iPhone Continues to Be Most Popular Smartphone Among Teens, Apple Watch Ownership Growing

[sack_peak]

If you keep dumping random stats that you then misinterpret, I'm just going to block you. Make an actual argument. Explain how these numbers have anything to do with the thing you're trying to say. I'm not going to click your random links and make your point for you.

Your point view without supporting citations is dishonest or you aren't self aware of your ability to buy devices positioned for the top 20% worldwide income bracket.

I provided data point after data point to support what I say but you just deflect without providing counter point with supporting links.

For those who want to read things in 1 place

sack_peak said: People hate to admit it or dont bother with business news but iPhone usage does indicate which income bracket the person belongs to.

boss.king said:

No it doesn't. Maybe in really poor countries, but in most places an iPhone is a regular consumer good that most people can afford. They might not get the brand new Pro Max, but iPhones as a whole are not an indication of income level.

sack_peak said:

iPhones occupy $429-1799. I'd bet a good many persons think it crazy to spend more than $429 on a phone.

boss.king said:

I think the number of people that think that is a lot lower than you think. $429 for a phone you can keep for like 5 years is very affordable. And that doesn't even consider the used market.

sack_peak said:

Are you speaking of the US general population or people that dwell on MR?

boss.king said:

Neither. I'm speaking about people in general. I guess the western world if we want to narrow things down.

sack_peak said:

US: 6 of 10 are iPhone
MX: 8 of 10 are Android
Europe: 6 of 10 are Android
CA: 6 of 10 are iPhone
JP: 7 of 10 are iPhone



iPhone goes for $429-1799. That's the top 20% of the global smartphone market.

boss.king said:

And? This shows that people like iPhones, it has nothing to do with your original point about income brackets.


sack_peak said:

It's always about affordability. Persons who think otherwise obviously have little difficulty affording things.

People know that persons buying Apple can afford.

Apple doesnt directly sell laptops below $999 or desktops below $499. That's the cut off of the bottom 80%.

sack_peak said:

Source: https://www.pcmag.com/news/the-2-year-mobile-phone-upgrade-cycle-is-mostly-dead

boss.king said:

That doesn't mean they couldn't afford a different or better phone. You keep misunderstanding the statistics you're linking to.

sack_peak said:

Affordability matters to most of us who are limited to it.

iOS version as of September 2023

% in IN	% in GB	% in US	% in WW	% in CA	% in PH	iOS version	Oldest supported iPhone Chip	1st iPhone with oldest supported iPhone Chip	Release Year	Age as of 2023
12.68	4.78	4.36	4.93	4.49	5.91	iOS 17.x	A12	iPhone Xs	2018	5
72.31	80.28	85.48	77.49	81.54	70.73	iOS 16.x	A11	iPhone X	2017	6
9.71	9.3	6.84	10.49	8.46	14.31	iOS 15.x	A9	iPhone 6s	2015	8
1.86	1.48	1.4	2.53	1.93	2.47	iOS 14.x	A9	iPhone 6s	2015	8
0.61	0.28	0.34	1.59	0.33	0.5	iOS 13.x	A9	iPhone 6s	2015	8
97.17	96.12	98.42	97.03	96.75	93.92	iOS 13-17	-	-	2015-2023	8-5
2.83	3.88	1.58	2.97	3.25	6.08	iOS 1-12	-	-	2007-2014	16-4

 

[boss.king]

Your point view without supporting citations is dishonest or you aren't self aware of your ability to buy devices positioned for the top 20% worldwide income bracket.

I provided data point after data point to support what I say but you just deflect without providing counter point with supporting links.

For those who want to read things in 1 place

[snip]

I'm not speaking about my ability to buy anything. You're confusing what people buy with what people can afford to buy and ignoreing the dozens of other reasons why someone might choose to buy or not buy an iPhone, and also ignoring that iPhones aren't even the most expensive phones you can buy. Yes, iPhones are less affordable in some places, whether thats due to taxes or weaker pay or whatever, but to pretend that income tells the whole story is misguided at best and just a bold lie at worst.

And no, I haven't provided data because I don't even know what data I would look for, but, on the other hand, the data you've provided is meaningless. It doesn't make the point you think it does. You can repost it a hundred times over and it still won't prove that using an iPhone says anything about your income bracket, other than maybe that you have an income in the first place.

