Apple losing customer loyalty, not everyone wants iPhone 5: report

Apple losing customer loyalty, not everyone wants iPhone 5: report

Apple has its share of die-hard, loyal fan boys, who are ready to upgrade to new Apple products each year. But it seems that group appears to be shrinking, with a number of former die hard fans now hesitant about upgrading to Apple’s latest flagship devices.

A new study by Strategy Analytics Wireless Device Lab, says that only 75 percent of iPhone owners in Western Europe say they are likely to buy their next phone from Apple, down from 88 percent in 2011. US repeat purchase intentions have also seen a slight decline, down from 93 percent in 2011 to 88 percent in 2012.

These numbers are significant, especially given that Europe and US are Apple’s biggest consumer markets.

Is Apple losing its fan base? AP

According to Paul Brown, Director at Strategy Analytics’ User Experience Practice, ” Negative press prompted by a perceived lack of recent innovation by Apple has meant we are starting to see some growth in the number of previously highly loyal consumers who are now reconsidering whether or not they will purchase a new iPhone for their next device.”

At the time of its launch, the iPhone 5 was seen as playing catch up to other Android rivals like Samsung’s Galaxy S III, and HTC One X as far as features like a bigger screen, faster processor, etc were concerned.

For Apple’s iPhone the biggest challenge has come from Samsung which, says it has sold more than 30 million flagship Galaxy S III smartphones in about five months, making it one of the fastest selling smartphones in the world.

As far as mobile OS is concerned, Apple’s iOS faces a serious challenge from Google’s Android. According to a new IDC, report, Android currently has a 75 percent of market share as far as smartphones go.

The iPhone  5 was launched in India recently for Rs 45,500 for a 16GB version. More on thatthat here.