iPhone Continues to Be Most Popular Smartphone Among Teens, Apple Watch Ownership Growing

[MacRumors]

Apple's iPhone continues to be the most popular smartphone among teens, according to data shared today by investment firm Piper Sandler in its biannual teen survey. 87 percent of teens surveyed own an iPhone, while 88 percent expect the iPhone to be their next phone.

Teen iPhone ownership numbers have not shifted since last year, but over the last decade, interest in the iPhone among teenagers has soared. Back in October 2013, 55 percent of teenagers reported owning an iPhone, while 24 percent had an Android device.

Apple Watch ownership is also growing, albeit more slowly. 34 percent of teens surveyed own an Apple Watch, up from 31 percent last year. 10 percent of teens said they plan to buy an Apple Watch in the next six months, down from 16 percent in fall 2022. Apple was the favorite watch brand, beating out Rolex, Casio, Garmin, and Cartier.

Apple Pay was the top payment app for teens, with 42 percent reporting using the service in the last month. Apple Pay beat out Cash App (27 percent), Venmo (20 percent), and PayPal (10 percent).

Apple did not dominate in the streaming music category, coming second to Spotify. 70 percent of teens surveyed said they use Spotify as their music service, while just over 30 percent use Apple Music. 46 percent of teens that pay for a service pay for Spotify, while just 30 percent pay for Apple Music.

Piper Sandler has also been asking teens about iCloud Private Relay, and usage has jumped in the second half of 2023. 37 percent of teens said they use iCloud Private Relay, while another 17 percent said they're interested in using it in the next six months. Earlier this year, just 24 percent of teens were using iCloud Private Relay, which does require an iCloud subscription fee.

Teen surveys are conducted twice per year, with Piper Sandler putting out these reports for over 10 years. For this fall's report, 9,193 teens with an average age of 15.7 were surveyed across 49 states.

Article Link: iPhone Continues to Be Most Popular Smartphone Among Teens, Apple Watch Ownership Growing

 

[tim_apple]

Ugh, peer pressure. 🤦🏾‍♂️

 

[StudioMacs]

Ugh, peer pressure. 🤦🏾‍♂️

It applies to snark and cynicism online as well.

 

[nadador]

This is really astonishing. Few companies can achieve anything like this with a (presumably) desirable market segment.

 

[sjsharksfan12]

The Apple watch thing shouldn't be surprising considering you can't use the watch without the Iphone.

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

Apple did not dominate in the streaming music category

No shocks there. The kids know Apple Music is terrible.

 

[klasma]

So, if I understand this correctly, the iPhone 15 Plus has the green bubbles?

 

[coffeemilktea]

37 percent of teens said they use iCloud Private Relay, while another 17 percent said they're interested in using it in the next six months.

I imagine those numbers will go up even more, as more teens realize that it's an easy way to get around any website restrictions on WiFi networks.

For example, is your school or workplace's WiFi not letting you browse MacRumors because it's a "restricted" site? Switch on Private Relay and now you can make as many silly comments on articles as you want.

 

[cthompson94]

I am actually more shocked that the private relay question was something even asked, not surprised that a good portion don't use it and probably doesn't even know what it does or that it is a thing

 

[kc9hzn]

No shocks there. The kids know Apple Music is terrible.

I’ve got no complaints about Apple Music, and I love how it integrates into my existing iTunes library/playlists. It doesn’t seem like Spotify is anywhere as slick, though, granted, it’s been years since I‘be tried Spotify, and I’ve never paid for it. I don’t have any issues with content availability, either. So what’s so bad about it?

 

[citysnaps]

This is really astonishing. Few companies can achieve anything like this with a (presumably) desirable market segment.

For sure on that. They're captured by Apple for life.

Hat tip to Tim Cook and Apple employees for Apple's massive success.

 

[sack_peak]

Smart parents would hand down their 1-3yo old iPhones to their kids when they receive the latest iPhone. They'd be smart to apply parental controls as well so they do not become addicted to the device.

 

[WilliApple]

They better make Apple Watch a better running watch or I will switch to Coros.

I am one of the teens that own an iPhone and Apple Watch.

 

[citysnaps]

I’ve got no complaints about Apple Music, and I love how it integrates into my existing iTunes library/playlists. It doesn’t seem like Spotify is anywhere as slick, though, granted, it’s been years since I‘be tried Spotify, and I’ve never paid for it. I don’t have any issues with content availability, either. So what’s so bad about it?

Same here. Apple Music is an outstanding value and sounds great. I use it everyday while at home and out driving.

 

[WilliApple]

For example, is your school or workplace's WiFi not letting you browse MacRumors because it's a "restricted" site? Switch on Private Relay and now you can make as many silly comments on articles as you want.

While my school had a firewall (And no MacRumors is not blocked), Private Relay doesn't work unfortunately...

 

[kc9hzn]

Ugh, peer pressure. 🤦🏾‍♂️

I won’t lie that peer pressure and status games don’t play a part in it for teens, but I still think iPhones are better than the competition. And clearly, Apple is dominant in smartwatches and tablets for a reason. Apple goods are a luxury good, unfortunately, and I miss the days when Apple was the outsider‘s choice. But they’re still the superior product with the superior ecosystem, in my opinion, though.

