Apple’s newest iPhones are attracting more Android users than last year, survey shows

FAN Editor

Apple’s latest iPhone models are attracting more Android users to the brand than in previous years, a new report by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) found. Signs have pointed to relatively weak demand overall for the iPhone X, XS and XR, like lowered guidance by some of its key suppliers and Apple’s announcement that it will no longer disclose unit sales for the iPhone.

The report found that 16 percent of iPhone buyers upgraded from an Android phone in the 30 day period after the launch of the iPhone XR. After the iPhone 8 and 8s were released in Sept. 2017, 12 percent of iPhone buyers upgraded from an Android phone, and when the iPhone X was released in Nov. 2017, that number was 11 percent.

“It appears that iPhone XR did serve to attract current Android users,” Mike Levin, CIRP partner and co-founder said in a statement in a press release. “Of course, Apple doesn’t just state plainly its launch strategy. But, based on the pricing and features, we can infer that Apple positioned the iPhone XR to appeal to potential operating systems switchers from Android.”

CIRP’s report found that nearly a third of iPhone buyers in the U.S. flocked to its cheapest new model, the XR, which starts at $749. In the 30 days after its launch in Oct. 2018, CIRP found that XR sales made up 32 percent of total iPhone sales in the U.S. During the same 30-day period after the XR release, sales for the the iPhone XS and XS Max accounted for 35 percent of U.S. iPhone sales combined.

This share of XR sales tracks with that of previous models in their first month on the market, CIRP said, acknowledging it can’t make an exact comparison since this year Apple launched its more cheaper model second, diverting from previous launch strategies.

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