Nearly half of all U.S. teens own an iPhone, 62 percent plan to buy one

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
A new study released by Piper Jaffray on Tuesday notes the iPhone is once again at the top of the heap for U.S. teens, with 48 percent owning a version of the smartphone, while 62 percent said they planned to make the Apple handset their next phone.

Teen Survey
Source: Piper Jaffray


As noted by Fortune, Piper Jaffray's 25th bi-annual teen survey (PDF link) found Apple's iOS devices to be the most desirable telecom products, outperforming offerings from manufacturers using Google's Android operating system.

The wide-ranging survey, which includes metrics on everything from dining preferences to fashion, polled 1,600 teens from high-income and 3,600 teens from average-income families in classroom visits and electronic surveys.

Key findings:
  • 59% of teens say they are likely to buy an iOS device (unchanged from fall) and 21% are likely to buy an Android device (was 20%)
  • 48% of teens already own an iPhone, compared with 40% last fall
  • 62% of teens plan on making an iPhone their next mobile device (flat vs. fall 2012)
  • 23% expect to buy an Android phone, up from from 22% last fall
According to the study, 91 percent of teens said they plan on buying a smartphone for their next high-tech device, a number up from 86 percent last spring and 90 percent last fall.

As for tablets, 51 percent of respondents said they already own one, up from 44 percent last fall. Apple's iPad saw a decrease in marketshare, dropping from 72 percent to 68 percent, though 68 percent of teens said they plan to buy the device.

Apple appears to have a firm hold on the teen community, and while Android made some slight sequential gains, the overall market appears to be skewed toward iOS.
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 29
    aaronjaaronj Posts: 1,595member
    Looking at the "What OS is likely to be on your next phone" numbers, what is the 2% Other? I know I'm forgetting something obvious -- but I just can't think of what it is.
  • Reply 2 of 29
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    aaronj wrote: »
    Looking at the "What OS is likely to be on your next phone" numbers, what is the 2% Other? I know I'm forgetting something obvious -- but I just can't think of what it is.

    Symbian? Bada? (remember, a significant percentage said that they are planning to buy a non-smartphone).

    It is also possible that a couple percent are giving erroneous answers that were not caught by the survey people. For example "Ice Cream Sandwich" or "Jelly Bean" as the OS name.
  • Reply 3 of 29
    Love these results. Another "analyst" comes away from the Apple scoreboard with egg on his face. The latest, Tom Keene. From about a month ago:

    "What I see is a generational divide, is that true? Older people use iPhones, younger people use Samsungs."

    Gong! Where's the hook?!

    Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/samsungs-galaxy-phone-is-for-young-people-2013-3
  • Reply 4 of 29
    aaronjaaronj Posts: 1,595member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post





    Symbian? Bada? (remember, a significant percentage said that they are planning to buy a non-smartphone).



    It is also possible that a couple percent are giving erroneous answers that were not caught by the survey people. For example "Ice Cream Sandwich" or "Jelly Bean" as the OS name.


     


    Oh, of course.  Thanks.


     


    I haven't had dinner yet -- brain is not entirely functioning, clearly. :)

  • Reply 5 of 29
    gwmacgwmac Posts: 1,807member
    They should say the teens plan on asking their parents to buy them the devices in most cases.
  • Reply 6 of 29
    tikimantikiman Posts: 68member


    Interesting. It wasn't all that long ago that the anti-Apple "news" articles claimed that teens thought the iPhone was "done"...


     


    http://www.forbes.com/sites/larissafaw/2013/01/09/is-apples-iphone-no-longer-cool-to-teens/


     


    Funny how the "facts" change. image

  • Reply 7 of 29
    pfisherpfisher Posts: 758member


    Great, that's 110%!


     


    Why didn't they talk to low-income who will end up with cheaper Android phone or feature phone?


     


    The results can appear skewed.

  • Reply 8 of 29
    jpvnjpvn Posts: 40member
    i thought no body wanted iPhones anymore?
    I guess we wont here about this on manbc
  • Reply 9 of 29
    steven n.steven n. Posts: 1,229member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post





    Symbian? Bada? (remember, a significant percentage said that they are planning to buy a non-smartphone).



