Apple launched the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus back in September and since then the devices have gone on a world tour of success. They smashed sales records, became massively popular and gained sales in many regions and have simply been Cupertino’s most successful smartphones of all-time. With that in mind it is hardly the shock of the century to see that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have led iPhone sales over the last 30 days by a huge amount.
UBS and Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) found that Apple’s 2014 smartphones took 84% of all iPhone purchases over the last 30 days, with 16% going to older models like the iPhone 5s and 5c. The researchers were particularly surprised by the demand for the handsets in China, where Apple enjoyed massive pre-order and hard launch sales numbers. Another interesting thing to emerge from the survey was that 19% of Samsung users asked said they will be switching to either the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus.
Our recent UBS Evidence Lab study complements the backward-looking CIRP work in finding impressive iPhone 6 buying intentions," UBS wrote. "Over 40% of respondents were likely to buy an iPhone 6 in the next year with China surprisingly strong. There is clear share gain - 19% of Samsung users look to switch to Apple for their next purchase. It also found a tilt toward the 6 Plus at over half of indicated purchases. CIRP data show the smaller iPhone 6 is selling more than the 6 Plus, which we expect to continue. But due to supply shortages, we don't know the underlying 6 Plus demand. The Evidence Lab study suggests the 6 Plus could exceed expectations, especially in Asia.
CIRP confirmed last week's news that most people buying the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus were previous iPhone users and not coming from Android.
The vast majority of new iPhone buyers were already iPhone owners," CIRP Partner and Co-Founder Josh Lowitz said. "Current iPhone owners accounted for over 80% of buyers after this launch, compared to less than 65% after the iPhone 5S and 5C launch in September 2013. Android owners accounted for a much smaller share of buyers immediately after this year's iPhone launch, and with smartphones so prevalent in the US, we also saw a smaller percentage of iPhone buyers moving from basic phones.
