Survey: most Android owners aren’t interested in the iPhone 4S ~ GoAndroid

Friday, October 14, 2011

Survey: most Android owners aren’t interested in the iPhone 4S

10:05 PM

Simranpal SIngh

Apple’s ~~iPhone 5~~ iPhone 4S releases today, and as usual it’s gobbled up its fair share of the tech buzz ever since its announcement. But according to a recent survey by Retrevo, most of the consumer interest is coming from existing iPhone users, not the ever-expanding Android userbase. According to the 1,300 responders, just 12% of Android users are planning on purchasing a new iPhone.

That’s a steep decline from current Apple users. 44% of iPhone 3 and 3GS owners said they’d buy the new phone, while a surprising 42% of iPhone 4 owners said they’d spring for the modest upgrade. Keep in mind, nearly all iPhone 4 owners will be paying full price for the 4S, since they’re at most about 16 months into a 24 month cellular contract. What’s even more surprising is that only 24% of Blackberry users said they’d buy a new iPhone, despite RIM positively bleeding marketshare in the last few months – no points for guessing where the rest are probably going.
In other news, the iPhone 4S’s lack of true 4G connections is a major disappointment. Over 70% of smartphone owners and 50% of iPhone owners lamented the lack of LTE in the new model. The iPhone 4S will feature an HSPA+ radio, achieving speeds which AT&T has been advertising as “4G”, but it won’t be able to connect to the faster LTE network on Verizon or AT&T. That’s a pretty typical move for Apple – remember that the original iPhone launched with EDGE amidst a sea of 3G smartphones and featurephones.
There’s no denying that the iPhone 4S will sell a boatload of units, but as with previous generations, it’s mostly selling to the Apple faithful. Expect a larger turnaround when the true iPhone 5 appears next year – of course, by then Android phones will be even further ahead in specifications and market share.
[via eWeek]