Teen iPhone ownership hits all-time high, interest in Apple Watch ticks up

Posted:
in General Discussion edited April 2017
Apple's mobile products continue to rise in popularity amongst U.S. teens, as fresh survey data from Piper Jaffray shows more than three out of every four teens now own an iPhone and even more intend to buy.




According to statistics presented in Piper Jaffray's latest "Taking Stock with Teens" report, 76 percent of the more than 5,500 teens surveyed own an iPhone, the highest rating ever recorded for the demographic. Purchase intent also remains high, with 81 percent of respondents saying their next handset will be an iPhone. By comparison, runner up Android managed a purchase intent of 13 percent, down from 17 percent last fall.

Apple products, especially the flagship iPhone range, have always tracked well with young users. The investment bank's metrics show a steady climb in both ownership and intent to buy over the past two years, with a slight dip in spring 2015. At the time, Apple was marketing its first large-screen handsets in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

The recent numbers compare nicely to last year's survey in which 69 percent of teens owned owned an iPhone, while 75 percent expected to make the Apple handset their next smartphone.

Driving continued interest is the expected iPhone "supercycle" set for unveiling this fall. Along with generational updates to iPhone 7, Apple is widely anticipated to release a special OLED model with advanced features like an embedded home button and a depth-sensing front-facing camera.




As for wearables, interest in Apple Watch is slowly creeping back to levels seen before the device was unveiled in fall 2014. In spring 2014, some 17 percent of teens surveyed planned to buy Apple Watch, a figure that fell to 8 percent in fall 2015.

Apple Watch remains the top smartwatch among teens, with 11 percent of respondents being current owners and 13 percent planning to buy a model within the next six months. Purchase intent is up two points from fall 2016. Samsung Gear placed second, with 2 percent of teens saying they owned the device.

Overall ownership among U.S. teens has grown steadily since 2015, with just under 16 percent of respondents saying they own some ilk of smartwatch. That number stood at just 5 percent two years ago.

For fitness bands, market leader Fitbit remains at the top of the list with a 71 percent share of teen mindshare. Apple usurped Nike to take second place with a 10 percent share. Some 24 percent of teens surveyed said Fitbit was their favorite fitness app, with Apple close behind at 17 percent.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 34
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    I thought millennials hated Apple.


    caliedredcornchipSpamSandwich
  • Reply 2 of 34
    Where exactly was this sample taken from? White weathly teens from Upper-Eastside NYC?
    I find it a stretch to assume this sample size could be generalized to all US teens. But then again, I didn't read shit.
    baconstangSpamSandwich
  • Reply 3 of 34
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    jungmark said:
    I thought millennials hated Apple.


    Well, that’s what we’ve been told by pundits. I guess the pundits are wrong. Whew, when has that ever happened?
    anton zuykovpscooter63StrangeDaysdoozydozencornchipwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 34
    To be more accurate, you mean 81% of their *parents* will be buying them iPhones. Teens don't have their own money. 
    edited April 2017 macseekerking editor the grateSpamSandwich
  • Reply 5 of 34
    Whoa, whoa, whoa... I thought the analysts said the AppleWatch was dead and had little future growth. Nobody buys AppleWatches, right? I've always said to never to listen to pundits. The only thing that matters is what consumers think about a product. If they're willing to fork over their hard-earned cash for some iPhone or AppleWatch, then Apple is good to go. I don't know what type of sampling was done to obtain this info. Hey, it could be way off the mark. I'm only saying that there's no need to jump to conclusions about high or low sales when quarterly financial results tell the true story. Many of my older and younger relatives own iPhones and they happy with them. They're not rich but have steady white-collar jobs and seem to have no problem buying iPhones.
    cornchipwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 34
    baconstangbaconstang Posts: 1,105member
    Fortunately teens never lie.
    cornchip
  • Reply 7 of 34
    hexclockhexclock Posts: 1,250member
    jungmark said:
    I thought millennials hated Apple.


    Only the very youngest millennials are still teens, most are 20-30 or so. 
    calianton zuykovdoozydozen
  • Reply 8 of 34
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
     But the anal dudes said "Apple no longer cool"?

    hexclock said:
    jungmark said:
    I thought millennials hated Apple.


    Only the very youngest millennials are still teens, most are 20-30 or so. 
    The generation after millenials is being called "iGeneration". Look it up. 

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 34
    And accoerding to marlet surveys in other parts of the world Apple's share of the phone market tanked and is less that 10%

    All I know is that one of the two shops of the two biggest UK carriers is wall to wall Samsung at the moment. It has gone over 100% to the S8/S8+ promo.
    The other one was like that last week but this week they are actually having an iPhone 7 promo but it is still dwarfed by the S8 promotion.
    The biggest UK MNVO is still 100% Samsung.

    Where I live finding iPhones (apart from PAWN Shops) on retail sale is hard.
    Samsung is spending really big money promoting their stuff.
    Google/Pixel is nowhere. Sold out or back ordered.
    Sony? Well if you ask nicely you can get one.

