Apple’s iPhone Loyalty Reaches An All-Time High; Android Brand Loyalty Dives

A recent survey reveals Apple's iPhone brand loyalty among smartphone owners increased as Android users became less loyal to their current brand.

According to a recent study from SellCell, brand loyalty for Apple reached an all-time high, beating Samsung in sales for the first time in four years.

The news comes after the heavy demand for the iPhone 12 lineup helped the American tech company bounce back from the rut brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

What the Numbers Say

Apple had enjoyed a 90.5% customer loyalty in 2019 and saw a 1.4% increase when the iPhone 12 units were released in Q4 2020.

On the other hand, Samsung brand loyalty dropped 11.7% from 85.7% in 2019 to 74% in 2021.

26% of the Samsung smartphone users confessed plans to switch to another brand the next time they upgrade their phones, with more than half say they would be switching to an iPhone.

Out of all the respondents, 46.6% believe that the new iPhone 12 is the best in the market this year, while 30.4% declared that the S21 is their favorite.

The survey had specifically asked the following feedback to gauge their scores:

• Brand loyalty to five major brands
• Popularity of flagship smartphones
• Preferred brand of choice for defectors
• Factors affecting brand loyalty and switching

Among the Apple brand loyalists, 61% said that they see no reason to switch to an Android brand as they never encountered an issue with their current smartphones.

The remaining 39% prefer to stick with Apple because they find it too much of a hassle to switch operating systems and had been too locked into the iOS ecosystem.

Meanwhile, 64% of the current Samsung loyalists said that they find no reason to switch as they find their phones the best in the market right now.

However, only 18% revealed that they choose to stick with Samsung for the ecosystem and would rather stick with what they are familiar with, while 18% would switch if switching from Android to iOS is not that much of a hassle.

Battle of the Flagship Smartphones

SellCell had the survey respondents choose their favorite smartphone, and the iPhone 12 topped the list with 17%, followed by the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max with 12.7%.

Samsung Galaxy S21 sits on the third spot with 11.4%, and the others are as follows:

• Apple iPhone 12 Pro - 10.6%
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra - 10%
• Samsung Galaxy S21+ - 9%
• Google Pixel 5 - 8.1%
• Apple iPhone 12 Mini - 6.3%
• Other - 5%
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G - 3.1%

SellCell conducted the study between Mar. 3 and Mar. 10, 2021, through an online survey involving more than 5,000 U.S. smartphone users aged 18 and above.

The survey sample includes 2,000 iPhone users, 2,000 Samsung users, 400 Google Pixel users, and 600 Motorola or LG users.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Lee Mercado