Survey Finds 30% of iPhone Owners Mulling Move to Rivals’ Foldables
A survey released Monday by a trade-in comparison website found that 30% of iPhone owners are “considering” switching to foldable phones by Apple’s competitors if the company waits until 2026 to launch a foldable of its own.
According to the survey by SellCell, 20.1% of iPhone owners would consider switching to a Samsung foldable and 10.2% to a Google one if Apple waits until next year to introduce its take on the form factor.
The survey of more than 2,000 U.S. iPhone owners also found that 3.3% were waiting for an iPhone foldable before upgrading to their next iPhone.
Nevertheless, the survey suggested a strong upgrade cycle ahead for Apple, with 68.3% of iPhone owners saying they will be buying an iPhone 17, which is expected to be announced next week.
Considering Isn’t Switching
Ross Rubin, the principal analyst with Reticle Research, a consumer technology advisory firm in New York City, pointed out that “considering” switching was a weak measure for measuring loyalty. “There’s a big leap between considering and actually switching,” he told TechNewsWorld.
He also doubted that 30% of iPhone owners would switch because “nowhere near 30% of even high-end Android users are choosing foldables.”
“We don’t see a massive shift from iOS to Android or from iPhones to foldables,” said Francisco Jeronimo, vice president for EMEA devices at IDC, a market research company in Framingham, Mass.
Waiting for Mature Market
Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, a technology advisory firm in San Jose, Calif., explained that foldable smartphones are a niche market worldwide.
“In 2023, they accounted for approximately 1.4% of the overall smartphone market,” he told TechNewsWorld. “This share is expected to slightly increase to 1.5% in 2024. The market share is projected to exceed 2% only by 2025.”
Current U.S. iPhone model shares show that larger-screen formats like Pro Max and Plus already make up more than a third of sales, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, a market research firm in Chicago.
