From left to right: iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone XS. Photo: Alex Cranz/Gizmodo
iPhone loyalty is usually quite high. The Apple ecosystem tends to lock users in, giving them incredible syncing between all their devices that is just too hard to give up. Apple’s products carry a high resale value, so users often simply upgrade to the latest iPhone. Unfortunately, the now boring design of the iPhone XS—based off of the iPhone 6—combined with the high price of the device, and the lack of new features, lead to the least exciting iPhone ever. Few saw a reason to upgrade. Now we know how few. iPhone loyalty has plummeted to an all time low, dropping a whopping 15% just over the past year. In fact, 26% of iPhone users trading in their iPhone X moved to a different brand. In comparison, only 7.7% of Samsung users traded their devices in for an iPhone.
The Survey
BankMyCell looked at 38,000 people trading in their smartphones since October. iPhone loyalty, the rate at which iPhone owners buy a new iPhone, dropped 15.2%. In comparison, 92.3% of Android users who traded in an Android device got another Android device. Just 73% of iPhone owners did the same. This is the lowest Apple’s loyalty has been since 2011, and when compared to the loyalty rates of the rest of the market, is more indicative of trouble for the company than it was then. In the earlier days of smartphones, smartphone buyers were more capricious. Now they’re far more set in their ways. For such a dramatic change in loyalty to happen in just one year? This is extremely troubling for Apple.
This is a small sample size when compared to the total number of iPhone owners. It’s also reliant entirely on BankMyCell’s customers. We don’t know if their platform makes iPhone trade-ins easier, or if iPhone owners would prefer to trade their phones directly in to Apple. In fact, it ignores anyone who has stuck with the iPhone every year program. Therefore, it’s not perfect, and underestimates iPhone loyalty.
Still, if we compare the year over year values for BankMyCell’s numbers, it still suggests a stark drop, one that occurred years after Apple had already introduced the iPhone upgrade program. Therefore, we should not ignore the potential impact of this survey.
2019 Trouble
The iPhone this year will feature the same iPhone 6 inspired design, marking 5 straight years of its usage. Furthermore, it will include a polarizing design element, a much larger camera bump on the rear. When the iPhone 6 introduced the camera bump, it was universally hated. The iPhone couldn’t even sit flat on a desk anymore without a case! The iPhone 7 tried to smooth it out, but Apple was back to hard edges for the iPhone X. Now, that design is going to get far larger. Many will loathe it. Personally? I’m on the fence. I’d rather the entire top be taken up with a camera bump with 6 or more cameras, like the Light L16 (above). A combination of wide angle, various levels of zoom, and monochrome sensors for sharpness would produce photos with outrageous quality. Plus, it would finally justify the $1,000+ price tag on the iPhone, which is still a ridiculous joke.
Render by Hasan Kaymak
The iPhone 11 will likely drive loyalty down further. Apple hasn’t been able to justify their prices, which far exceed Android competition from manufacturers with phones with smaller or no notches, better cameras, better battery life, and more screen space. Ignoring iOS preference and the Apple ecosystem, on a hardware level, Android devices right now are simply better and cheaper. Apple has many poor decisions, from design to pricing, to recover from, and the iPhone 11 doesn’t look like it’ll be able to do that. Better luck next year?
Sources:
- Roger Fingas, AppleInsider
- Chance Miller, 9to5Mac