Apple Took Half of U.S. Phone Activations in Q4 2014 as Demand Stays Strong

[MacRumors]

Both analysts and metrics are suggesting Apple will report record-breaking iPhone sales for the just-ended December 2014 calendar quarter, and new data released today by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners reveals the Cupertino company may have set a high bar against its competitors, grabbing half of all phone activations in the United States.

While CIRP's survey included only 500 users and thus may include a significant margin of uncertainty, the data shows Apple's U.S. activation market share increasing from 28 percent in the July-September 2014 quarter to 50 percent in the October-December quarter. The significant jump was clearly fueled by strong consumer interest in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

"The strength of the September 2014 launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus fueled Apple's dominance in US mobile phone sales this quarter," said Josh Lowitz, Partner and CoFounder of CIRP. "Apple had virtually double the sales of Samsung, and five times that of LG. No other brand accounted for as much as 5% of US sales."

CIRP's survey also found that most of the quarter's iPhone purchases (86 percent) came from loyal Apple customers who upgraded from older iPhones. While Apple retained its customer base, Samsung and LG lost customers, with 25% of Samsung owners and 18% of LG owners who activated a new phone switching to an iPhone.

Sales of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus may continue to be strong in early 2015, with a high numbers of consumers intending to buy an iPhone in the next three months. According to 451 Research's ChangeWave December survey, more than half of early adopters plan to buy an iPhone when they purchase a new phone in the next 90 days. While the number is down significantly from the previous quarter, it remains high considering the new iPhones have been available for several months already.

"This is the highest level of Apple demand ever recorded in our smartphone survey three months after a major new release," said Andy Golub of 451 Research.

The ongoing demand for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus reflects growing consumer interest in larger phones with 60 percent of future buyers looking to purchase a 5-inch or larger smartphone. This 2014 figure is a significant jump from the 40 percent ChangeWave recorded in the same quarter of 2013.

Apple released the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in September 2014 with long lines for the phone and delayed ship times shortly after the phones went on sale, and Apple announced record-breaking sales of 10 million units in the first weekend of availability. Apple will announce the results for its first fiscal quarter of 2015 (fourth calendar quarter of 2014) on Tuesday, January 27. The quarterly earnings statement will be released around 1:30 PM Pacific/4:30 PM Eastern, with a conference call to discuss the report following at 2:00 PM Pacific/5:00 PM Eastern.

Article Link: Apple Took Half of U.S. Phone Activations in Q4 2014 as Demand Stays Strong

 

[surfingarbo]

Blackberr
y
0%

I'm saying this as a happy iPhone user; I would have assumed Blackberry would have been at least 1%.

 

[Henriok]

Blackberry 0% new activation. Zero? Really?

 

[dannyyankou]

500 is a pretty small sample size for 9 variables, right?

 

[Oletros]

500 users for a poll would have been important in other subjects

If Amazon has more activations than Blackberry it means that BB is in worst situation than I thought.

 

[joshwenke]

"No one will want an iPhone 6 Plus. It's too big!"

"iPhone 5c AND 5s? No one wants two phones."

"The 5s is $100 more for just a fingerprint sensor? No one will want that!"

Seems like they're doing it right.

 

[ptb42]

I know a lot of people that have upgraded to the iPhone 6 since the first of the year. Some had iPhone 4S's, and only now have decided to make the leap. The new features of the iPhone 6 (combined with everything in the past) finally offered enough incentive to upgrade.

I think the new "no contract" plans have something to do with it, as well. If you were hesitant to commit to a 2-year contract unless you were sure you will like the phone, or won't change service providers, you may drag out an upgrade as long as possible. But now that you can pay cash for a phone (or "finance" it through Next/Edge) without paying a effective penalty, I've seen several friends buy them outright.

 

[AdeasTridae]

I love that Amazon's flop of a phone beat out Blackberry

 

[nfl46]

Yay for BlackBerry! I LOVE them!

I feel sorry for HTC. They get zero respect and the HTC M8 was one of the best phones in 2014. In terms of build quality and software (Sense), its probably the best Android could offer.

