user base. This dynamic creates the appearance of significant market share gains or losses, particularly in China, where consumers are highly sensitive to new features. The analyst notes that upgrade cycles in China tend to be more pronounced than in other markets, leading to exaggerated perceptions of market share volatility. He suggests that the company's struggles in the region are more likely attributed to poor upgrade rates within its existing customer base rather than a mass exodus to competitors like Huawei.
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iPhone Upgrades - Not Android Switchers - Drive Apple Sales, Bernstein Says More

iPhone Upgrades - Not Android Switchers - Drive Apple Sales, Bernstein Says

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  • Seems obvious (Score:2, Funny)

    by Pathway ( 2111 )

    [snark]
    What? iPhone purchasers upgrade their iPhones? It's not all Android users converting over? No way!

    Also, it's obvious that Android has 90% of the marketshare in the US. Right? Apple is the little guy here...

    Don't forget, they invented Apple Intelligence. All those other AI things are imitators. Apple's Geniuses are such amazing innovators!

    Maybe next year they'll release a foldable device... And a round smartwatch... and less expensive AR glasses... and the M4 Chip!
    [/snark]

    Oh, oops. Sorry, I left the s

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by jhoegl ( 638955 )
        Your eyes must be blinded by Apple

        You missed the snark.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Tablizer ( 95088 )

        Foldable phones are still not practical yet, they are expensive and fragile status symbol toys.

        If and when the technology becomes mainstream, then the Apple cart may get knocked over.

      • Heh, I know it's popular to rip on Apple around here, but I'm curious, do you actually regard the lack of a foldable iPhone as a real problem?

        Yes! When I angrily hang up on someone, I have to press a touchscreen button or a tiny physical. That is is unsatisfying not to slam my foldable phone shut. :P

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Pathway ( 2111 )

        I have lots of thoughts... Since you're taking my [snark] seriously, I'll discuss:

        Apple on Foldables - Apple might never make a foldable iPhone. They like their glass screens too much, and all the foldable phones are still basically plastic screens. Now, they might make a "Foldable" that has two glass screens that perfectly line up for a "One Screen" experience. (Two screens that when the device opens, the screens are perceptively a single screen. No seam.) That's something I could see them doing.

        Why My Sn

        • Now, they might make a "Foldable" that has two glass screens that perfectly line up for a "One Screen" experience. (Two screens that when the device opens, the screens are perceptively a single screen. No seam.) That's something I could see them doing.

          I like the foldable, a la razor form factor. Screens resolution so hi now that half of the face is enough; therefore have a physical keypad. Texting would go back to leet w l0t of numb4rs, but I don't hate that, and with good s/w, email and search can handle leet to English xslation, would be lighter and better battery life too. Two glass screens fine also. Apple, get on this one.

        • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • Heh, I know it's popular to rip on Apple around here, but I'm curious, do you actually regard the lack of a foldable iPhone as a real problem?

        iPhone user here. I have no interest in a foldable phone. I didn't have an interest in a foldable phone 15 years ago, back in the day the were the most popular thing going. I find a "bar" phone much more convenient.

      • I would probably buy a foldable iphone max the generation after Apple releases one and it's not a disaster.
        I'm not exactly chomping at the bit for it but the extra pocket room would be welcomed.

      • Not really (foldable). I think there will be a day that foldables are in high demand, I just don't think that anyone has really pulled one off well enough yet.

        I would imagine a maturing population more than the tech drives this. The younger generations that have little interest in having home internet or a PC etc could be where this all changes as their eyesight starts wanting a bigger screen but their sweat pants are already at the maximum pocket size...

    • I do switch periodically between Iphone's and Android .. for a variety of reasons ... The nice thing about Android is 1) it's AWLAYS allowed side loading of apps. 2) there are things like linageOS so if you have a phone thats supported, you can load a de-googled OS and control how many Google apps like app-store, maps. etc you really want or need. the nice think with Apple is that most all phones and watches get 5-6 years of IOS updates .. they have pluses and minuses .. Right now I'm locked

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Pathway ( 2111 )

        I'm one of 'those' guys that switch Linux distros every 8 or 9 months too ...

        You last that LONG!? Sm:)e.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by atheos ( 192468 )
      those foldable android phones are great! My wife has loved all 6 of the ones she went through in the last year and a half. Too bad they can't take a beating I guess.

