iPhone Users Demonstrate Strong Loyalty with Planned Retention Rate of 89%

MacRumors · Sep 22, 2011

Investment research firm UBS today issued a report highlighting retention rates for smartphone users, judging consumer loyalty based on whether they plan to make their next purchase from the same manufacturer as their current handset. According to the worldwide survey, 89% of iPhone users report that they will purchase another iPhone.

No other manufacturer topped a 40% retention rate in the survey, with HTC taking second place at 40%. Android as a whole has a planned retention rate of about 55% according to the survey, indicating that while many current users of Android handsets are planning to switch manufacturers, a fair number of them do intend to stay with Android. But 31% of surveyed Android users report intending to switch to the iPhone for their next device, with over 50% of the total "switchers" planning to move to Apple from another manufacturer as only about 10% of switchers are moving away from Apple.

Research in Motion has experienced a steep drop in retention rate, with only 33% of current BlackBerry users planning to purchase another BlackBerry, down from 62% a year and a half ago. In contrast, Apple's retention has fallen only 6 percentage points over that time in the face of strong competition from Android.

Article Link: iPhone Users Demonstrate Strong Loyalty with Planned Retention Rate of 89%

KingCrimson · Sep 22, 2011

This is bad news for Windows Phone. But 11% are going to buy something new, so at least MSFT can ciphon off a bit! The key is to steal Android users.

MacDawg · Sep 22, 2011

Not surprising to me
I will be sticking with the iPhone as well, and I know others that have defected and returned

M7ck · Sep 22, 2011

I am not surprised at this at all. I went from a 3G to a 3GS to a 4 and will more than likely move to a 4S/5. iPhones just keep getting better and suit my needs perfectly.

KnightWRX · Sep 22, 2011

That's one advantage to Android. You can change manufacturers for your phone and retain your investment in the eco-system without much issue. Moving from the hot Samsung, HTC, Motorola or Sony model to the new hot model of the week does not make you lose all your apps. Not so for iOS.

I'll be replacing my iPhone 3GS with another iPhone just for this reason. I'd probably have moved on to Android or to another vendor (SAMOLED+ screen is quite tempting, those things are awesome!) if it weren't for this issue.

So in a sense, this high loyalty is probably a result (for some, not everybody of course!) of vendor lock-in.

srxtr · Sep 22, 2011

Good quality products = loyalty

hcho3 · Sep 22, 2011

Surprised that others suck so much.... but I am not surprised by results.

Apple has apple store with some brilliant customer service to back their devices up.

If I ever have problem with Samsung or HTC phone, then what do I have to do?

Contact carriers and they say go to manufacturers. You have to ship the phone out and call.... blah blah blah.

It's a nightmare.

Samsung promised Froyo 2.2 release on my friend's captivate for September 2010 and it was never released until mid 2011. Once you buy their products, they don't even bother to help you.

I will stick with apple iPhone and iPad as long as apple provides excellent customer service with great apps.

Nothing can come close to apple's customer service at this point. Thanks to mighty Jobs.

mkimid · Sep 22, 2011

One of big reason

The software(APPS) which have bought from AppStore.
If Change the platform, will lost all,

Zepaw · Sep 22, 2011

I am not surprised Apple wins that fight but wow that is a stark difference.

budafied · Sep 22, 2011

KnightWRX said:
That's one advantage to Android. You can change manufacturers for your phone and retain your investment in the eco-system without much issue. Moving from the hot Samsung, HTC, Motorola or Sony model to the new hot model of the week does not make you lose all your apps. Not so for iOS.

I'll be replacing my iPhone 3GS with another iPhone just for this reason. I'd probably have moved on to Android or to another vendor (SAMOLED+ screen is quite tempting, those things are awesome!) if it weren't for this issue.

So in a sense, this high loyalty is probably a result (for some, not everybody of course!) of vendor lock-in.

This. The stats are misleading because brands matter much less than the OS does. I wonder what the retention rate is for Android as a whole, not just Motorola/Samsung/HTC. I'm sure Apple wins that battle as well, but I bet its much closer.

khkman22 · Sep 22, 2011

KnightWRX said:
That's one advantage to Android. You can change manufacturers for your phone and retain your investment in the eco-system without much issue. Moving from the hot Samsung, HTC, Motorola or Sony model to the new hot model of the week does not make you lose all your apps. Not so for iOS.

I'll be replacing my iPhone 3GS with another iPhone just for this reason. I'd probably have moved on to Android or to another vendor (SAMOLED+ screen is quite tempting, those things are awesome!) if it weren't for this issue.

So in a sense, this high loyalty is probably a result (for some, not everybody of course!) of vendor lock-in.

Yeah, the survey is somewhat misleading and apples to oranges. Apple and iOS are the only combination possible, but you can go from any Android manufacturer to another Android manufacturer. And just because they are not retaining their customers, it doesn't mean they are going to Apple. They could just switch between the different manufacturers equally and never lose in total numbers among the Android phones.