 

[BreuerEditor]

Apple kicking some serious tail!! Love it!

But my OCD is kicking in with the 'y' in Blackberry on a 2nd line…they couldn't move 'other' over a smidge?

 

[muadibe]

I'd say Apple is 'holding it right' with respect to that stick they're beating Samsung with. When you look at the sales in South Korea and other countries, you have to wonder how Samsung will respond.

 

[usersince86]

Will be interesting to see where things are after the "bump" from the release.

Obviously a very strong quarter!

Now please work on iOS8 (or make 9 really good, for that matter) and fix Mavericks

 

[mono1980]

Wow, this is seriously amazing. They're doing better than I even expected.

 

[GenesisST]

Blackberry 0% new activation. Zero? Really?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rounding

 

[usersince86]

I feel sorry for HTC. They get zero respect and the HTC M8 was one of the best phones in 2014. In terms of build quality and software (Sense), its probably the best Android could offer.

HTC makes very good phones, I agree.

 

[Elvergun]

I feel sorry for HTC. They get zero respect and the HTC M8 was one of the best phones in 2014. In terms of build quality and software (Sense), its probably the best Android could offer.

I feel sorry for Samsung.

 

[MasterRyu2011]

this breakdown is pretty expected.

 

[xdigi]

500 users for a poll would have been important in other subjects

If Amazon has more activations than Blackberry it means that BB is in worst situation than I thought.

Why? Amazon is much more well known as a consumer brand than Blackberry (plus Amazon's phone is splashed all over the homepage whenever someone goes to amazon.com).

 

[WilliamG]

Blackberry 0% new activation. Zero? Really?

Think about it, HTC is at 2%, and they're at least relevant. What hope does Blackberry have to be even close to that?

 

[heeloliver]

"No one will want an iPhone 6 Plus. It's too big!"

"iPhone 5c AND 5s? No one wants two phones."

"The 5s is $100 more for just a fingerprint sensor? No one will want that!"

Seems like they're doing it right.

yup.

"the apple watch only has a day battery life and is square? this will bomb"

 

[odditie]

I sure hope this company is better at collecting data than they are at putting it on a chart or graph.

 

[thekeyring]

Really interested to see what happens with >5 inch phones.

Was in an Apple Store with my girlfriend - an iPhone user but not remotely interested in tech like us on this forum - she said 'I'd like the 6 plus because it's obviously the best phone, but, in some ways it's too big. The 6 is more... Managable in my hand'.

As for me, it's a 6 Plus all the way... When my upgrade happens.

----------

yup.

"the apple watch only has a day battery life and is square? this will bomb"

Ha! One of my friends can't get over round watches. He keeps saying - look at the Motorola! That's fashionable AND round!

I try and explain that the Apple Watch can reflect a user's personal taste, but he just thinks I mean 'fashionable = looks good'.

----------

I feel sorry for Samsung.

After the way they mocked Apple and iPhone users, I dont.

Not against those types of ads (I like the cortana vs Siri ads and Mac vs PC) but Samsung insulted Apple users, and I think hurt their brand images as a result.

 

[Natzoo]

Apple is really going to dominate the world....in the smartphone market.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Both analysts and metrics are suggesting Apple will report record-breaking iPhone sales for the just-ended December 2014 calendar quarter, and new data released today by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners reveals the Cupertino company may have set a high bar against its competitors, grabbing half of all phone activations in the United States.

Again with the market share fallacy. It's impossible to impute anything useful about gross sales from market share.

 

[Cyloncat]

I switched from Windows Phone (HTC 8X) to iPhone 6+ a week ago. I'm liking the 6+, although I do miss some things about Windows (Cortana, Here Drive, better Facebook integration). I've been an iPad user for a long time, so it's not like there are many surprises in iOS, but the big screen and battery life are very nice improvements.

I also went full retail for an unlocked phone, even though I'm staying on Verizon. I'm sick and tired of being tied to the 2-year upgrade cycle.