gaximus
macrumors 68030
We have had several "third" options, they all failed, because they were not good.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone Loyalty Rate Climbs to 87% as Switching to Android Slows
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
zarmanto
macrumors 65816
Odd. When I looked at the same thing just now, I saw a price of $23.05 per month... which comes out to almost exactly the retail price for that phone. Are you sure you're not looking at the price of the phone and the service?
I'm kind of surprised MS hasn't done another try with their phones/OS. Unless they just want to stick on the software side of things and not get back into the OS.
there is now HarmonyOS which is a chinese alternative developed by Huawei from kernal level. Optimisation is probably close to exceeding apple level and the game optimisation is around snapdragon 8 gen 3 on a 7nm node (kirin 9030 pro specific chip)
Wow, really? I’m almost done paying for my 16-Plus with T-Mobile @39/month for 24 months. So, it was free finacning. My wife’s is through Apple, which is also free financing. Sounds like Verizon is playing dirty, unless it’s a credit thing.
jwolf6589
macrumors 603
Why would anyone want to use the Android virus????
iPhone owners are sticking with the platform at a higher rate than a year ago, with new research firm CIRP putting iPhone loyalty at 87% for the first quarter of 2026.
CIRP's latest quarterly survey found that just 12% of new iPhone buyers in the March quarter had come over from an Android phone, with the remaining 1% arriving from a feature phone, a different smartphone platform, or buying a smartphone for the first time. That puts loyalty three percentage points above the same quarter a year earlier, when 14% of buyers switched from Android and the overall loyalty figure sat at 84%.
The firm has been tracking this movement for years by asking iPhone buyers what device they owned right before their purchase, among other questions about how they shop. Across the periods it measured recently, the share of buyers coming from Android has held in a fairly narrow 11% to 15% band, a much smaller pool of switchers than in the iPhone's early years, when Apple was still expanding beyond AT&T to other U.S. carriers and picking up large numbers of new users in the process.
The trend held steady in early 2024 too, when 13% of buyers arrived from Android and loyalty came in at 85%. CIRP's numbers suggest the bulk of smartphone owners settled on a platform long ago, and only a small slice change sides each year. This is a pattern other recent surveys have pointed to as well, even if their methodology and figures differ from CIRP's.
Apple will roll out Siri AI, its overhauled AI assistant, in iOS 27 later this year, which could help retain existing iPhone owners. Attracting Android converts is a separate challenge, though Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone will introduce a new form factor that may appeal to some existing Android foldable owners.
Article Link: iPhone Loyalty Rate Climbs to 87% as Switching to Android Slows
Whilst I have no doubt people stay with iPhones.. I bet anything they stay with a certain iPhone model for a LOT longer these days and don't upgrade. I wonder if it is the same on Android?
zarmanto
macrumors 65816
I can't really speak meaningfully to other localities, but in the US (where I'm located) Huawei is on the "Entity List" and banned by the FCC, so isn't really an option for most people. (Of course, it's technically still legal to buy one... but the only way to do that is to order directly from China.)
That said... even if they were being actively sold stateside, Harmony would suffer under the same conditions that forced Microsoft out.
BvizioN
macrumors 603
The main benefit of various options is that it pushes them to innovate. Myself, I just need one that works really well and keeps innovating.
ProbablyDylan
macrumors 68040
In America at least we just don't have any compelling options. Always more of the same from Google, Samsung, sometimes Motorola pretends to do something interesting.
People don't want to switch just to switch. The alternative has to be worth overcoming the friction for and right now it isn't.
People don't want to switch just to switch. The alternative has to be worth overcoming the friction for and right now it isn't.
Reverend Benny
macrumors 68010
Also spreading the risk a bit more, back in the days we had phones and OS from many countries. These days they are all from one country and control 99% of the market.
capamac
macrumors 6502a
Veriz*n's cheapest plan is $30. Comes to $68/month according to Veriz*n's site (phone financing + cell service). 68 x 36 = $2,448.
Compare to Galaxy A17 ($200 new, unlocked) + Mint Mobile @ $15/month = $15 * 36 = $540 + $200 for the phone = $740 total for the same 36 months.
$740 vs $2,448. The financed iPhone 17 + forced use of Verizon's cheapest plan winds up costing 3.3 times more.
Last edited:
The "free" iPhone 17 is only with Verizon Unlimited Plus or Unlimited Ultimate plans. Otherwise, it's offered at regular retail price ($23.05/month for 36 months at 0% APR).
Whether or not the more expensive plans (with "free" phone) are worth it can depend on how much one values or needs features like increased high speed data, increased mobile hotspot data, better video streaming resolution, better multi-line discounts, etc.
from what I've been hearing, HarmonyOS has been doing quite well. HarmonyOS has apps which can easily translate andriod apps (Easyabroad and droitong) to HarmonyOS specific code despite moving away from native translation in harmonyOS 5. That said HarmonyOS Next (the codebase) hasn't gone global yet but it has been a relative success in the meantime.
