For The First Time Ever, iPhone Owner Loyalty Declines

[Guest]

It has begun, Better dump those apple shares before they are worthless.

 

[tolham]

[citation][nom]Onihikage[/nom]When they release unfinished products (practically spitting on Steve Jobs' grave), only care about their own patents, and sue the competition when it does better than them, is it any wonder why people are deciding Apple is a jerk and they should be spending time with other companies?[/citation]
this exactly. steve jobs would never have released the iphone 5 as it is. tim cook is trading product quality for profit. the ipad 4 and the ipad mini are another example - when jobs came back to apple in the 90s the first thing he did was cut down the excess product line and focused on making one good computer. now tim cook is releasing two versions the ipad at the same time, and less than a year later since the ipad 3, and there's going to be an updated version of the ipad 4 early next year. this is the beginning of the fall of apple.

 

[azraa]

Aww come on, there is a problem with the society, thats why the iPhone gaing such importance.

Historic: Mac = Expensive
Expensive = Status
Status = the Opium of modern society

Just as simple as that.
Why do you think most mid-high class teenagers have one?
Pure pretensions.

 

[bigdragon]

I'm going to use Wall Street math for my comment.

Could it be that we're now entering the post-iPhone world? Apple hasn't been making record profits lately and now loyalty is declining. Quick, somebody find a new Apple! This is going to be all over CNBC and FoxBusiness Monday. The sky is falling!

 

[neon neophyte]

well really, just how long did u think you could keep releasing the exact same phone before people got bored of it?

 

[Ragnar-Kon]

[citation][nom]neon neophyte[/nom]well really, just how long did u think you could keep releasing the exact same phone before people got bored of it?[/citation]
Well releasing the same thing over and over with minor improvements is basically how the cell phone industry makes money. Not just the cell phone industry either... automobile industry does the same thing. Isn't just Apple that does it.

At any rate, several iPhone users I know say that they like the iPhone 4S better than the iPhone 5, all for different reasons. Somewhat surprising to me, none of them complained about the Maps software.

I wonder if Apple would continue to find success if they switched to a 2-year release cycle to better coincide with contract renewals. Even so, 88% retention among US customers is pretty damn good. Wonder what the retention numbers are with other cell phones.

 

[C12Friedman]

Paul Brown sounds kinda dillusional in the article which talks about possibly losing existing customers - with his statement "There is no doubt that Apple is continuing it's success in retaining existing user base...". The article itself seems to bring at least a little doubt - at least to me

 

[Guest]

Of course it has, the Iphone 5 took too long to come and when it did it was nothing revolutionary or life altering as expected. It was just a Iphone 4S stretched a half inch longer, and a little speed bump. Very happy with my Galaxy Note and Ive had $G LTE speeds for a year now. Not thanks Apple.

 

[reprotected]

[citation][nom]bigdragon[/nom]I'm going to use Wall Street math for my comment.Could it be that we're now entering the post-iPhone world? Apple hasn't been making record profits lately and now loyalty is declining. Quick, somebody find a new Apple! This is going to be all over CNBC and FoxBusiness Monday. The sky is falling![/citation]
Google is dangerous in the tech world, yet no one seems to notice it because everyone is still hating on Apple. Both them and Microsoft has capitalized a strong oligopoly (almost turning into a monopoly), and yet Apple is getting the negative attention because teens being teens loving their iPhones is the worst thing that can happen and that only Apple creates patents. Won't be long before the empire of Android becomes the new "iSheep" club. Oh wait, too late...

 

[dextermat]

You gotta love the iphone 5 add: 30 second of 10% more screen and 10 % less thick...

Only person that can get hypnotize by that is a low IQ person...

 

[sp0nger]

As an owner of 3 iphones i am definitely moving to windows 8 phone next

 

[DirectXtreme]

[citation]a study found that 88 percent of U.S. iPhone owners are likely to buy another Apple smartphone[/citation]
I wasn't aware Apple made another smartphone.

 

[tuffjuff]

[citation][nom]halcyon[/nom]The SGS3 is just that good. ...made me switch.[/citation]

I went from an iPhone 4 to the SGS3... for two weeks, after which point the still buggy/laggy ghetto-ness of Android caused me to pick up a pre-paid Boost Mobile phone for a month and a half until the iPhone 5 came out/I could FIND iPhone 5's.

Some people can put up with a lesser experience to "oh muh gawud" get a nearly too large to use with just one hand screen on their phone, I prefer the greater stability, speed and streamlined feel of my iPhone 5.

 

[livebriand]

[citation][nom]tuffjuff[/nom]I went from an iPhone 4 to the SGS3... for two weeks, after which point the still buggy/laggy ghetto-ness of Android caused me to pick up a pre-paid Boost Mobile phone for a month and a half until the iPhone 5 came out/I could FIND iPhone 5's.Some people can put up with a lesser experience to "oh muh gawud" get a nearly too large to use with just one hand screen on their phone, I prefer the greater stability, speed and streamlined feel of my iPhone 5.[/citation]
Hmm... my Galaxy Nexus doesn't have any stability or speed issues at all, and I love Jelly Bean. I'm thinking about upgrading to the Nexus 4.

