AppleInsider Staff
Consumers in Japan — now one of Apple's most important markets — are excited by the prospect of a larger iPhone and the increased screen size could be a key driver of sales to new customers in the Asian nation, according to new survey data released this week.
Japanese market research firm MMD spoke to some 3,000 mobile phone users in the month of August — Â 1,000 each from major carriers Docomo, au, and SoftBank. Of those, 35.7 percent indicated that they intend to purchase Apples's next-generation handset.
Some 33.3 percent of prospective iPhone 6 buyers said that they were interested in the device because it was time to upgrade their smartphone. 29.9 percent, meanwhile, said that the rumored display size increase piqued their interest.
More than 40 percent of those who want a larger-screened iPhone are interested in the rumored 5.5-inch model, while just 20 percent see the 4.7-inch variant as ideal.
Japanese consumers have wholeheartedly embraced the iPhone since its launch, with the device owning over half of the smartphone market that was previously dominated by domestic players like Sharp and Sony. Perhaps even more impressively, the iPhone accounts for more than one out of every three mobile phone shipments in a country where so-called "feature phones," which cost significantly less than smartphones, continue to be top sellers.
Apple's Japanese success comes despite initial skepticism on the part of industry watchers, who believed the Silicon Valley company would not be able to compete with Japanese handsets that offered features like television reception and touch-based mobile payments.
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40 Comments
I guess iPhone 5.5 will make iPad mini pretty much dead. And it is a good thing, Apple is better to disrupt themselves than let others to disrupt them.
We'll see if the "other" category is disappointed because that would mean buying the year old 5S.
That thing will be gigantic. I don't know how anyone could walk around with it in their pocket.
[QUOTE]Apple's Japanese success comes despite initial skepticism on the part of industry watchers, who believed the Silicon Valley company would not be able to compete with Japanese handsets that offered features like television reception and touch-based mobile payments.[/QUOTE] Because, ya know, it is just so shockingly unexpected that the "industry watchers" get it so wrong. Shouldn't this be "Apple stock price takes a hit this week when it is revealed that Apple's marketshare is significantly different* than analysts predicted." *different in this case meaning far exceeding predictions, so clearly there is something wrong at Apple and Doom is imminent anytime a company outperforms the experts' predictions.
And yet AAPL is falling like a rock today! Run for the hills! :))