73% of iPhone buyers choose 4S, 38% switch from Android or BlackBerry

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
A new survey of American iPhone buyers has revealed that 73 percent choose the high-end iPhone 4S, while 38 percent of those buying Apple's smartphone reported switching from Android or BlackBerry.

The latest data from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners found that the number of customers switching from Android and BlackBerry to iPhone has increased from 29 percent in the previous survey conducted in February. The new data comes from a survey conducted in April of 7,348 U.S. subjects, 521 of which qualified to respond.

The number of users switching to the iPhone is even higher than it was following the iPhone 4S launch in the holiday season of 2011, when 36 percent of iPhone buyers came from another platform.

When broken down among capacity, 50 percent of U.S. iPhone 4S buyers surveyed in April chose the smallest capacity of 16 gigabytes. Another 34 percent chose the 32-gigabyte size, while the remaining 16 percent went for the high-end 64-gigabyte iPhone 4S.

While nearly three-quarters of all iPhone buyers opt for the iPhone 4S, another 22 percent in the U.S. chose the iPhone 4, which can be purchased for $99 with a new two-year service contract. The free-on-contract iPhone 3GS represented just 5 percent of sales.

Antenna 3


Customers have increasingly chosen the iPhone 4S over cheaper alternatives, the survey shows. The number of American iPhone buyers opting for Apple's latest-generation device was up from 69 percent in the previous survey.

Between February and April, there was also a slight shift in carrier shares, as AT&T slid from 53 percent of new iPhone activations to 51 percent, and Sprint fell from 13 percent to 12 percent. Their losses were Verizon's gain, as the nation's largest wireless carrier increase from 34 percent to 37 percent of iPhone activations in April.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 53


    I just switched from Blackberry to the iPhone 4s. The apps and connectivity are great but the email, BBM, and phone capabilities of the Blackberry were far better. If Blackberry stays in business, I'll probably switch back when my contract ends.

  • Reply 2 of 53

    Quote:


    The new data comes from a survey conducted in April of 7,348 U.S. subjects, 521 of which qualified to respond.



     


     


    I know how stats work, but 521 people is a terribly small sample.

  • Reply 3 of 53
    originalgoriginalg Posts: 383member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by thataveragejoe View Post


     


     


    I know how stats work, but 521 people is a terribly small sample.



     






    Agreed.


     


    Also how many are switching away from iOS to Android?

  • Reply 4 of 53
    myapplelovemyapplelove Posts: 1,515member


    The iphone is not a good phone, but it's the best convergence computer/phone device. The 4 couldn't even place calls if held a certain way. Signal and reception is at best average, sar is among the highest, voice quality is amongst the worst. Apple had to go to ios 5 to allow the user to delete individual calls.


     


    I'll make a prediction, if they do release the 16:9 tall ugly model it will be the biggest flop in the iphone's history.

  • Reply 5 of 53
    chiachia Posts: 713member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Oldandintheway View Post


    The apps and connectivity are great but the email, BBM, and phone capabilities of the Blackberry were far better.


    Congratulations on your new purchase but for the benefit of the community please expand on just how email,  BBM and phone capabilities are better on the Blackberry?

  • Reply 6 of 53
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by myapplelove View Post

    The iphone is not a good phone, but it's the best convergence computer/phone device. The 4 couldn't even place calls if held a certain way. Signal and reception is at best average, sar is among the highest, voice quality is amongst the worst. Apple had to go to ios 5 to allow the user to delete individual calls.


     


    I'll make a prediction, if they do release the 16:9 tall ugly model it will be the biggest flop in the iphone's history.



     


    And since all of the "facts" in your post are completely wrong, I'd imagine that prediction will be wrong, as well.

  • Reply 7 of 53
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    The iphone is not a good phone, but it's the best convergence computer/phone device. The 4 couldn't even place calls if held a certain way. Signal and reception is at best average, sar is among the highest, voice quality is amongst the worst. Apple had to go to ios 5 to allow the user to delete individual calls.

    I'll make a prediction, if they do release the 16:9 tall ugly model it will be the biggest flop in the iphone's history.

    And you expect your biased opinion to be taken as fact when the vast majority of users, reviewers, and analysts disagree completely? Do you think that by repeating lies you will somehow convince people they are true? My what a high opinion you have of yourself.
  • Reply 8 of 53
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    originalg wrote: »



    Agreed.

    Also how many are switching away from iOS to Android?

    My statistical survey indicates the number is zero.
  • Reply 9 of 53
    negafoxnegafox Posts: 480member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by myapplelove View Post


    The iphone is not a good phone, but it's the best convergence computer/phone device. The 4 couldn't even place calls if held a certain way. Signal and reception is at best average, sar is among the highest, voice quality is amongst the worst. Apple had to go to ios 5 to allow the user to delete individual calls.


     


    I'll make a prediction, if they do release the 16:9 tall ugly model it will be the biggest flop in the iphone's history.