Most Android phones offer 7 years of os upgrades these days. I have MacBook pros, iPad pros and a Mac studio.i use Android phones. Mostly foldables. Some android devices even allow iCloud on them and integrate with macs as an iPhone would. See the Honor magic V6. The beauty about the Android eco system is it's so wide. Want flip phone sure, want 4inch phone sure, want a triple screen phone sure, want a phone with an e ink display yeah you can have that too. Not saying iPhones are bad, just not for me. Maybe when their foldable comes out I'll give it a try. For now I'm happy with the cross ecosystem setup.
I mean…why didn’t he say something? I’m also curious why he wanted to switch to Android when the rest of the family uses iPhone.
If he didn’t say anything because she’s the techie and he actually needed help getting a new phone, he’s probably better off just taking the iPhone. Like I said, most android users don’t really take full advantage of it anyway.
Not to ask too many questions about someone you know personally. It’s a thought exercise for me, but I am curious.
This is not a fair comparison in the slightest.
Mint mobile is a prepaid carrier, meaning that you have to pay upfront all of your monthly bills. The way to get it at its most affordable is to purchase a year at a time, which means you end up coming out of pocket almost $400 every year, all at once. I know, because this is what I do
So that’s $400 upfront, along with the $200 phone, for anything even close to the Verizon deal. There is a big, big difference between asking someone to pay $60 a month, and asking them to pay almost $700 upfront, even more depending on the phone they decide to purchase.
There is also the software update and longevity argument, looking at galaxy phones, the average $200 Galaxy A device receives only between two and three years of full featured software updates, and only by an extra year of security updates. For example, the 2021 Galaxy A32 received its last android update in early 2024, and its latest security update in early 2025. Meanwhile, the iPhone 11 from 2019 is still supported in 2026 with the latest software update, and likely will receive at least an additional three years of security updates.
And yes, I am aware that in 2024, both Samsung and Google began saying that their flagship phones would receive a full seven years of software updates. However, they have done a lot of talking, but not a lot of walking. Apple still supports their phones from 2019, Samsung and Google stopped supporting their 2019 phones in 2021 or 2022. We won’t actually know if they stick to their promises until 2031 at the earliest. Until then, it’s just talk.
This is not correct.
Samsung and Google, starting in 2024, have stated that they will support their phones for seven years of software updates. However, none of them have so far. You cannot purchase a 2019 Android phone seven years later, and it still be on the latest version of Android.
We won’t actually know if they stick to their promises until seven years after that 2024 starting point, so 2031. Until then, it is just talk
In contrast, the 2015 iPhone 6S, the 2018 iPhone XS and XR, and the2019 iPhone 11 all actually *have* received seven years of software support, and several more years of security updates. In fact, 11 years after that 2015 iPhone released, it receives several security updates a year. To this day. Which is not the case for any Android device so far, as far as I am aware.
I mean with the Chinese phones banned, it's not surprising as they key stalwarts of Android innovation aren't even allowed to enter the US. The Oppo Find N6 and Vivo X Fold 6 along with their creaseless display and silicon carbide batteries put Apple, Google and Samsung to shame.
Le_Chiffre
macrumors 6502
Not really, according to market realities, Android marketshare is sinking so much so there are rumors that most Android oems are ready to abandon their flagships moving forward.
Le_Chiffre
macrumors 6502
Not for long, with the current memory and ssd price increases, midrange and budget Android devices are in big trouble.
eveluvsrainbows
macrumors 6502a
The main reason for Android's high marketshare globally is because of developing markets where Android phones (typically lower end ones) are typically the only option for a lot of buyers, as a result of their lower incomes. The primary reason for iPhone's significant market share in the United States and Canada is because of our far higher income levels compared to the other continents, making getting an iPhone more reachable. Additionally, iPhone launched sooner than Android-based alternatives did, with it launching in 2007 in the US and July 2008 in Canada. The first Android phone didn't launch until October 2008 and that was just in the United States; the first Android phones didn't come to Canada until May 2009, almost a year after the iPhone 3G was launched in that market. And over time that kind of just ended up tying into people's preferences. Android is dominant outside of the US and Canada, whereas iPhone is dominant inside the US and Canada and that has been the case for basically the entire smartphone era.
If Europe / Asia / Africa all had similar income levels to the US and Canada, it's likely iPhone would be closer in market share to Android in those regions too.
Take this study from Counterpoint Research for example, all of the best selling Android phones are in Samsung's A-series, plus a single Redmi device: https://counterpointresearch.com/en/insights/global-smartphone-sales-top-10-best-sellers
Android's popularity comes from budget phones, not from flagships. Apple has the flagship smartphone market on lock.