Neil Hughes
ChangeWave's latest survey, conducted in June and released on Monday, found that 14 percent of consumers indicated they are "very likely" to buy a so-called "iPhone 5." Another 17 percent of people said they are "somewhat likely" to buy Apple's next iPhone.
"The biggest finding of the survey is the unprecedented level of advanced demand for the next generation Apple iPhone (i.e., the 'iPhone 5') — which based on these survey numbers easily dwarfs the advance demand of any previous iPhone launch," ChangeWave said.
Last October, 10 percent of consumers said they were "very likely" to buy an iPhone 4S, while 11.5 percent identified themselves as "somewhat likely." The iPhone 4S went on to have a record breaking debut, resulting in sales of 37 million iPhones during the holiday 2011 launch quarter.
ChangeWave's latest data is based on a poll of 4,042 primarily North American consumers. Those polled were told that Apple's next-generation iPhone is likely to launch later this year with a larger screen, improved camera, new iOS 6 operating system, and 4G LTE capability, all at the same price points of the current iPhone 4S.
The latest poll also found good news for Samsung, with 19 percent of customers indicating they plan to buy a Samsung smartphone in the next 90 days. That demand has been driven largely by the recent release of the Galaxy S III, Samsung's latest flagship Android smartphone.
Specific to the Galaxy S III, 2 percent of respondents said they are "very likely" to buy Samsung's latest handset, while 7 percent said they are "somewhat likely." The top reason for buyers to choose the Galaxy S III was "the size and quality of screen," which accounted for 15 percent of anticipated sales.
While the survey shows positive results for Apple and Samsung, other handset makers have continued to flounder. Interest in Motorola devices was down two percentage points to 4 percent, HTC was unchanged at 3 percent, and RIM remains stuck at its all-time low of 2 percent. Finnish smartphone maker Nokia saw a slight uptick of one-point, but remains low at just 2 percent.
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112 Comments
I would think 59% saying they are unlikely to get an iphone 5 is more unprecedented than the 14% number. But perception is reality I suppose...Nice spin. Btw, I'm getting "the rich text editor is not compatible with your browser" message. Ironic, because I'm using Safari on my iPad.
Well I'll be definitley getting one as my iPhone 4 is now out of contract and getting a bit long in the tooth (not slow as such, but noticably slower than my iPad 3 for some things I do a lot) so I'm waiting (im)patiently for the new one to arrive so I can upgrade... Just need to see pricing and capacity options to work out exactly which one I'll go for.
The iPhone 4 will probably be going to my mum...
I would think 59% saying they are unlikely to get an iphone 5 is more unprecedented than the 14% number. But perception is reality I suppose...Nice spin.
If you take a look at the numbers they provided for last year in the same category, the 59% number is down from 71% so, to me, it doesn't appear to be spin.
Btw, I'm getting "the rich text editor is not compatible with your browser" message. Ironic, because I'm using Safari on my iPad.
How is that 'ironic'?
[quote name="Asim Soofi" url="/t/151444/demand-for-apples-next-iphone-at-an-unprecedented-level#post_2151789"]I would think 59% saying they are unlikely to get an iphone 5 is more unprecedented than the 14% number. But perception is reality I suppose...Nice spin. Btw, I'm getting "the rich text editor is not compatible with your browser" message. Ironic, because I'm using Safari on my iPad.[/quote] It's no spin at all. The data are simply: (i) comparisons with the same metrics for iPhone 4s from last year (and anyone who was not on another planet can surely recall the frenzied success that that the previous model was); and (ii) comparisons with other new offerings using a similar metric. I think that demand for this year's iPhone will be, indeed, off the charts.