As Apple introduced new Apple Watch and AirPods models, the folks at Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) looked at how common it is for iPhone buyers to own these accessories.
The research group says it “clearly” saw that iPhone buyers with a faster upgrade cadence own these accessories in greater numbers, and those that hang on to an iPhone longer don’t. This posed other questions.
How does iPhone upgrade speed affect other elements of the Apple ecosystem? Do fast upgraders own other Apple products more? What online services do they use? Where do they shop? CIRP found that iPhone buyers that upgrade phones more often also are more likely to own iPads and Mac computers.
Overall, among iPhone buyers, about 67% also own an iPad and 36% own a Mac computer. Both devices have longer life-cycles than iPhones. There are more inexpensive ways to add an iPad to one’s technology collection than a Mac, notes CIRP.
The research group adds that Macs also have more alternatives, with a variety of (often less expensive) Windows PC options, as well as Chromebooks, and just doing without a personal computer.
iPhone buyers that owned their previous smartphone for two years or less were more likely to own an iPad and also a Mac. Sixty-nine percent of iPhone buyers that upgrade a smartphone more rapidly own an iPad, and 42% of those iPhone buyers own a Mac.
The difference is most stark when CIRP looked at the slowest upgraders, those whose prior phone was three or more years old – often measurably more. Among those iPhone buyers, only 62% own an iPad and 29% own a Mac.
“It seems that the speed at which an iPhone owner upgrades from their old phone, or conversely the length of time they hang onto their old phone, helps to identify what kind of Apple customer they are,” CIRP reports. “Frequent upgraders, those owning a phone two years or less, appear to be more active Apple customers, while the more patient upgraders appear less committed to the Apple ecosystem.”
