Users say Apple's iPhone worth $313 to them, Android averages $220
A new survey has found that the average iPhone user considers their handset to be worth $313 to them, while Android smartphones are valued at $220.
Investment firm Piper Jaffray recently polled more than 400 consumers from around the U.S. and Asia in its annual cell phone survey. The surveys were conducted in larger cities, which resulted in more than half of users being iPhone owners.
Analyst Gene Munster and team asked participants to come up with a dollar value for how much their current phone is worth to them. The survey found that among the 208 current iPhone users, the average value was $313, which is over $100 more than the subsidized price of the 16-gigabyte iPhone 4S.
In comparison, users of Android handsets said their current smartphone was worth $220 on average, while BlackBerry smartphone owners pegged the value of their device at $219.
Munster believes the premium value iPhone owners attribute to their handset suggests that even if carriers were to decrease their subsidies, consumers would be willing to pick up at least some of the difference in the added cost.
Based on the survey, Munster has also predicted that Apple will increase its smartphone marketshare by between 5 and 10 percentage points over the next three years. While Apple's iPhone currently has a market share in the low 20 percent range, he sees that number going above 30 percent by 2015.
Munster believes Apple will report sales of between 28 million and 29 million iPhones in June when the company reports its annual quarterly earnings next Tuesday. As for next year, he believes the new iPhone will help propel sales to 170 million units in fiscal year 2013.
Investment firm Piper Jaffray recently polled more than 400 consumers from around the U.S. and Asia in its annual cell phone survey. The surveys were conducted in larger cities, which resulted in more than half of users being iPhone owners.
Analyst Gene Munster and team asked participants to come up with a dollar value for how much their current phone is worth to them. The survey found that among the 208 current iPhone users, the average value was $313, which is over $100 more than the subsidized price of the 16-gigabyte iPhone 4S.
In comparison, users of Android handsets said their current smartphone was worth $220 on average, while BlackBerry smartphone owners pegged the value of their device at $219.
Munster believes the premium value iPhone owners attribute to their handset suggests that even if carriers were to decrease their subsidies, consumers would be willing to pick up at least some of the difference in the added cost.
Based on the survey, Munster has also predicted that Apple will increase its smartphone marketshare by between 5 and 10 percentage points over the next three years. While Apple's iPhone currently has a market share in the low 20 percent range, he sees that number going above 30 percent by 2015.
Munster believes Apple will report sales of between 28 million and 29 million iPhones in June when the company reports its annual quarterly earnings next Tuesday. As for next year, he believes the new iPhone will help propel sales to 170 million units in fiscal year 2013.
Comments
could that not just mean that iPhone users are more stupid..?
perceived value given smartphones do effectively the same thing...?
bizarre question...questionable sanity.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Archipellago
could that not just mean that iPhone users are more stupid..?
perceived value given smartphones do effectively the same thing...?
bizarre question...questionable sanity.
What is stupid about one inanimate object being worth more to someone than another?
All smart phones are NOT the same! That's just stupid.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Archipellago
could that not just mean that iPhone users are more stupid..?
perceived value given smartphones do effectively the same thing...?
bizarre question...questionable sanity.
Cars do effectively the same thing... get you from point A to point B. Would you also question their price difference?
Quote:
Originally Posted by haar
um... it's worth what I paid for it?... i don't have an iPhone... but i do have the new iPad...
I wonder what the average out-of-pocket is for iPhone users? I suspect it is more than $313? Or is that just restating the average price people paid for their handset?
Do the participants realize that the figure they quoted is way below replacement cost?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Archipellago
could that not just mean that iPhone users are more stupid..?
perceived value given smartphones do effectively the same thing...?
bizarre question...questionable sanity.
With that ridiculous logic, you must thing everyone is pretty stupid.
The average subsidized price of a new iPhone is greater than the average price of an Android phone so of course the percieved value is going to be greater.
It's, in my opinion, a ridiculous question... does that question mean that:
- iPhone users pay too much for their phones
- iPhone users believe they own a "more valuable" phone
- Android phones are underpriced
- Android phones are overpriced
- iPhones are overpriced
- iPhones are underpriced
or what?
Especially since iPhones are several generations of smartphones, with multiple disk capabilities, worth hundreds of dollars' difference, and Android spawn the full gamut from very-low-end to high-end phones.
Maybe I'm just massively stupid...
I dont understand the point of this "poll". What is my smartphone worth to me? Its worth what it costs to replace, this particular phone I have in my pocket means nothing more than a brand new one of the same model would be, why the hell would it be "worth" more or less than that to ME? Right now my contract is up and its a 4 so its worth less than the $99 bucks it costs for a new one because this one is almost 2 years old. When I get a new iphone when it comes out later this year, that will be worth $650 because thats what it would cost me to replace it if something happened to it, or I sold it, or whatever.
I just dont get why an iPhone would have any value over and above what it costs to replace. There is no sentimental value, and everything inside is recoverable by restoring via backup, so what gives?
A factor two off then.
J.
The only surprise is that the iPhone is worth not more than ~$100 compared to an Android phone.
