Brand loyalty increasing for iPhone and dipping for Android, survey suggests

AppleInsider

A new survey suggests that Apple iPhone brand loyalty increased as Android users became less loyal to their device makers and more willing to switch to another brand.

Credit: Andrew O'Hara, AppleInsider

The survey, carried out by SellCell earlier in March 2021, involved more than 5,000 smartphone users who owned various models of the most popular handset brands. The results suggest that iPhone users are more loyal and less willing to switch to another brand than their Android-using counterparts.

Brand loyalty for Apple reached an all-time high of 92%, up from 90.5% in a SellCell survey the same time in 2019. During that same period, Samsung brand loyalty dipped from 85.7% to 74% in 2019. The SellCell results also indicate that iPhone users are about 18% "more loyal" to the Apple ecosystem than Samsung owners.

While only 8.1% of iPhone users said they planned to switch to another brand, about 26% of Samsung users indicated that they would jump ship with their next smartphone upgrade. Among those potential switchers, 53% said they'd buy an iPhone. Privacy is the primary reason for 31.5% of those switchers, the results indicate.

It isn't just Samsung that lost loyalty in the survey results. Brand loyalty among Google Pixel, LG, and Motorola users all dipped. For the Google Pixel lineup, brand loyalty dropped 18.8% in two years.

A slim majority of respondents, 46.6%, also said that the iPhone 12 is the current best flagship smartphone range. That's compared to 30.4% who said the Samsung Galaxy S21 was the best flagship series on the market.

When it came to survey participants explaining why they were sticking to the iPhone, 45% said they liked their current brand, 24% said they're too tied into the ecosystem, and 16% said they didn't have a reason to move.

Those who did say they would choose another brand cited better technology (38%) and a preference for the design of other manufacturers (26.4%) as the primary reasons for a switch.

When asked to choose their favorite model of current smartphones, 17% of respondents chose the iPhone 12 and 12.7% chose the iPhone 12 Pro Max. The Galaxy S21 came in third with 11.4%, while the iPhone 12 Pro ranked fourth with 10.6%. In fifth place was the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra with 10%.

SellCell conducted the study via online survey between March 3 and March 10, 2021. It involved more than 5,000 smartphone users aged 18 and up in the U.S., and included 2,000 iPhone users, 2,000 Samsung users, 400 Google Pixel users, and 600 Motorola or LG users.

Beats

Everyone wants an iPhone. Not everyone can afford one.

If this were false we’d see more flip phones, sliders and Blackberries. Instead we see knockoff iPhones competing against real iPhones. The phone market has become pathetic. I saw an episode of Black Mirror that subliminally mocked this state of technology.

Beats

P.S. I know Baby Boomers who think they have an iPhone but they have a Samsung iKnockoff. Because knockoffs have even copied Apple’s boxes it can be confusing for the average person.

“But how else are things supposed to look!!!”

mcdave

Of course, at least some of our intelligence is still intact. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

lkrupp

mcdave said:

Of course, at least some of our intelligence is still intact. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

Interesting we see people in tech forums like this one constantly trashing and denigrating Apple and its products yet still using them. Then we have those who don't own or use Apple products, like @Avon_b7 and @Gatorguy, who like to live vicariously in Apple centric forums, hoping some of the panache rubs off on them. They could be in Android forums preaching to the choir but they’re here constantly throwing shade at Apple and its users. 

sconosciuto

getting wound up over someone's choice of mobile OS is perhaps the most pathetic sort of nerdrage.

off the top of my head, it's about 10:1 fAndroid bigots vs iOS bigots who do this sort of thing.

I really enjoy when they stereotype iOS users as stupid sheep who need someone to hold their hand when it comes to technology. I know *so many* examples of how utterly misguided this stereotype is. 

lkrupp

sconosciuto said:

getting wound up over someone's choice of mobile OS is perhaps the most pathetic sort of nerdrage.

off the top of my head, it's about 10:1 fAndroid bigots vs iOS bigots who do this sort of thing.

I really enjoy when they stereotype iOS users as stupid sheep who need someone to hold their hand when it comes to technology. I know *so many* examples of how utterly misguided this stereotype is. 

Yep, just look at all those Macs and iPhones you see on desks at NASA control centers. The exact kind of people who need their hands held when it comes to technology. /s

asdasd

Android is an anti brand. What sells the best Android phones is their hardware, they sell despite the OS. I don't think that google is all that interested anymore. 

radarthekat

lkrupp said:

sconosciuto said:

getting wound up over someone's choice of mobile OS is perhaps the most pathetic sort of nerdrage.

off the top of my head, it's about 10:1 fAndroid bigots vs iOS bigots who do this sort of thing.

I really enjoy when they stereotype iOS users as stupid sheep who need someone to hold their hand when it comes to technology. I know *so many* examples of how utterly misguided this stereotype is. 

Yep, just look at all those Macs and iPhones you see on desks at NASA control centers. The exact kind of people who need their hands held when it comes to technology. /s

The only time an Android user needs his hand held is when he’s buying that first android phone.  How I wish I could have been there for them then.  Lol

wood1208

People used to buy Android phones because of price but now upper end android are similar in price as iPhones. So,now no reason to stick to android just for price.

gatorguy

A careful reading of the source article shows the claim isn't necessarily that buyers are switching operating systems. Instead it's that someone who bought a Samsung phone two years ago might buy a One-Plus this year. They switched brands. A Pixel owner might decide to try something from Samsung this year. rather than another Pixel.  Again they switched brands and became a statistic in the study...
but they remained Android users.

There is no brand option for someone invested in the iOS ecosystem of course so the only way they switch brands is to leave Apple. That's a more considered action than simply buying a different brand offering the ecosystem you're already invested in, so of course switching operating systems altogether is much more rare. 

mcdave

lkrupp said:

mcdave said:

Of course, at least some of our intelligence is still intact. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

Interesting we see people in tech forums like this one constantly trashing and denigrating Apple and its products yet still using them. Then we have those who don't own or use Apple products, like @Avon_b7 and @Gatorguy, who like to live vicariously in Apple centric forums, hoping some of the panache rubs off on them. They could be in Android forums preaching to the choir but they’re here constantly throwing shade at Apple and its users. 

??? I was responding to the article title as to why Android was losing brand loyalty.