    It is also possible that a couple percent are giving erroneous answers that were not caught by the survey people. For example "Ice Cream Sandwich" or "Jelly Bean" as the OS name.


    Or even "Galaxy".  Given Google Trends tracks Galaxy having a higher trending than Android, there might be that as well.

  • Reply 10 of 29
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member


    This is hardly surprising. I see iPhones and iOS devices everywhere that I go. Young kids are using them, teenagers are using them, adults are using them, senior citizens are using them, basically everybody is using them.


     


    Let's not kid ourselves, besides a few weird forum trolls whose numbers are small, the overwhelming majority of normal people want and desire Apple products, because they are simply the best. People don't want to spend their money on junk.

  • Reply 11 of 29
    dsddsd Posts: 186member


    This shows that iPhones are only for kids. Watch AAPL drop another 10 points tomorrow. /s

  • Reply 12 of 29

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by pfisher View Post


    Great, that's 110%!


     


    Why didn't they talk to low-income who will end up with cheaper Android phone or feature phone?


     


    The results can appear skewed.



    Some of the pollsters didn't return from the 'hood and those that did were missing their belongings.

  • Reply 13 of 29
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member


    I'd love to see the demographics of those who want (and own) an Android phone.

  • Reply 14 of 29
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    I'd love to see the demographics of those who want (and own) an Android phone.



     


    It's basically internet geeks, apple-haters, or people who want to be superior by skinning their phones everyday or define their manhood and self-worth by their phones. Beyond that demographic, not many people want an "android". They want a "samsung" or a "phone with a big screen" maybe, but Android as a brand is becoming increasingly irrelevant to consumers. 

  • Reply 15 of 29
    relefuntrelefunt Posts: 18member
    That means soon there will be 110% of teens with an iPhone!




    (I know why you can't add the two numbers up, but just humor me for today, ok?)
  • Reply 16 of 29
    jameskatt2jameskatt2 Posts: 720member
    iPhones are for smart kids and cool kids.
    Samsung is for dumb kids.

    Smart kids and cool kids have more money to spend than dumb kids.
  • Reply 17 of 29
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Is there any evidence that supports a collective psychological trend to resist what is popular between generational divides regardless of how good it is in comparison to other options?
  • Reply 18 of 29
    aaronjaaronj Posts: 1,595member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    Is there any evidence that supports a collective psychological trend to resist what is popular between generational divides regardless of how good it is in comparison to other options?


     


    I seriously doubt it.  What happens, seemingly, is that certain technologies/styles change, leaving an older generation behind and being adopted by a newer generation because they "get it" out of the gate.  Or, in many cases, it was the younger generation that made the newer technology/style/trend in the first place.


     


    But as anecdotal evidence, almost every high school kid I see at my coffee shop has an iPhone.  I can almost count on one hand the number of times I've seen a Samsung (or other Android device) in the wild.  Nearly every time I see a smartphone, it's an iPhone.  That could be a geographical/class thing.  I don't know.  

  • Reply 19 of 29
    jaaycojaayco Posts: 46member


    I've used iPhones since they first came out, and there is only one thing that makes them seem a bit boring or stale - the fact that the last one you had was pretty darn good so the new one is not that much better. The beauty with teenagers is that most of them will never have had an iPhone before so they are comparing it with fresh eyes. Guess what? It still makes most other phones look like cheap knockoffs at best...

  • Reply 20 of 29
    nhtnht Posts: 4,522member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AaronJ View Post


     


    But as anecdotal evidence, almost every high school kid I see at my coffee shop has an iPhone.  I can almost count on one hand the number of times I've seen a Samsung (or other Android device) in the wild.  Nearly every time I see a smartphone, it's an iPhone.  That could be a geographical/class thing.  I don't know.  



     


    Alas the plural of anecdote isn't data.  I see the same trend although I have seen more Android phones than you have.  Given that 23% or respondents report expecting to get an Android phone that's well within expected norms.


     


    I see quite a few adults with Android phones.  They seem to mostly use them as dumb phones.  These are the folks that still use their standalone GPS units which I find weird.


     


    The ones that text me and exchange pics and things tend to be on the iPhone although a few have Android.

Sign In or Register to comment.