Anecdotally, the wealthiest person I know uses a Samsung phone. A guy I used to work for actually switched from getting the latest iPhone every year to a regular Pixel. He could easily have afforded whatever phone he wanted, but he said it felt like a waste of money. On the other side of the spectrum, some of my lower-earning friends and even unemployed friends use iPhones. Are they the best and latest iPhones? No. But that's not the point you're trying to make. The phone you use is not an indicator of anything.

I'm done explaining this to, either you'll get it or you won't.

 

[sack_peak]

I'm not speaking about my ability to buy anything. You're confusing what people buy with what people can afford to buy and ignoreing the dozens of other reasons why someone might choose to buy or not buy an iPhone, and also ignoring that iPhones aren't even the most expensive phones you can buy. Yes, iPhones are less affordable in some places, whether thats due to taxes or weaker pay or whatever, but to pretend that income tells the whole story is misguided at best and just a bold lie at worst.

And no, I haven't provided data because I don't even know what data I would look for, but, on the other hand, the data you've provided is meaningless. It doesn't make the point you think it does. You can repost it a hundred times over and it still won't prove that using an iPhone says anything about your income bracket, other than maybe that you have an income in the first place.

Anecdotally, the wealthiest person I know uses a Samsung phone. A guy I used to work for actually switched from getting the latest iPhone every year to a regular Pixel. He could easily have afforded whatever phone he wanted, but he said it felt like a waste of money. On the other side of the spectrum, some of my lower-earning friends and even unemployed friends use iPhones. Are they the best and latest iPhones? No. But that's not the point you're trying to make. The phone you use is not an indicator of anything.

I'm done explaining this to, either you'll get it or you won't.

Androids are sold at all price points.

They have near 100% market share for smartphones selling below $429.

Source: https://www.pcmag.com/news/the-2-year-mobile-phone-upgrade-cycle-is-mostly-dead

Android competes with iPhone from $429 & up so your Samsung user fits into what I was saying. I never claimed iPhones has 100% market share for that price bracket.

As Apple does not currently sell any brand new iPhone below $429 then income or affordability comes into play for majority of Android users.

Per Ting's survey 42% of those surveyed will only spend $150-399 smartphone. That fits into the 43.12% total smartphone market share of Android.

If we are talking about the smartphone market share of $429 & up then my guess would be ~80% iPhone & ~20% Android which fits into this 85% smartphone profit that Apple has.

In terms of price points phones selling at $429 & up are the top 20% of the smartphone MSRP.

In any market Apple enters into they position themselves at the top 20% price range as they avoid anti-trust allegations longer.

 

[Brien]

10 years ago I'd walk through the Starbucks on campus where maybe 33% of students were working on Mac laptops. Nowadays, it seems 80% or more have Mac laptops. iPhones are a very effective gateway to the Apple ecosystem.

Must be regional. Mac’s were the de facto school laptop 15-20 years ago in my experience.

 

[Shanghaichica]

+1 to mention US focus in the headline. Apple is a global company, and so is this web site. The US is only 4% of the world's population, and on most metrics it's a "special case".

I would say most of the teenagers in the UK are using iPhones too. Especially where I live. Maybe my town is heavily skewed but it’s about 96%+ iPhone users. I work from home now. However, I used to work in London. I had a 50 minute commute into London by train. It wasn’t until about 35 minutes in before I’d see a single android phone. Once getting into London it would be a more even mix between android and iPhone. However, in that first 35 minutes it was all iPhones.

 

[lordofthereef]

As others have mentioned carrier deals will also do buy one get one or whatever so when the options for a teenager is basically just pick which you want especially if you can get an iPhone or Android for a similar or same price of course they will go with the one that fits the social circle. You hit the nail on the head with the clothing comparison, if your from a wealthy family and your social circle are similar teens then having designer clothing probably isn't even a second thought, but the average person especially parents getting their teens clothing probably isn't even a consideration which is fine because that teen probably has a similar social circle.

Come to think of it, carriers consistently offer "free with trade" iPhones. It's what we did to get our family all to iPhone 15 from 11.