  • Locked in (Score:3)

    by Bert64 ( 520050 ) <bertNO@SPAMslashdot.firenzee.com> on Friday July 12, 2024 @11:19AM (#64621297) Homepage

    Once you've bought in to one system or the other, you've bought a load of apps, some accessories, your familiar with the ui etc... Very few people would change and have to start again from scratch.

    • I have more paid apps than most (I assume), and that isn't really what locks me in. Don't give a skit about the blue bubbles either. Really the only thing that keeps me with Apple is that it works and upgrading is painless. Part of me would like something different, but it just isn't worth the hassle.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Pathway ( 2111 )

        You're happy where you are. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm happy for you, and I hope everybody else is too.

        But moving from Apple to Android isn't as hard as it used to be. For a while it was a PAIN. On the reverse side, it was EASY to switch to iPhone.

        Because it was HARD to go one way and EASY to go the other... guess which side is usually what most people choose?

        And, remember... that's fine! Good on Apple making the transition to their phone easy.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by mspohr ( 589790 )

          My wife was gifted an iPhone.
          I (as tech support) had to switch from Android (Pixel) to the iPhone.
          It wasn't easy or intuitive and a lot of stuff seemed to get left behind.
          OTOH, upgrading Android to a newer phone is seamless, fast.

      • A lot of people are tied into the apple ecosystem which is why i don't use icloud much because it's a trap.
        I'm just tired of fucking with shit. I can't torrent, sideload, or use emulator on my iphone, i don't like it, and I could probably even pull it off if I tried but I am fucking burned out on glitchy hacky cyberpunk lifestyle shit and just want a phone, that works, and has I guess less incentive to spy on me than the alternatives.

        • I can't torrent, sideload, or use emulator on my iphone, i don't like it, and I could probably even pull it off if I tried but I am fucking burned out on glitchy hacky cyberpunk lifestyle shit and just want a phone,

          I work in IT while I have a Mac, Windows, and a hobby Linux desktop some of my friends wonder why I do not have a huge network of computers at home with all sorts of fancy servers. My response is I am not paid to maintain computers at home. I get paid to do that at work.

          • Exactly. I had a massive lab and all kinds of shit once. Fuck that.
            I have capable prosumer network hardware and a handful of NUCs and that's as geeky as I get.
            Some people asked why i didn't get a server or use raspberry pis or whatever, oh I have but no.
            I ssh into a nuc, install the software i want and if there is a conflict i don't use docker or VMs or whatever.
            I move on the next NUC and see if it works there. No better container than a whole different computer.

            Shit requires no maintenance, it just upda

        • Talk to my wife. "I canâ(TM)t torrent". "What is torrent?" "I can't side load". "What is sideload?" "I can't run emulators". "What is an emulator?"

    • Once you've bought in to one system or the other, you've bought a load of apps, some accessories, your familiar with the ui etc... Very few people would change and have to start again from scratch.

      Ive helped multiple people move between Androidiphone. It's horrible and takes hours between the transfer of data, configuring the devices for the person, setting up their various accounts, configuring all their app settings, and teaching them various things on the new platform.

      Lock in is real and for a large number of reasons.

    • There is that and as people get familiarity with one system, they find it harder to adapt to other systems. My brother is very anti-Apple and has an Android. He was complaining how when he was trying to help an Apple user with something on their phone, why Apple didn't have onscreen keyboards? He could only get an English keyboard when he hit the "globe" icon. That did not make sense to him. I told him the most likely possibility without seeing the phone was the user was not a native English speaker and had

      • My biggest day to day problem with iPhone is that the interface is objectively bad.

        For example, the back button appears at the upper right corner of the screen, while everything else happens at the bottom of the screen. I have to shift my hands just to hit it.

        Here's another example, the settings app has too few categories in it, so you have to scroll it forever. I actually think the Android settings could use a couple MORE categories (and it used to have a couple more, too) but the Apple settings app has WA

        • >Putting aside the way Apple doesn't allow me to do what I want with an iDevice if it conflicts with their vision of how I should be allowed to use it, just the very UI is trash Supposedly the newest version will allow you to put the icons on home screen anywhere you want, like without auto arrange? If it took 10+ years to get this basic feature anywhere else it would be laughable but on Apple hardware it's just sadly predictable.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Pathway ( 2111 )

      New UI isn't the problem. Even Apple has changed their UI enough that it doesn't look much like the original iPhone/iPad... It looks more like Android's Material Design with every one of their updates.

