But 42 per cent of smartphone users have been put off by high price of iPhones so new budget iPhone 5C could have appeal
31 per cent of existing UK iPhone users say they want the new Apple iPhone 5S according to a consumer survey conducted immediately after news of the product was released last night (10.09.13). This indicates a drop in enthusiasm for the Apple phone brand since last year when a similar survey[1] conducted after the iPhone 5 launch revealed 44% of iPhone users were willing to upgrade straight away.
A similar decrease in interest for the iPhone was revealed among all smartphone users in the sample with only 11 per cent saying they wanted to upgrade to the new iPhone 5S without needing any further information about the product. Last year’s survey found 20 per cent were ready to switch to the iPhone 5 model immediately after launch.
And users of the iPhone’s main competitor, the Samsung Galaxy, are mostly staying loyal, with only 6 per cent saying they want to switch to the iPhone 5S in the online poll of 1000 UK adults conducted by rapid online survey company, Usurv (
www.usurv.com). Interestingly, 13 per cent of Blackberry users are ready to switch to the iPhone 5S, more than for any other competing brand.
The research found that Apple may be on track with the other new phone announced yesterday; the less pricey, iPhone 5C ‘budget’ model available for £469, sim-free. High prices for previous Apple devices appear to have been an obstacle for many UK phone-buyers with 42% of the sample revealing they had wanted an iPhone in the past but were put off because it was too expensive. This was highest amongst Nokia owners, with 59% of them not buying an iPhone in the past due to cost.
According to the research, the most popular feature on the iPhone 5S is likely to be its fingerprint reader - which provides user authentication for unlocking the phone - highlighted as the most appealing by 30 per cent of respondents. Most of the other new features provoked little interest and 40 per cent of the sample said that none of the new features appealed to them.
Guy Potter, director and market researcher at Usurv, said: “We ran research to gauge people’s instant reactions to the new phone in the same way as we did after the iPhone 5 launch last year. Interestingly, while 31 per cent of iPhone users wanting to have the new iPhone 5S can hardly be called a failure, the desire for the phone does seem muted, with fewer people immediately excited by the device than for last year’s model. Of the new features, only the fingerprint reader seems to have caught people’s attention. The brand is under pressure to deliver excitement and innovation at every launch and this time the initial mood indicates that in that sense it has failed.
“The fact that a significant slice of people had been put off buying an iPhone in the past could suggest that Apple might be able to tap in to a wider market with the lower priced iPhone 5C. However it’s difficult to say whether the price is actually low enough and how operators will price it in their contracts.”
Participants were asked:
The Apple iPhone 5S has just been launched. Which of the following features do you find most appealing
Do you want to upgrade to the iPhone 5S
Apple has also launched the new iPhone 5C, a less pricey iPhone. In the past have you ever wanted an iPhone but been put off because it has been too expensive?
Read results here:
http://www.realwire.com/releases/New-Apple-iPhone-5S-fails-to-get-UK-iPhone-users-excited-suggests-new-poll-Ends-