     


    Which carrier you are using makes a difference in the call quality, but here is an iPhone 4S call quality review I found comparing to Android phones:


    http://gizmodo.com/5849979/iphone-4s-test-notes-call-quality

  • Reply 10 of 53
    muppetrymuppetry Posts: 3,331member
    I just switched from Blackberry to the iPhone 4s. The apps and connectivity are great but the email, BBM, and phone capabilities of the Blackberry were far better. If Blackberry stays in business, I'll probably switch back when my contract ends.

    It's curious just how divergent our experiences can be. I have had both iPhone and BB for several years now, and I can't find any aspect in which the BB wins - in my opinion it is inferior in every respect, including all those that you mention. I can't wait to get rid of it.
  • Reply 11 of 53
    geoadmgeoadm Posts: 81member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by myapplelove View Post


    The iphone is not a good phone, but it's the best convergence computer/phone device. The 4 couldn't even place calls if held a certain way. Signal and reception is at best average, sar is among the highest, voice quality is amongst the worst. Apple had to go to ios 5 to allow the user to delete individual calls.


     


    I'll make a prediction, if they do release the 16:9 tall ugly model it will be the biggest flop in the iphone's history.



     


    I agree about the ugly thing. I was looking forward to a bigger screen but the 16:9 'prototypes' you see pics of look quite ugly. I like the current aspect ratio, not sure why they're changing

  • Reply 12 of 53
    capnbobcapnbob Posts: 388member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Negafox View Post


     


    Which carrier you are using makes a difference in the call quality, but here is an iPhone 4S call quality review I found comparing to Android phones:


    http://gizmodo.com/5849979/iphone-4s-test-notes-call-quality





    How dare you use facts to dispute the wild-ass rantings of an internet muppet... For shame sir, for shame!!


     


    (Nice little find BTW).

  • Reply 13 of 53

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by OriginalG View Post


     


    Also how many are switching away from iOS to Android?



     


    0% of iPhone buyers are switching away from iOS to Android... obviously.

  • Reply 14 of 53
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by OllieWallieWhiskers View Post


     


    0% of iPhone buyers are switching away from iOS to Android... obviously.



    The last figures I saw stated an 89% retention rate, so 11% of iPhone owners are stepping away. A very impressive figure for retention tho.

  • Reply 15 of 53

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by OllieWallieWhiskers View Post


     


    0% of iPhone buyers are switching away from iOS to Android... obviously.



    If I hadn't had the displeasure of previously using an Android phone for a full 2 year contract (OG Droid), I would be tempted to try one out- leaving my iPhone behind. Android phones have wow-factor- huge screens, 4G, fast processors, lots of RAM. This is why they sell so well, people look at these specs and see them as better than the iPhone. Of course, we here understand that specs mean nothing between platforms and the overall user experience is what you need to buy into. I still have to play tech support for my girlfriend's Incredible II for another 9 months.. will never be switching back to Android if they keep up their awfulness.

  • Reply 16 of 53

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post


    The last figures I saw stated an 89% retention rate, so 11% of iPhone owners are stepping away. A very impressive figure for retention tho.



    It is tough to NOT want to try out Android if you've never used it before. It is GREAT in theory- very open, nice specs on flagship phones.. unfortunately, in practice, it is a complete mess most of the time. My guess is that these 11% are in the boat of "I'm bored with the iPhone and Android looks so cool- I can customize it (ie make it as god-awful ugly) as I want and can pirate apps so much more easily!" To take off my fanboy hat for a moment- there are a lot of good reasons to use Android if you have specific needs for tight google integration or specific apps that can't be run on an iPhone. Other than that, I would bet 95% of people would find the iPhone a much better experience.

  • Reply 17 of 53


    Actually no it is NOT a small sample, but if you knew how stats worked, you'd understand that.

     

  • Reply 18 of 53
    negafoxnegafox Posts: 480member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Uninterested_Viewer View Post


    If I hadn't had the displeasure of previously using an Android phone for a full 2 year contract (OG Droid), I would be tempted to try one out- leaving my iPhone behind. Android phones have wow-factor- huge screens, 4G, fast processors, lots of RAM. This is why they sell so well, people look at these specs and see them as better than the iPhone. Of course, we here understand that specs mean nothing between platforms and the overall user experience is what you need to buy into. I still have to play tech support for my girlfriend's Incredible II for another 9 months.. will never be switching back to Android if they keep up their awfulness.



    Anything prior to Android 2.2 should have never been on the market. I would consider the original Droid users nothing more than Android beta testers since the operating system was half-baked at the time.

  • Reply 19 of 53
    vqrovqro Posts: 66member


    Not to mention the high-end Android phones selling for a penny on Amazon a few months after release.  This has much to do with Android adoption also, besides the wow factor.

     

  • Reply 20 of 53
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by thataveragejoe View Post


     


     


    I know how stats work, but 521 people is a terribly small sample.



    If you know how 'stats work' then, no, it's not.


     


    (Tea Time Jenson beat me to it, but I'll leave my post as is; it's worth noting at least twice).

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