Fluent poll: Siri unlikely to increase iPhone sales (which is the opposite of previous survey results)

This brings to mind the ol’ saw that 99% of all statistics are made up: a survey by Fluent, a database marketing company, released earlier this month said that updates to Siri and the unlocking of the personal digital assistant’s software development kit could be a key factor in future iPhone adoption. Today new research from Fluent says that Siri is unlikely to increase iPhone sales.

The marketing company says that its latest esearch, based on a poll of 2,144 American adults conducted on June 3, 2016, found that:

• Expectations are low for future releases. Less than 3 in 10 expect the next update of the iPhone (29%), Mac (24%), Apple TV (21%), or iPad (20%) to be a major upgrade.
• Siri is not a major interest to consumers. An upgraded Siri rated next to last (6%) among new features consumers wanted in the next iPhone release. Only 17% of iPhone users say they use Siri all the time, and only 19% say that a vastly improved Siri would make them much more likely to purchase the newest generation iPhone.
• Automotive technology and televisions are potential future growth opportunities. Consumers cited automotive consoles (29%), self-driving cars (25%), and televisions (20%) as the products they would most like to see Apple make next.
• iPhone users are highly loyal to Apple. 87% of iPhone users say they will purchase another iPhone for their next smartphone, higher than the 74% of Android users who say they will purchase an Android phone for their next smartphone.
• Consumers are most apt to purchase a new iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus because of new features (38%). The top new feature requested is wireless charging (34%).
• Apple competitors are seen as catching up. A majority of consumers (56%) believe Apple’s competitors have gained ground on Apple in the past few years.

“Overall, Apple needs to recapture that ‘wow’ factor, and could potentially do so with more aggressive moves into the automotive and television markets,” says Matt Conlin, President of Fluent. “Many consumers have been trained not to expect major improvements in Apple’s new releases. Our research indicates low expectations for the new iPhone, iPad and Mac, with nearly half of consumers expecting little to no change in the next generation of products.”

An iPad without a Brydge Keyboard is like a car without wheels…