      The App lock in is the next big thing to be fixed here.
      - Apps must be purchased multiple times if you have both devices (like me, I own an Android phone and an iPad.)
      - Many apps are not on both platforms. There are many reasons for this, but I don't like it when Apple Arcade makes games exclusi

      • Apps must be purchased multiple times if you have both devices (like me, I own an Android phone and an iPad.)

        Yes if the app must be purchased. Many apps I use are free but are funded by subscriptions or ads. For example streaming services or social media platforms.

        And now that we have RCS finally effectively removing the iMessage stranglehold, who knows what might come in the future. Bring back Firefox OS!

        Only if you believe Google's distortions about RCS. Apple is not implementing Google's version which they also call RCS. They are implementing Universal Profile approves by the industry's GSMA which does not have any of Google's extensions. Features like E2EE will not be implemented because there is no RCS standard for them yet. If MMS is SMS+, RCS is b

    • Se bought my dad an iphone and moved him over from android because of the fall sensor built into apple watches, and the integration with the phone.
      He seems to like his iphone better than the android, but to be fair the android was a pretty old and crappy model.

    • I wouldn't switch even for a FREE best "other phone"an available, with free accessories and apps, etc. There just isn't any incentive. I mean, why would I switch if what I already have cuts the mustard?

      There is literally no feature the "other brand could have, as far as I can imagine (realistically), that would cause me to switch. No realistic cost savings would cause me to switch either.

    • There are people now who have used iPhones for 15 years, and others who have used android phones for 15 years. Kids who got their first phone at 14 and are now 18 or 20 might be switching, but anyone older isnt going to switch after many, many years on the same phone.
    • So people are locked in to the Android monopoly.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mjwx ( 966435 )

      Once you've bought in to one system or the other, you've bought a load of apps, some accessories, your familiar with the ui etc... Very few people would change and have to start again from scratch.

      Which is why I haven't bought into a bunch of "apps".

      I think you'll find that a lot of people will just give up on their apps as well, they won't even be using most of what they bought and most of the stuff they use will be free anyway.

      Also, it's only Apple who is practising the extreme vendor lock in, it's just that lock in isn't attractive to anyone not already trapped on the inside. We've known for years that for every 10 iphones sold, 9 were sold to people who already had one, I'd not be surprised

  • Not ... (Score:2)

    by PPH ( 736903 )

    ... battery replacement?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by cshamis ( 854596 )
      I've had iphones since the first one. I upgrade every 2-3 years. I changed my battery my iphone SE when I handed it down to my kids to play with. Other than that... never needed it.

      • My first iPhone was a used 3G, then a used 5S, then an 11, which is my current one. I see no need to upgrade now. I have two paid apps, I could switch to Android easily, but I don't. My first smartphone was a Samsung Galaxy and it was an absolute piece of garbage. Not sure why I couldn't uninstall the NFL GameDay app, nor a dozen other bloatware apps on the thing.

        I used a Nexus for a little while, which was fantastic, and I seriously considered switching, then they discontinued the Nexus line.

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by Pathway ( 2111 )

          You are correct on all accounts here. Apple makes GREAT hardware. AND, they support it for a significant amount of time. This makes the used/refurbished iPhone market VERY GOOD and inexpensive for the consumer.

          Not many other phone makers have that mix of high quality hardware, long term support, and enough market adoption to make a healthy used market.

          • I use apple now but before I switched I was a fan of umidigi, practically stock android with premium hardware features and very low prices compared to apple and samsung.

    • Why would you buy a new phone instead of paying $70 to replace the battery if that is all that was wrong? I mean it's not like these things aren't swappable. Maybe not to you hamfisted people, but I'm sure a 14 year old kid at a corner store can help you.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Lehk228 ( 705449 )
      replacement battery is less than $100 at the apple store, pretty soon I am going to get my SE 2020 done since the battery is down to 73% of original capacity
  • Congratulations to Slashdot for this scoop only few others report on and then link to this story. Unless it is based on that three and a half months old report that also very few reported on. https://www.top1markets.com/ne... [top1markets.com]

    Apart from that, I already explained much better why Apple's sales fell last quarter. And massively climbed the quarter before, resulting in a total slight rise in those two quarters combined. https://slashdot.org/comments.... [slashdot.org]

  • I switched from iPhone 13 to Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra [oldringtones.net]

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