Retailers beware, the new iPhones are coming your way. Half of existing UK iPhone users say they want the new Apple iPhone X, according to a consumer surveyconducted immediately after news of the product was released last night. A further 39% want “to find out more first”.
“This represents a resoundingly successful launch”, says Guy Potter, Head of Research at MaruUsurv, which conducted the poll.
Amongst current Samsung owners the picture painted is not so rosy 14% say they want to upgrade to the iPhone X (though this is more than double when compared to the iPhone 5S launch) when it becomes available in the UK. Encouragingly 48% say they want to find out more first. Guy Potter went on to say “whether this is enough to change to landscape of the UK smartphone market remains to be seen, but it is interesting that after a few hours the results for the new iPhone are so strong”.
The results were particularly strong amongst younger consumers, showing the brand is still a force to be reckoned with amongst 18-24. Whether the iPhone X can capture both ends of the market remains a key test, but this early poll suggests that this might not be the case with younger consumers 3 times as likely to want to upgrade as older consumers.
Cost has often been touted as a barrier to owning an iPhone and with the cost of the iPhone X set to break into 4 figures in the UK, this needs to be considered. Two thirds (65%) of Samsung owners say that in the past they have been put off an iPhone because of the cost.
The features, a key part of any iPhone launch resonated with consumers to differing degrees. The top three features amongst current iPhone owners were; increased battery life (70%), wireless charging (57%) and fast charging technology (52%).
Amongst Samsung owners, the top three features were comparable; increased battery life (66%), fast charging technology (47%) and wireless charging (45%). “Get these right and the iPhone X could start gaining extra traction in the smartphone arena”.
The level of interest in the iPhone X feature set was high with only 14% claiming to find nothing appealing.
Guy Potter, research director at MaruUsurv, said:
“The appetite for a high end smartphone is not waning at all, if anything, consumers are more wedded than ever to the idea of owning the latest state of the art phone, with as advanced features as possible.”
