Over the years, Apple has tried to persuade Android owners to switch to iPhone, while Google has tried the reverse. Apple seems to be winning the battle.
Switching mobile operating systems is perceived as a challenge by smartphone owners, so loyalty to an operating system remains very high. Still, switching does happen, and Counterpoint Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) tracks it in their surveys. In the past year or two, former Android users appear to account for an increased percentage of iPhone buyers.
CIRP looked at the last nine years of iPhone purchase data, including the phone that iPhone buyers owned immediately before their new iPhone purchase. In the 12 months ending in March 2023, 15% of iPhone buyers reported switching from an Android phone, while 83% reported staying with an iPhone.
And during the 12 months leading up to March 2016, the rate of iPhone buyers switching from an Android decreased to 10% by the year ending in March 2020.
