Research shows half of smartphone buyers want iPhone, but Samsung’s surging

A new survey from 451 Research’s ChangeWave service on smartphone buyers in North America shows that while demand for the iPhone has dropped from the its last survey period, one in two likely smartphone buyers plan on purchasing an iPhone 5 within the next 90 days. Apple continued its impressive record of customer satisfaction, with 71{813a954d5e225a1509f22204ece89c855080ce25555f20805f61bed63cbfde3b} of respondents saying they were “Very Satisfied” with their iPhone.

Demand for the iPhone dropped from 71{813a954d5e225a1509f22204ece89c855080ce25555f20805f61bed63cbfde3b} in the last survey period, which took place around the launch of the iPhone 5 launch, where Apple always sees a large spike in demand. The last few non-launch survey periods have seen demand normalize between 50{813a954d5e225a1509f22204ece89c855080ce25555f20805f61bed63cbfde3b} and 54{813a954d5e225a1509f22204ece89c855080ce25555f20805f61bed63cbfde3b}. However, the size drop between the last survey period and this one may be due, in part, to Samsung. Demand for Samsung products has jumped eight points to 21{813a954d5e225a1509f22204ece89c855080ce25555f20805f61bed63cbfde3b}, which 451 Research attributes to the Galaxy Note II. While more likely Samsung customers are planning to buy the Galaxy S III by a wide margin, 4.8{813a954d5e225a1509f22204ece89c855080ce25555f20805f61bed63cbfde3b} of total likely smartphone buyers plan on purchasing a Note, more than half of Samsung’s jump.

Whether current demand for the Galaxy Note II reflects a future filled with larger screen sizes or simply a trend that will rise and fall, remains to be seen. While 50{813a954d5e225a1509f22204ece89c855080ce25555f20805f61bed63cbfde3b} is historically a high for Apple, they might be concerned with the traction that Samsung is gaining. The smartphone battle is between these two companies for the foreseeable future, and as they fight it out, that makes things more interesting for consumers. Whatever either company has in store for consumers, 2013 is going to be a very eventful year for both companies.

Source: 451 Research