They should have included a survey that showed retaining the same OS or switching, and Android would probably be pretty close to iOS for those numbers.

ct2k7 · Sep 22, 2011

If it weren't for these darn Applications, I could have easily hopped on each platform.

JFK2000 · Sep 22, 2011

Ouch for RIM / Nokia

Looking outside the iOS versus Android posts which will dominate this thread.

That second graph is some pretty bleak news for RIM and Nokia.

~JFK

iMaci7 · Sep 22, 2011

KnightWRX said:
That's one advantage to Android. You can change manufacturers for your phone and retain your investment in the eco-system without much issue. Moving from the hot Samsung, HTC, Motorola or Sony model to the new hot model of the week does not make you lose all your apps. Not so for iOS.

I'll be replacing my iPhone 3GS with another iPhone just for this reason. I'd probably have moved on to Android or to another vendor (SAMOLED+ screen is quite tempting, those things are awesome!) if it weren't for this issue.

So in a sense, this high loyalty is probably a result (for some, not everybody of course!) of vendor lock-in.

Yes that must explain it, it couldnt be because its a good phone or anything

jayman99 · Sep 22, 2011

Add me to that list... I plan to stick with the iPhone, unless they "screw it up" somehow. I've been with them since the original iPhone launch. I worked there and remember the day it came out. Great work Apple. Looking forward to this new one in October.

rockrigo · Sep 22, 2011

did UBS ever find that $2.3Billion? lol

divinox · Sep 22, 2011

KingCrimson said:
This is bad news for Windows Phone. But 11% are going to buy something new, so at least MSFT can ciphon off a bit! The key is to steal Android users.

First, numbers like this needs to be taken with a grain of salt. surely, Apple may remain its cool for years to come, but history tells us that what is cool today can be not tomorrow. Dont underestimate the power of trend here.

Second, the true potential (even though we should take numbers like this with a grain of salt) lies in the soon-to-adopt, and the yet-to-adopt. These groups make up the lion share of the market to emerge, and will - in the end - be where the battle is settled (i.e., who - if any - will dominate the new mobile space --- this time around).

...but yeah, stealing android users is probably easier than taking them from Apple. A third (viable) choice in the market will do wonders.

Ingot · Sep 22, 2011

As much as I hate my 3GS sometimes, I cannot see myself buying a replacement that is not an iPhone 5. But I will wait until summer 2012 as I am less than flat broke. Debt sucks.

al256 · Sep 22, 2011

I wonder how these numbers compare to crack cocaine and other such illegal narcotics. I know I'm hooked.

Wicked1 · Sep 22, 2011

KingCrimson said:
This is bad news for Windows Phone. But 11% are going to buy something new, so at least MSFT can ciphon off a bit! The key is to steal Android users.

MS came to the party too late and with a not so fun device, I will be surprised if Microsoft doesn't give up at all like HP did.

I will be interested to see how the playing field goes when motorola is part of Android, bad news for all the other Device MFG's.

Sticking with the iPhone as it works and does exactly what I need without issues.

gpat · Sep 22, 2011

RIMMispel.

42streetsdown · Sep 22, 2011

People know when they have an iPhone. So many people don't even know what there phone is. It's just a phone to them. So of course they're going to be non specific when they buy a new one.

room237 · Sep 22, 2011

It's because we're all just sheep.

topmounter · Sep 22, 2011

Even if people are swapping out one Android phone for another Android phone, the fact that they are doing it frequently doesn't say much for the quality and/or durability of the hardware that is being produced for Android...

Or maybe the bottleneck on major Android updates imposed by the manufacturers and carriers is causing people to replace their phones more frequently?

Regardless, I can't see it as a positive for Android.

chrmjenkins · Sep 22, 2011

See Apple, this is what happens when you don't adopt Flash. Wait, the numbers are good? Really good? Carry on then.

topmounter said:
Even if people are swapping out one Android phone for another Android phone, the fact that they are doing it frequently doesn't say much for the quality and/or durability of the hardware that is being produced for Android...

Or maybe the bottleneck on major Android updates imposed by the manufacturers and carriers is causing people to replace their phones more frequently?

Regardless, I can't see it as a positive for Android.

I don't see that as particularly harmful. Android handsets are constantly changing features, sizes, models getting dropped or rev'ed, etc. The only android handset I can think of that has seen 3 iterations while staying mostly the same phone has been the original motorola droid. Often times a "killer" feature will arise that will cause someone to move to another android handset. That doesn't mean they don't value the ecosystem. Handset manufacturers are still trying to find out what consumers want, just as consumer wants/needs are evolving and they are discovering what they want.

iPhone Users Demonstrate Strong Loyalty with Planned Retention Rate of 89%

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