According to data compiled by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, LLC (CIRP), over the last five years, the percentage of iPhone buyers who switched from an Android phone to an iPhone ranged between 11% and 15%. In 2023, 13% of iPhone buyers switched from Android to iOS which was two percentage points less than the 15% that made the switch the year before. In the two prior years, 2020 and 2021, the percentage of iPhone buyers that came from an Android phone was 11% each year while that number in 2019 came to 13%.
Considering that approximately 85% of iPhone purchases are made by consumers already using an iPhone, CIRP points out that the iPhone owner upgrade cycles are more important to iPhone sales than Android users deciding to switch to iOS. As far as Apple is concerned, it is more important to try to get an iPhone user motivated to upgrade to the latest model than trying to get Galaxy or Pixel users to make the change.
Apple relies on current iPhone owners to generate growth
Back in the earlier days of the iPhone and Android, Apple tried to “woo” Android users more aggressively. But Apple then used the so-called “walled gardens” in an attempt to get Android users to jump to iOS. A good example of this is the iOS Messages app which doesn’t provide Android users with the same experience that iOS users have when messaging fellow iOS users. Android users who wanted the coveted blue bubble when messaging on iOS needed to switch to iPhone and this strategy worked to a degree.
But now, Android users are looking beyond the blue bubble and simply want to be able to receive the same high-quality images from iOS users, get a read receipt, see a typing indicator, and have end-to-end encryption. This will happen later this year when Apple says it will support Rich Communication Services (RCS). But this won’t cost Apple too much in iPhone sales considering the data that CIRP has presented us with.
It seems that Apple does understand that it is current iPhone users that butter its bread. As a result, we should see Apple continue to stick with upgrades that make iPhone users share data and photos between themselves. A good example of this is the NameDrop feature added in iOS 17 that allows two iPhone users to swap their contact information by holding their phones close together.
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