Apple will announce new iPhone models next week, and the gang at Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) asked new iPhone buyers why they bought their new phone. Survey subjects provided an open-end answer and we code their responses into these categories:
- Old phone was obsolete
- Old phone was lost, broken, or stolen
- Wanted the newest features
- Carrier financial incentive
- Improve network quality, including upgrade to 5G
- Friends and family have iPhone.
For an obsolete phone, subjects indicate it’s just time to update a phone, or it has started to slow down with diminished performance, according to CIRP. For a lost, broken, or stolen phone, in addition to completely inoperable phones, subjects could have a broken display or battery that refuses to hold a charge. Newest features means customers have a well-functioning phone, and seek the latest features, such as an improved camera, display, or processor.
According to CIRP, about three-quarters of customers buy a new phone because of problems with their old phone – it’s either obsolete or has failed and needs to be replaced. A much smaller share (18%) of customers report buying a new iPhone to take advantage of new features.
“We expect these are the customers that will line up at the Apple Store to buy the new iPhone 16 models on launch day, later in September,” says CIRP.
The obsolete category includes some buyers whose purchase is triggered by new features on their new phone. Yet, they explain their purchase decision in terms of the condition of their old phone rather than embracing those new features.
“The more sophisticated among them, as well as the more patient among those with truly broken phones, wait for the new models or reduced prices for the legacy models,” says CIRP. “So we could say that the new phones motivate their purchase, though the buyers are not compelled by the newest camera or processor or form factor or color. Needless to say, as always we’ll see a rush of buyers for the new iPhone lineup. The number that are drawn by the upgraded features may be the minority, however.”