One day when I’m a parent, I’ll have to introduce smartphones to my kids. They’re a fact of life, and I can’t just keep them from my kids. They’d be so unprepared for how to use them in a healthy way (a thing I still struggle with from time to time), like I was on first exposure to the Internet. One thing’s for sure, though, I won’t just give my kids an iPad to shut them up or give an 11 year old unfettered access to social media just because their friends use it.

 

[klasma]

For example, is your school or workplace's WiFi not letting you browse MacRumors because it's a "restricted" site? Switch on Private Relay and now you can make as many silly comments on articles as you want.

It's easy for schools and businesses to block Private Relay. The usual filtering proxy products all have settings for it or document how.

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

I’ve got no complaints about Apple Music, and I love how it integrates into my existing iTunes library/playlists. It doesn’t seem like Spotify is anywhere as slick, though, granted, it’s been years since I‘be tried Spotify, and I’ve never paid for it. I don’t have any issues with content availability, either. So what’s so bad about it?

If you aren't vibing to Lil Durk on Spotify Rap Caviar Playlist you might aswell be dead. No Cap.

 

[Tuck_]

Of course. The phones look pretty.

I don't think it has anything to do with quality, especially not software quality. It's the perceived luxury of the item, real or not. iPhones are the one luxury item that are attainable for a teen. Not surprising that they want the most expensive one. Teens don't need to pay the bill so why should they care how much the phone costs.

 

[kc9hzn]

If you aren't vibing to Lil Durk on Spotify Rap Caviar Playlist you might aswell be dead. No Cap.

Sorry, my tastes in music lie elsewhere, and I don’t feel like I’m missing much. You’d probably say the same about my musical choices, and we’d probably both feel the same about top 40 music. But I’m in my mid-30s now, so I might as well get used to “get off my lawn” moments, since they’ll just become more and more common.

 

[TheColtr]

I’ve got no complaints about Apple Music, and I love how it integrates into my existing iTunes library/playlists. It doesn’t seem like Spotify is anywhere as slick, though, granted, it’s been years since I‘be tried Spotify, and I’ve never paid for it. I don’t have any issues with content availability, either. So what’s so bad about it?

I agree, I’m a late millennial, so I grew up during the iPod generation. So having a iTunes music collection that was purchased and having grown up in the iTunes eco system has kept me with Apple Music.

I am one of those people who goes by artist > album > song, and having an organized music collection. I don’t understand the people who just listen to generated playlists of random songs and have a whole “library” of “liked” songs that are all mashed together. It’s just not how my brain works.

 

[jz0309]

Apple's iPhone continues to be the most popular smartphone among teens, according to data shared today by investment firm Piper Sandler in its biannual teen survey. 87 percent of teens surveyed own an iPhone, while 88 percent expect the iPhone to be their next phone.

Teen iPhone ownership numbers have not shifted since last year, but over the last decade, interest in the iPhone among teenagers has soared. Back in October 2013, 55 percent of teenagers reported owning an iPhone, while 24 percent had an Android device.

Apple Watch ownership is also growing, albeit more slowly. 34 percent of teens surveyed own an Apple Watch, up from 31 percent last year. 10 percent of teens said they plan to buy an Apple Watch in the next six months, down from 16 percent in fall 2022. Apple was the favorite watch brand, beating out Rolex, Casio, Garmin, and Cartier.

Apple Pay was the top payment app for teens, with 42 percent reporting using the service in the last month. Apple Pay beat out Cash App (27 percent), Venmo (20 percent), and PayPal (10 percent).

Apple did not dominate in the streaming music category, coming second to Spotify. 70 percent of teens surveyed said they use Spotify as their music service, while just over 30 percent use Apple Music. 46 percent of teens that pay for a service pay for Spotify, while just 30 percent pay for Apple Music.

Piper Sandler has also been asking teens about iCloud Private Relay, and usage has jumped in the second half of 2023. 37 percent of teens said they use iCloud Private Relay, while another 17 percent said they're interested in using it in the next six months. Earlier this year, just 24 percent of teens were using iCloud Private Relay, which does require an iCloud subscription fee.

Teen surveys are conducted twice per year, with Piper Sandler putting out these reports for over 10 years. For this fall's report, 9,193 teens with an average age of 15.7 were surveyed across 49 states.

Article Link: iPhone Continues to Be Most Popular Smartphone Among Teens, Apple Watch Ownership Growing

I assume this survey/data is for US? Maybe North America? Would be nice to state that.

 

[kc9hzn]

I assume this survey/data is for US? Maybe North America? Would be nice to state that.

If you click through, it says US teens right in the subheading. I guess the editor just thought it was obvious from the questions/numbers.

Edit: Looking further down at the key takeaways and not just at the Apple bits, it actually looks like an interesting read about teen money habits in general. But I think I’d hate reading a white paper from an analyst that was exclusively about teens and Apple.

 

[jz0309]

If you click through, it says US teens right in the subheading. I guess the editor just thought it was obvious from the questions/numbers.

Thanks, didn’t click the link, just read the article and didn’t see it.

 

[now i see it]

and teens don’t have any money (for the most part) so iPhone is actually popular with teens parents - who are the ones actually buying them.