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 Ownership Among American Teens Remains Steady While Intent to Purchase Grows
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Wow, 80% own an iPhone already, where does all that money come from, loans probably.
When I was young (Under 20) I couldn't even think about spending that much money on anything.
Must be (mostly) bought by their parents.
I live in a rich country, most young people can not afford a new iPhone even here.
Edit: Didn't read the full article
Quote "and an average household income of $68,300"
Aha, now I get it.
When I was young (Under 20) I couldn't even think about spending that much money on anything.
Must be (mostly) bought by their parents.
I live in a rich country, most young people can not afford a new iPhone even here.
Edit: Didn't read the full article
Quote "and an average household income of $68,300"
Aha, now I get it.
Last edited:
Explains why there is such a massive focus on (ani/e/whatever)moji and “fun” features.
Useless features for me as I use the phone for business but I’m starting to think I’m not the target audience for iPhones, kids are. I care more about things like mail correctly separating conversations, new non-fun calendar features like global calendars not conflicting with all appointments on my actual calendars .
Useless features for me as I use the phone for business but I’m starting to think I’m not the target audience for iPhones, kids are. I care more about things like mail correctly separating conversations, new non-fun calendar features like global calendars not conflicting with all appointments on my actual calendars .
What would you do if it sells lots more!
Why does it bother people, I don't care if it's on my iPhone, it's only a tiny bit of what an iPhone can do.
Pretty wild considering the costs of these phones. I would never have been given an iPhone as a teen. Oh well, good on Apple I suppose as these kids are going to be locked into the ecosystem for years.
I would do exactly what apple does. It’s a business and it needs to follow where the money is. It bothers me because the focus from fixing obvious bugs is never included in releases, just new “fun” features.
That wasn’t a complaint. I really don’t think I’m the target audience for the iPhone and probably not going to buy one anymore. But I doubt I’m the majority and pretty sure I won’t make a dent in apples bottom line. But I’ll do what’s right for me and move on... animoji isn’t top of my list like it is for majority of people based on apples primary focus.
And then they're suddenly price conscious and they realize there's no way that it's worth working dozens of extra shifts for... what? Faster FaceID? I'm an apple fanboy, and I can't actually say anything about the XS other than how astronomical the price is.
Really have to take these surveys with a pinch of salt as you can really get some back to front results 
EG if of the 230m Smart phone users in US (which is 82% of phone owners) 90M are said to be iPhone owners
If there is 42M teens (10-19) and 82% of these are iPhone owner ie 35M
Then that leaves just 90-35= 55m adults
Opposed to others 140M-8M = 132M adults
Does this mean when you grow up your more than twice likely to be an Android user when it's your own money your spending
EG if of the 230m Smart phone users in US (which is 82% of phone owners) 90M are said to be iPhone owners
If there is 42M teens (10-19) and 82% of these are iPhone owner ie 35M
Then that leaves just 90-35= 55m adults
Opposed to others 140M-8M = 132M adults
Does this mean when you grow up your more than twice likely to be an Android user when it's your own money your spending
Last edited:
...and at that age a significant number of my peers would have answered a survey like this that they planned for their first car to be a Lamborghini or a Ferrari.
There are relatively inexpensive ways to get older phones and the survey doesn't specify that the next phone would be a new, top of the line, flagship phone so it may not be as farfetched as it seems to those who initially think they are "planning" on $1500 phones. Still I have a feeling that much like the supercars, that may be what they are thinking even if they know they will be getting the smartphone equivalent of a decade old Ford Escort.
There are relatively inexpensive ways to get older phones and the survey doesn't specify that the next phone would be a new, top of the line, flagship phone so it may not be as farfetched as it seems to those who initially think they are "planning" on $1500 phones. Still I have a feeling that much like the supercars, that may be what they are thinking even if they know they will be getting the smartphone equivalent of a decade old Ford Escort.
"Looking to the future, 86 percent of teens surveyed said that they plan on buying an iPhone as their next smartphone."
