Android continued to have the highest market share among mobile platforms worldwide, as expected, although the continued success of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus helped drive iOS adoption higher in the first quarter.
Yep, as expected.
Kantar Worldpanel claims that 32.4% of Apple's new customers in the five big European countries surveyed switched to iOS from Android during the first three months of the year.
So it looks like the average was about a 3% switch to iOS because of the larger phones. And Kantar says 1/3 of those new customers came from Android. So basically about 1% of Apple's total customers came from ex-Android users. Not a huge number. Maybe 300K people in the UK, for instance.
So I take it that there are almost no wealthy people in Spain, Argentina, Brazil, or Mexico? 😀
In the countries where high end phones sell best, such as the USA, buyers often spend $200 or less upfront. In some places, almost nothing. But that doesn't necessarily mean they're poor.
Subsidies are a key factor. Even rich countries avoid the iPhone without them. (See Japan example at bottom.)
Rich or poor, people around the world tend to spend $250 or less upfront for a phone. It's not about the total cost over time, it's the upfront layout that matters.
Another factor is that today, a $250-total-price smartphone is often actually a pretty nice device, with large screen and good capabilities. It isn't necessary to spend $650 for a good smartphone any more.
This is why Japanese are so smart ...
Yes. When the iPhone was first introduced in Japan, it sold extremely poorly. Like most countries without a subsidy, it only got to around 10% of the market.
Then the Japanese carriers started basically giving them away for free with a contract. Instantly iPhone adoption jumped like crazy.