iPhone Remains Popular With Teens as iPad Interest Plateaus

[Jambalaya]

I sometimes question why I have an iPad. Probably why I haven't bought the iPad Air. The iPad 4th gen is good enough and the apps aren't going to do anything different with the Air.

Really ? My iPad1 replaced my MacBook which I just didn't use any more - iPhone/iPad/Mini/ATV - all bases covered. I can understand why you are not upgrading your iPad4, same reason I haven't upgraded my iPad1, it is still working very well.

 

[maflynn]

Plenty of teens are applefan boys. Rich ones. And you don't own them, your parents do. Your parents bought them for you.

I wouldn't jump to that conclusion, the member could have saved up on his own for the iPad. I think you need to be 18 to sign a contract so technically teenagers can buy iPhones as well.

 

[chrisbru]

With Verizon yes...with AT&T's new family plans, it'll be a big difference.

A paid for/off contract phone is only $15 a month. The installment payments on a new device is $25-$40 a month extra. When it was the same monthly fee for a subsidized or unsubsidized device, parents considered it a simple $199-$299 purchase. Now it's an increased expense over time.

I can see a lot of parents encouraging their kids to take 'hand me down' phones or looking for unlocked used devices rather than buying new phones for all the kids.

I'm not sure this would be such a bad thing. Mom and dad get new phones every year or two, and the kids get their old ones when they upgrade. That seems pretty reasonable for teenagers until they can afford to buy their own devices.

This will probably strengthen the value of used devices, which already hold value pretty well. I'd buy a new $700 iPhone every year if I could sell my year-old device for $450.

 

[Mockenrue]

With Verizon yes...with AT&T's new family plans, it'll be a big difference.

A paid for/off contract phone is only $15 a month. The installment payments on a new device is $25-$40 a month extra. When it was the same monthly fee for a subsidized or unsubsidized device, parents considered it a simple $199-$299 purchase. Now it's an increased expense over time.

I can see a lot of parents encouraging their kids to take 'hand me down' phones or looking for unlocked used devices rather than buying new phones for all the kids.

100% agree... this is Apple's biggest market risk. We got an iPhone 5 (latest iPhone at the time) for my daughter for nothing more than a trade-in of an old iPhone 4 that was collecting dust and $10 for tax.

Now we're on the new AT&T plan. I can assure you that our $50/month savings is not going to be used to buy new $600+ phones every two years. My daughter will keep her current phone longer and probably go with Android or hit the used market if she wants a different iPhone.

My wife (iPhone 5s owner) wouldn't be hard to convince either... she said multiple times that she's jealous of some of my Moto X features and that's hundreds less off contract. Apple enthusiasts will shrug off the premium, but anyone on the fence will either jump to cheaper alternatives or just keep the phone they have for a few extra years (good for the carriers, bad for Apple).

 

[Mockenrue]

I wonder if what you are seeing is related to needing Office, price point, or a particular business segment's Win bias.

I've worked in enterprise tech for twenty years, and almost every business segment has a Win bias. Corporate America still thrives on Windows and Office, which is why iPad's emergence in business is so shocking.

What I see in meetings are 50% Windows company laptops, 49% personally owned iPads, and 1% Android or Surface tablets. The problem with Surface is that it only plays well with Office 365 cloud services. Corporate America mostly uses on-premise mail and collaboration services, which are extremely painful on a Surface. iPads are no better at consuming enterprise services, but they are better at most everything else, so...

 

[JackANSI]

I'm pretty sure everyone who wants an iPad probably has one of the capable versions (4 and up) by now, so sure there will be a plateau and possibly a drop off if the iPhone 6 comes in phablet size or ends up being as comfortable to use as the iPad mini with even more portability.

The interesting thing to me was the addition of iWatch to this. I've been trying to think what Apple will price it at and thought myself crazy for thinking $300+... but

If I had to put a spread to the iWatch prices:
40% chance of $299
20% chance of $349
40% chance of $399

If its any less than $299 I'd be genuinely shocked. I would not, however, be shocked at all if its more than $399.

I also would not be surprised if any health tracking features come with a monthly/yearly fee, possibly tied to iTunes match or iCloud.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

It's anecdotal, I know, but it does fall in line with the consumer surveys from the last few years.

And it certainly isnt reflected in market share trends