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64GB iPhone 4S takes 21% of sales, 36% of iPhone buyers come from another platform

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A new survey of recent iPhone customers found that 21 percent of iPhone 4S buyers chose Apple's highest capacity 64-gigabyte model, while 36 percent of users migrated from another platform like Android, BlackBerry or Palm.

Consumer Intelligence Research Partners released a report on Monday, revealing new details about users who bought an iPhone following the launch of the new iPhone 4S last October. Among those surveyed, 21 percent of iPhone 4S buyers opted for the high-end 64GB model, Apple's highest-ever capacity for a smartphone model.

The latest figures are slightly higher than a different poll conducted by investment firm Piper Jaffray last October on the first day of iPhone 4S availability. That poll of customers waiting in line found that 19 percent chose the 64GB model.

CIRP previously found that 18 percent of iPhone buyers at the iPhone 4S launch were switching from other platforms, like Android, BlackBerry or Palm. But that number only grew as 2011 drew to a close, with 36 percent of buyers coming from competing platforms.

The data comes from a survey of customers that purchased an iPhone in October, November and December of 2011. From an initial response of 6,316 subjects, CIRP surveyed 365 qualified people for its analysis.

The survey also found that AT&T, Verizon and Sprint have maintained their market shares consistently among iPhone owners. But the availability of the iPhone has also helped the three largest wireless providers in the U.S. take customers from other carriers that do not over the iPhone, most notably T-Mobile.

CIRP also discovered that online sales of the iPhone decreased as Apple filled preorders and met market demand. While online sales represented 43 percent of Apple's total handset sales during the iPhone 4S launch, that dropped to 33 percent as 2011 drew to a close.

The same research group revealed in a separate study last week that resales of iPhones are good for both Apple and carriers. It found that 49 percent of new iPhone owners sold a previous model from Apple on the secondary market.



19 Comments

MacPro 19 Years · 19853 comments

I personally know of about thirty people who have or about to change from Droids to iPhone 4s models, not sure which configuration. All were very unhappy with their Androids devices both from hardware and software perspectives. They all work for the same company but these are personal purchases.

MacPro 19 Years · 19853 comments

another dupe ... reboot the server AI

pedromartins 14 Years · 1326 comments

Quote:
Originally Posted by digitalclips

I personally know of about thirty people who have or about to change from Droids to iPhone 4s models, not sure which configuration. All were very unhappy with their Androids devices both from hardware and software perspectives. They all work for the same company but these are personal purchases.

yes... still, i believe that in the long term apple will sell much more iPhones and tablets thanks to android, just like with the mac and wins.

some trolls here will say that android best sellers are all high end, totally forgetting the hundreds of cheap models out there. one by one, these models obviously are selling less than the flagship phones, but if you put them together, they outsell the razors and galaxies of this world by 10 to 1, just like the iPhone outsells others high end models (all of them together) at least 6 to 1 and it's still losing (or was) market share, thanks to hundreds of cheaper android models.

to trully admire and enjoy the sls mclaren, one must drive the fiat punto. thanks android, for being our fiat punto.

eternal emperor 14 Years · 156 comments

The 64gb model is the one I purchased up from a 32gb iPhone 4. I really wanted storage to be a non-isssue. I purchased a 16gb iPad 1 when it was released and have regretted it ever since. Simply not enough storage for my needs. Photos take up half the storage. My plan was to get an iPad 2 and give the one to my in-law, but I've held out for an iPad 3. I'll probably get the 64gb version of that too so my iPad and iPhone are in data parity.

constable odo 18 Years · 1040 comments

The fact that switchers are moving to the Apple camp is excellent along with loyal long-term iPhone users. It's definitely showing that Apple will be able to pull new users while holding on to previous owners which will only help to continue steady iPhone growth. Getting new activations while losing previous customers is rather detrimental and could easily be happening on the Android platform. Apple just needs to keep building up a steady base of users and that will keep the actual number of iOS devices very high and make the iOS platform that much more stable and stronger over the longer term. Wall Street really doesn't quite get this point. All they praise are Android's high activation rate but don't concern themselves about long-term numbers or Android user dropouts. Getting a customer once doesn't guarantee a return customer if the customer is dissatisfied with the product.

Apple really needs to be able to produce iPhones at a faster rate to see if Apple can actually hold its own against Android to at least some degree. There's no way Apple can directly win an overall numbers game since there are so many Android smartphone variants that are much simpler to make as their quality and design can be changed as necessary to hold down costs.