 

[twztechman]

I'm on my 2nd Iphone (currently have a 4s) - if i was gonna by a new phone now, I would hold out for one of the new windows 8 phones, probably the Nokia 920.

I recently got a Nexus 7 just to see how I like android. While it is ok, the wife's ipad 2 is definitely more user friendly. Interestingly, some of the earlier comments about compatibility issues with the different android releases has been a real issue for me. The Nexus has the latest version of Android, and a lot of apps that I wanted to install were not compatible with my device.

 

[wardoc22]

I have a nokia n9 ^.^

 

[Thomas Creel]

Sucks for Apple, since Steve Jobs died that company has been declining imo.

 

[sacre]

[citation][nom]faster23rd[/nom]True, that. Also, in my corner of the globe, Apple products serve as a label of affluence. Their products become a symbol that says "Hey, I'm prolly a lot better than you", and they flaunt it too. I can only grumble in my head[/citation]

You need to relax. That my friend is simply an assumption, I own an iPhone 4S and I don't feel i'm above anyone simply because I own a phone.

See, people that have the same line of thought as you is what creates problems. You get angry at iPhone users NOT because of them shitting on you, but because you THINK they believe they're higher than you.

This is wrong, thinking like this, assuming these things will just piss you off more.

 

[_Cosmin_]

[citation][nom]lostmyclan[/nom]Funny =( how saddly u arePeople have choices in your life. if apple dont have better products no one will buy.[/citation]

People yes, ibrainless no !

Fail after fail and they still pay huge amount of money on that things that are no better than previos own version !

 

[cats_Paw]

[citation][nom]azraa[/nom]Aww come on, there is a problem with the society, thats why the iPhone gaing such importance.Historic: Mac = ExpensiveExpensive = StatusStatus = the Opium of modern societyJust as simple as that.Why do you think most mid-high class teenagers have one?Pure pretensions.[/citation]

OFC it is. So is having a better car, a bigger house, or good clothing. It all ends up in the same need: To get Laid. The Higher the status, the easier it becomes.

 

[Guest]

I have an iPhone 4S and I am still running iOS 5.1.1. I have no desire or interest in the iPhone 5 or iOS 6. For the first time in two years, Apple's latest offering looks to me more like a downgrade than an upgrade. Several colleagues who "upgraded' to iOS 6 wish they could go back to 5.1.1. The iPhone 5 looks like an interesting device but not so compelling to make me want to toss my 4S. The proprietary Lightning connector is going to be a headache if Apple manages to maintain a lock on cables and devices that connect to it. I have a nice collection of 30-pin devices that I am not ready to scrap or pay $29 each for an adapter to use them.

 

[waltfrench]

Strategy Analytics wrote, “Despite this decline, Apple retains a higher repeat purchase intention level than any other major phone manufacturer surveyed by Strategy Analytics.” And let's examine the drop: from 93% to 88% means that an additional one iPhone user in 20 has said they're not at least pretty sure their next phone will be from Apple.

THIS report doesn't show repeat buying intentions for the many LG, Motorola, Sony-Ericcson and even Samsung buyers, but such figures have historically topped out at half of iPhone owners' satisfaction. If customer repeat purchase intention is a sign of innovations, then Apple's competitors have NEVER impressed buyers with their innovations.

So I think S.A. deserves recognition as a surveying/marketing outfit, but both they, and people who cite this report as bad news for Apple because it shows Apple not innovating as much, get an F in Logic. That might include Tom's, which seems to have been in a bit of a rush to tout news that looked like it justified Tom's disdain for Apple.

What conclusion should people draw, since the “lack of innovation” line fails? How about the obvious one? Only in the past couple of years — since Froyo — have Android phones achieved the smooth operation, selection of quality apps and overall power that put them into the same league with Apple. iPhone owners, like others, now actually have a choice that they haven't before.

Most of the people I hang out with are smart “knowledge workers,” paid to make quality decisions. The iPhone users among them are not the status-nervous iSheep that Samsung is trying to capture with their ads belittling iPhone users' satisfaction. It's hardly surprising that about one in twenty of them (93%-88%) are giving serious consideration to devices with a stylus, a bigger screen or lower price.

If 90% of the user experience is Android with 10% due to whatever skinning or design features an individual phone maker puts on it, more Android users who simply want a good smartphone at a good price, will be looking at Apple than the other way around. Cupertino should be celebrating this report.

 

[wykyd]

This is irritating. It isn't the bad press about lack of innovation that is making people less interested in Apple... it is the LACK OF INNOVATION! So it is ok to be in a rut as long as no one reports on it? Apple needs to get their egos in check. Even if they are one of the greatest companies, arrogance will still bring them down.

 

[wykyd]

This is irritating. It isn't the bad press about lack of innovation that is making people less interested in Apple... it is the LACK OF INNOVATION! So it is ok to be in a rut as long as no one reports on it? Apple needs to get their egos in check. Even if they are one of the greatest companies, arrogance will still bring them down.

 

[cookoy]

some people buy an item because they want to be part of the fad or their friends recommend it. then they realize it does not really fit their needs. so they start to look elsewhere, hopefully do some research before buyer their next item. it's natural to lose some of your previous customers. 88% (US) and 75% (Europe) are still good numbers. what is important is the rate of attracting new customers exceeds the rate you lose your old customers.