I have a kid who's been "planning to buy" a new guitar for over three years.
During this time his mind has gone back and forth between brand names at least as many times as there are weeks in three years.
Kids are all over the place.
I have fun watching him from the sidelines and just leave him alone and listen as he comes up with all these grandiose plans
I have a kid who's been "planning to buy" a new guitar for over three years.
During this time his mind has gone back and forth between brand names at least as many times as there are weeks in three years.
Kids are all over the place.
I have fun watching him from the sidelines and just leave him alone and listen as he comes up with all these grandiose plans
I doubt an income of $68,300 for a family of even only 2 individuals can really afford a $750 iPhone for their teen. They are most likely taking on debt and/or 'borrowing' from future obligations.
You do realize you can get a used 5s or 6 for less than $100? Most of the teens I encounter do have iPhones, but they tend to be older models, either bought used or received as a hand-me-down.
Now I think of it, it depends where you're located, if just in a small rural town it would be more than enough for a Family with a few kids, if one would live in a mayor city not so much.
Edit: is that before of after tax....?
I doubt this survey was referencing teens interest in purchasing used phones or receiving 'hand-me-downs', but who knows.
Yeah, my teenagers have dumb phones.
They need to get their work done. They don't need iPhones, etc.
I'm sure not paying for the phone or the bill.
They need to get their work done. They don't need iPhones, etc.
I'm sure not paying for the phone or the bill.
The better question is, who is doing the spoiling?
Show me one teen who does not have employment purchasing these devices. Instilling an attitude of entitlement at that age, yikes. Who is responsible for parenting?
[doublepost=1540228573][/doublepost]
Responsibility, I like.
[doublepost=1540228667][/doublepost]
Nothing like getting addiction dependency at a young age, may it be tech, social media, games, sugar, lol.
I’m young but the main reason I chose iPhone compared to Android because I wanted a phone that works, is stable, and be supported for the next couple of years. But of course teens here only want iPhone because of the brand. Not sure how I feel about that.
It’s typical, not particularly high. An average fulltime worker makes about $60k, but this varies a lot by region. E.g., in Apple’s neck of the woods (Bay Area) the average salary is closer to $120k for a fulltime worker. But these are just averages for 1 worker. Most families have the equivalent of at least 1.5 workers (mom works parttime or something equivalent), so for a family of 2 parents and 2 kids, $68k would be quite low. Last I checked median income for a family of 4 was $100k.
How much was that CD player you wanted, though? Now calculate for how many hours of after-tax minimum wage hours that would have been back then.
Not that it is precisely the same as when you and I were kids, but the iPhone also represents 1) more devices we used to buy separately, and 2) a qualitatively different position in daily life. It is a necessity for many daily interactions, and kids have made the trade-off of driving later to compensate for the (many) advantages of smartphones. It’s expensive I’ll grant you, but the utility greatly exceeds that of a CD player or any number of silly things we no doubt purchased in youth.
These hello kitties are going to work for it.
[doublepost=1540235714][/doublepost]
[doublepost=1540235714][/doublepost]
Sounds like a sequel to charlie and the chocolate factory: charlie and the apple factory.
Last edited:
Obviously they will be lower ,since they are poor countries that still defecate in the streets.
The same behaviour occurs in most English towns & cities on a Friday & Saturday night to be fair.
That is a normal income for U.S. families with kids old enough to be surveyed. When you start with teenage kids, you end up getting families that are in their 30s, 40s and even some 50s. Also you are often talking about some dual earning families.
Also, many of those kids are getting phones second hand from their parents.
But also, yes U.S. kids have new iPhones. You buy the phone with financing from the careers and the cost spread over two years is pretty small for a middle class U.S. family.
[doublepost=1540242156][/doublepost]
Yes, the "plans" of teenagers should definitely be taken with a grain of salt. I think the only relevance to that question is to compare it to the prior year's answer to the same question. It should not be taken as the teens are accurately predicting their future behavior.