That's what I'm wondering.
If you pay full price for an iPhone, it's $600 and up.
If you get a subsidized iPhone, it's 'free' up to $399, IIRC (with most people paying $199 and up - since the 4S is the top selling phone). However, with the amount you're paying the carrier, your 2 year cost is more like $800-1000.
If it's only worth $313, how do they sell so many?
That's actually misleading. Your current phone could be sold on eBay for considerably more than the $99 you'd pay for a new one. I just sold an iPhone 4 for $300 on eBay - and that was a 2 year old phone. Plus, of course, you can't get a new one for $99. You have to pay $99 PLUS a 2 year contract for an iPhone 4 or $199 plus a 2 year contract for an iPhone 4S or nothing plus a 2 year contract for a 3GS. The price of the contract is considerably higher than the $99 you pay up front.
If you find an item you want to buy thats normally $500... on sale for $400, and buy it... everyone else's is worth $500, but yours is only worth $400?
It is really a stupid question. And without knowing how much these people initially paid for their phones, it's kind of useless. I mean if these people all got their Android phones for free, then saying it is worth $200 shows a lot more perceived value then if all the iPhone users had 64GB 4S models ($400 subsidized in the US I believe) and were saying it was only worth $300.
Until it's time to retire my iPhones - typically 2 years - they get thrown on eBay. I haven't had one go for under $300 yet. I'm expecting my iPhone 4 32GB to go for even more later this year.
If it wasn't worth more than it cost to the buyer, they would not buy it. Products that are worth ' more more' sell like hot cakes, products that are worth less more don't.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jragosta
That's actually misleading. Your current phone could be sold on eBay for considerably more than the $99 you'd pay for a new one. I just sold an iPhone 4 for $300 on eBay - and that was a 2 year old phone. Plus, of course, you can't get a new one for $99. You have to pay $99 PLUS a 2 year contract for an iPhone 4 or $199 plus a 2 year contract for an iPhone 4S or nothing plus a 2 year contract for a 3GS. The price of the contract is considerably higher than the $99 you pay up front.
No its not misleading, its just leaving out alot of information. I didnt case my 4, its got a million little scratches that you would never see with the screen on but are still there and seen when the screen is off. Off hand I would think I could sell mine for $200 but I think when you include the time that took or the cut from a webiste like ebay, you aren't going to be appreciably better off than the $99+"upgrade fee" or whatever. And more importantly, even if I could get $300 for mine, I still need a phone. I'm not replacing it with a worse phone, so again that comes down to a cost or replacement/upgrade that decides the worth rather than what you could get for it, or what you paid for it.
As far as the contract goes, thats a bill thats being paid regardless. Does ATT lower your bill when you arent on a contract? No they dont, so you really do not pay for the phone beyond the upfront cost. Yes, from ATT's perspective thats whats happening, but considering that you have no choice but to accept rates based on subsidized phones (if you are going post paid) then the price of phones is simply built into your bill. So if I can replace my iphone right now for $99 then that is the cost to me. The subsidy involved is not my cost for that phone because my phone bill never changes regardless.
Hence if I am due for upgrade the worth of the phone I have is FAR LESS than if I have recently upgraded and cannot receive a full subsidy on a replacement.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jragosta
Quote:
Originally Posted by JerrySwitched26
I wonder what the average out-of-pocket is for iPhone users? I suspect it is more than $313? Or is that just restating the average price people paid for their handset?
Do the participants realize that the figure they quoted is way below replacement cost?
That's what I'm wondering.
If you pay full price for an iPhone, it's $600 and up.
If you get a subsidized iPhone, it's 'free' up to $399, IIRC (with most people paying $199 and up - since the 4S is the top selling phone). However, with the amount you're paying the carrier, your 2 year cost is more like $800-1000.
If it's only worth $313, how do they sell so many?
Well it is because of the subsidy model that they sell so many in the places that follow the subsidy model. I hate subsidies because they distort market outcomes and hide the true price.
In places where the people on average are not as wealthy or where subsidies are not a typical way of enticing people to buy a phone, Apple has shown much less growth and Android has been much stronger. I've mentioned it in these forums and people just scoff. We are talking about iPhone growth in Asia, Eastern Europe and India versus growth in the U.S. and Western Europe.
Even now with the iPhone going to prepaid in the United States, it typically is being sold for $500-$650 while the same companies are offering or promoting $200-300 Android phones.
What this study says to me is that Apple will have trouble meeting growth targets or sustaining their current sales if the subsidy model, which helps obscure the true price of their phones, changes substantially.
I believe changes are coming to that model. I think Apple's many fans on here, myself included, should do more than bleat like sheep about how they have done well in the past. Subsidies always distort outcomes. People talking about how well Apple is doing are like folks noting how well a luxury house builder is doing when everyone is buying homes with zero down, negative amortization, balloon payment loans. The second they can't get those loans, the company that can only survive building McMansions is toast.
People talk about how Samsung sells an array of cheaper smartphones. That is a strength if market conditions change. It is like saying they can sell and build smaller houses, condos, commercial buildings, instead of just McMansions.