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Survey Suggests 'Unprecedented' Demand for iPhone 5

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MacRumors

macrumors bot
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Apr 12, 2001
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RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky today issued a new report sharing the results of a proprietary survey of 2,200 respondents, revealing significantly higher demand for the iPhone 5 than was evident for the iPhone 4 ahead of its release last year. The survey shows that 31% of respondents are either very likely or somewhat likely to purchase an iPhone 5, compared to 25% for the iPhone 4 back in June 2010. Moreover, Apple's 15-16 month gap since the iPhone 4 release is also pushing a strong upgrade cycle, with 66% of existing iPhone users very likely or somewhat likely to upgrade to the iPhone 5.

rbc_iphone_5_demand.jpg

Customer likelihood of purchasing iPhone 5 ahead of launch compared to iPhone 4​

Unsurprisingly, potential launches of the iPhone 5 on Sprint and T-Mobile USA are also having a favorable effect on customer demand at those carriers, with 50-55% of customers at both carriers reporting that bringing the iPhone 5 to their carrier would make them "significantly" or "somewhat" more likely to purchase the device. Of the two carriers, Sprint has seen the stronger rumors of an iPhone 5 debut, although hints of an iPhone 5 for T-Mobile USA have also been circulating.

rbc_sprint_tmobile_iphone_5_likelihood.jpg

Effect of iPhone 5 coming to Sprint or T-Mobile USA on customer purchasing plans​

RBC's survey also takes a look at the tablet market, where Apple continues to hold a dominating position with 85% of all customers planning to purchase a tablet opting for an iPad. Samsung's Galaxy Tab takes second place with 4% of planned purchases.

Based on the strong survey results, RBC is raising its holiday quarter iPhone estimates from 24.4 million units to 27 million units and pushing total fiscal 2012 estimates from 105 million units to 110 million units. RBC is also raising its iPad estimates for the current back-to-school quarter from 10.5 million units to 12.5 million units as Apple continues to dominate the tablet market.

Article Link: Survey Suggests 'Unprecedented' Demand for iPhone 5
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/13/survey-suggests-unprecedented-demand-for-iphone-5/
chrmjenkins

chrmjenkins

macrumors 603
Oct 29, 2007
5,325
158
MD
Why would an iphone on more carriers make you less likely to purchase one? Is it not cool anymore?
 
MacinDoc

MacinDoc

macrumors 68020
Mar 22, 2004
2,268
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The Great White North
I'll take this, like all market analyses, with a grain of salt, but there's no question that the longer refresh cycle and surrounding hype have resulted in significant pent-up demand for Apple's next phone.

Edit: chrmjenkins: love your sig and avatar.
 
*LTD*

*LTD*

macrumors G4
Feb 5, 2009
10,703
1
Canada
But didn't HTC's CEO just recently say that the iPhone "isn't cool" anymore?

http://www.electronista.com/articles/11/09/12/htc.says.iphone.lost.chic.windows.phone.hurt/

I guess when you're in deep **** with Apple and are facing a slow lockout thanks to Google's purchase of Moto, you have to spin up something - anything - to stem the Apple mobile tide.

You know what's *really* not cool anymore? Apple bashing. Apple's cachet is built to last.

Note to rival CEOs: Slag on Apple at your own risk, because it tends to work out exactly the other way round once the numbers are in. Just ask Ballmer.
 
BC2009

BC2009

macrumors 68020
Jul 1, 2009
2,237
1,393
I think this survey would be more interesting after Apple announced iPhone 5, but before they release it. Many folks don't even know a new iPhone is due to be released.
 
spazzcat

spazzcat

macrumors 68040
Jun 29, 2007
3,683
4,770
I know of four or five people waiting for iPhone 5 to drop their Doid or blackberry. They ask me everyday, any news on IP5?
 
jb510

jb510

macrumors regular
Sep 19, 2007
167
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Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

I for one have no plans on replacing my iPhone 4 with a 4s/5... Unless it's released on Tmo In which case I'll switch instantly and tell AT&T to go to hell.

It's still hard to figure out what's going on, if the hardware is 4s then it seems odd to have had a longer upgrade cycle, but a 4s seems more likely since the focus is on iOS 5 and iCloud right now, not hardware. A fall release
date for iphone/ipad always made more sense to me though to capitalize on the holiday season.
 
M

macnisse

macrumors 6502
Jun 26, 2010
395
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Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; sv-se) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8L1 Safari/6533.18.5)

More carriers + longer refesh cycle = increased demand.
 
chrmjenkins

chrmjenkins

macrumors 603
Oct 29, 2007
5,325
158
MD
caseyh said:
chrmjenkins, what is your avatar? Besides spiky?
Click to expand...

It's the iron throne from the HBO series Game of Thrones, which is based on the book series by George R.R. Martin called a Song of Ice and Fire, which begins with the book A Game of Thrones.
 
Sedrick

Sedrick

macrumors 68030
Nov 10, 2010
2,596
26
This unprecedented demand is due to the long 15 month span since the old phone was released and also people's false belief that the iPhone 5 is going to be any different than the iPhone 4, sans some internals.
 
chrmjenkins

chrmjenkins

macrumors 603
Oct 29, 2007
5,325
158
MD
Sedrick said:
This unprecedented demand is due to the long 15 month span since the old phone was released and also people's false belief[1] that the iPhone 5 is going to be any different than the iPhone 4, sans some internals.
Click to expand...

[1] - citation needed

Also, the vast majority of consumers don't follow the redesign rumors like tech enthusiasts do. They just expect a new iphone with some feature they want over the old one. Plus, the longer refresh time means more are eligible for upgrades.
 
A

adrianweller

macrumors newbie
Jun 28, 2011
23
0
Booom!

The iPhone is wildly popular as it is. When it becomes available on more and more carriers it's really going to explode (figuratively, of course!).
These numbers indicate that roughly half of these customers want to get the iPhone as soon as it's available to them, to varying degrees. that's a hell of a lot of new iPhone users!
 
I

iAppleseed

macrumors regular
May 11, 2011
177
0
Apple, release the iPhone 5. I'm tired of waiting. And the new features better be good or else.
 
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