    Curry's/PC-World has gone off Apple phones in a big way yet they are advertising MacBook Pro's on TV.

    The rest of the world is very different to the USA. Those who control the Apple stock price seemingly can't see beyond the USA.
    If Apple were to compete a bit more outsode the USA then...?????
     

  • Reply 10 of 34
    NY1822NY1822 Posts: 621member
    parents buy fitbit for their kids bc it's cheap and if it's lost or broken they can replace it...when the child is responsible enough they get an apple watch. If you are between the ages of 13-20 why on earth would want a normal watch that only tells time? Anyone older needs a mindset change from growing up with basic watches.
    edited April 2017 watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 34
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    And accoerding to marlet surveys in other parts of the world Apple's share of the phone market tanked and is less that 10%

    All I know is that one of the two shops of the two biggest UK carriers is wall to wall Samsung at the moment. It has gone over 100% to the S8/S8+ promo.
    The other one was like that last week but this week they are actually having an iPhone 7 promo but it is still dwarfed by the S8 promotion.
    The biggest UK MNVO is still 100% Samsung.

    Where I live finding iPhones (apart from PAWN Shops) on retail sale is hard.
    Samsung is spending really big money promoting their stuff.
    Google/Pixel is nowhere. Sold out or back ordered.
    Sony? Well if you ask nicely you can get one.

    Curry's/PC-World has gone off Apple phones in a big way yet they are advertising MacBook Pro's on TV.

    The rest of the world is very different to the USA. Those who control the Apple stock price seemingly can't see beyond the USA.
    If Apple were to compete a bit more outsode the USA then...?????
     

    You mean the rest of the world were all those 10000 makers make 5% of the profits while Apple 95%... That includes Samsung btw.

    Apple sells at the top of the market has that market is smaller and more saturated (by their own sales) than the lower end of the market.

    I'm pretty sure people can't get a BMV everywhere either and they're not getting more than 10% of the worldwide market either. Guess they should be very worried too..



    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 34
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator
    And accoerding to marlet surveys in other parts of the world Apple's share of the phone market tanked and is less that 10%

    All I know is that one of the two shops of the two biggest UK carriers is wall to wall Samsung at the moment. It has gone over 100% to the S8/S8+ promo.
    The other one was like that last week but this week they are actually having an iPhone 7 promo but it is still dwarfed by the S8 promotion.
    The biggest UK MNVO is still 100% Samsung.

    Where I live finding iPhones (apart from PAWN Shops) on retail sale is hard.
    Samsung is spending really big money promoting their stuff.
    Google/Pixel is nowhere. Sold out or back ordered.
    Sony? Well if you ask nicely you can get one.

    Curry's/PC-World has gone off Apple phones in a big way yet they are advertising MacBook Pro's on TV.

    The rest of the world is very different to the USA. Those who control the Apple stock price seemingly can't see beyond the USA.
    If Apple were to compete a bit more outsode the USA then...?????
     

    Funny that folks claim iPhone's low global market share as evidence of some kind of weakness in Apple.  How is it that these people miss that Apple is taking 90% of global smartphone profits already.  The company, really, doesn't want most of the rest of the market.  Outside the United States there are huge populations, think China, where there is a huge base of very poor people, on top of which there is a much smaller proportion (relative to the U,S.) with the money to afford a premium smartphone.  Apple is concerned first with that portion of the global population, same way Ferrari and Louise Vuitton are.  So Apple is, in fact, competing extraordinarily well in the foreign markets it pursues.  It's just that those markets are NOT synonymous with the names of countries on a global map.  They are, for the most part, markets within those countries.  Let's call them premium, or luxury, markets. There's one in almost every country on earth.  But the China Premium Smartphone market is not the same thing as the China Smartphone market.
    edited April 2017 cornchipwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 34
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    And accoerding to marlet surveys in other parts of the world Apple's share of the phone market tanked and is less that 10%

    All I know is that one of the two shops of the two biggest UK carriers is wall to wall Samsung at the moment. It has gone over 100% to the S8/S8+ promo.
    The other one was like that last week but this week they are actually having an iPhone 7 promo but it is still dwarfed by the S8 promotion.
    The biggest UK MNVO is still 100% Samsung.

    Where I live finding iPhones (apart from PAWN Shops) on retail sale is hard.
    Samsung is spending really big money promoting their stuff.
    Google/Pixel is nowhere. Sold out or back ordered.
    Sony? Well if you ask nicely you can get one.

    Curry's/PC-World has gone off Apple phones in a big way yet they are advertising MacBook Pro's on TV.

    The rest of the world is very different to the USA. Those who control the Apple stock price seemingly can't see beyond the USA.
    If Apple were to compete a bit more outsode the USA then...?????
     

    They will be all iPhone 8 in October. Or whenever that is announced. Apple needs to do something in India maybe, but that is about it. 
  • Reply 14 of 34
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    At least for younger teens (10-13), the IPhone SE has got to be a gold mine:  small enough to fit into a pants pocket while cheap enough to not be a constant worry over loss or breakage.
    StrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 34
    mrboba1mrboba1 Posts: 276member
    And accoerding to marlet surveys in other parts of the world Apple's share of the phone market tanked and is less that 10%

    All I know is that one of the two shops of the two biggest UK carriers is wall to wall Samsung at the moment. It has gone over 100% to the S8/S8+ promo.
    The other one was like that last week but this week they are actually having an iPhone 7 promo but it is still dwarfed by the S8 promotion.
    The biggest UK MNVO is still 100% Samsung.

    Where I live finding iPhones (apart from PAWN Shops) on retail sale is hard.
    Samsung is spending really big money promoting their stuff.
    Google/Pixel is nowhere. Sold out or back ordered.
    Sony? Well if you ask nicely you can get one.

    Curry's/PC-World has gone off Apple phones in a big way yet they are advertising MacBook Pro's on TV.

    The rest of the world is very different to the USA. Those who control the Apple stock price seemingly can't see beyond the USA.
    If Apple were to compete a bit more outsode the USA then...?????
     

    How is this different than any launch of a new phone? Of course it's dwarfed by the brand new shiny thing. When the next iPhone is out, the S8 will scarcely be seen.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 34
    brucemcbrucemc Posts: 1,541member
    To be more accurate, you mean 81% of their *parents* will be buying them iPhones. Teens don't have their own money. 
    Depends on age.  My son is 15 and has a job.  We purchased his first smartphone as a birthday present when 13, but has been told if he wants something new he has to save his own money for it.  
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 34
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    And accoerding to marlet surveys in other parts of the world Apple's share of the phone market tanked and is less that 10%

    All I know is that one of the two shops of the two biggest UK carriers is wall to wall Samsung at the moment. It has gone over 100% to the S8/S8+ promo.
    The other one was like that last week but this week they are actually having an iPhone 7 promo but it is still dwarfed by the S8 promotion.
    The biggest UK MNVO is still 100% Samsung.

    Where I live finding iPhones (apart from PAWN Shops) on retail sale is hard.
    Samsung is spending really big money promoting their stuff.
    Google/Pixel is nowhere. Sold out or back ordered.
    Sony? Well if you ask nicely you can get one.

    Curry's/PC-World has gone off Apple phones in a big way yet they are advertising MacBook Pro's on TV.

    The rest of the world is very different to the USA. Those who control the Apple stock price seemingly can't see beyond the USA.
    If Apple were to compete a bit more outsode the USA then...?????
     

    The problem is that most of the world is poor. The average android phone sells for about $210. The average iPhones sells for $700. Notice the difference? There are a lot more poor people in the world than middle class people, who form most of Apple's buyers, not the rich. I suppose you might call someone rich who OS middle class here if your poor somewhere else, but it's still not true.

    66% of Apple's sales are out of the USA. That's why they have $225 billion parked out of the country. They know very well where people live, and how much they can spend. Would you be happy if Apple built a $200 Phone? You can be sure that if they did, they would sell a lot of them. But Apple's constrained by their services, which don't work as well on a weak device. Samsung, and other Android and AOSP manufacturers don't have much in the way of services, so they don't care. But Apple sells the entire experience, while they don't.

    app,e has to walk a tightrope. Every time they lower their prices, people either complain, because they're seen as cheapening the brand, or celebrate, because they can better afford it. But the financial people worry about margins. They're always giving Apple flack for that.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 34
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Whoa, whoa, whoa... I thought the analysts said the AppleWatch was dead and had little future growth. Nobody buys AppleWatches, right? I've always said to never to listen to pundits. The only thing that matters is what consumers think about a product. If they're willing to fork over their hard-earned cash for some iPhone or AppleWatch, then Apple is good to go. I don't know what type of sampling was done to obtain this info. Hey, it could be way off the mark. I'm only saying that there's no need to jump to conclusions about high or low sales when quarterly financial results tell the true story. Many of my older and younger relatives own iPhones and they happy with them. They're not rich but have steady white-collar jobs and seem to have no problem buying iPhones.
    I saw these numbers yesterday. What concerns me is that while more are buying the Watch, less are desiring it. What I mean is that you always want to see those surveyed who don't have the product as having a higher percentage than these who do have it. We see a lot more have it, but the numbers for those who want it are less. That could indicate that interest is waning once most of those who want it have it.
  • Reply 19 of 34
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Let's also remember that Apple needs to do more listening. Laptop magazine just show their latest satisfaction results. Apple came in fifth. Fifth! That's not good, folks.
  • Reply 20 of 34
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,212member
    So out of the total 41,731,000 teens in the US 75% of them already own an iPhone? hmmm.... With 90M total iPhone users in the US according to yet another survey it doesn't leave a lot of product for adults relatively :) speaking. 

    I suppose there's no reason to question the results, they came from analysts at Piper-Jaffray. 
    edited April 2017 cornchip
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