The top-three features that consumers most desire for their next smartphone purchase are a faster processor, larger screen and a lower price. And on the handset side, consumers are most interested in the next version of Apple’s popular iPhone, according to a survey from BuyVia, an app and Website for shopping.
Of those surveyed, 46 percent of current iPhone owners have no plans to switch to Android and 42 percent of current Android owners have no plans to switch to iOS, suggesting consumers are generally happy with the platforms they’ve chosen.
When it comes to upgrading, the survey found that 41 percent of consumers want the next iPhone, while 19 percent want the recently released Samsung Galaxy S4, nearly a quarter (27 percent) are unsure, 4.7 percent want a Windows Smartphone, 2 percent want the Samsung Note II, 2 percent want the new Blackberry 10 and 2 percent said they want something else.
“There’s a large amount of speculation about Apple losing its market dominance in the smartphone market, and there’s no doubt that Apple’s feeling the pressure,” BuyVia CEO and co-founder Norman Fong said in a statement. “Our survey finds that people still want the iPhone, but it’s clear their popularity is somewhat eroding. Consumers are more discriminating about features and pricing, no matter what platform they buy. Whether it’s a cheaper iPhone, or potential products like the rumored iWatch, no position is safe and everyone has to continue to step up their game.”
The survey also revealed that just under one-third (30 percent) of consumers upgrade their phone every two to three years, followed by 28 percent of consumers who upgrade each time their contract is up with their mobile provider. Seventeen percent claimed they didn’t have a specific timeframe for upgrading, while 14 percent upgrade each year, 9 percent upgrade every three or more years, 3 percent upgrade more than once a year and 1.5 percent replied “other.”
Competition between Google’s Android platform and Apple iOS, as well as between smartphone OEMs, is at an all-time high, and the fight for market share is fierce. Android ranked as the top smartphone platform, with 51.7 percent market share in the United States; Apple led as the top OEM, with a share of 38.9 percent, according to the latest ComScore MobiLens service report. Newly revamped BlackBerry ranked third, with 5.4 percent share, followed by Microsoft (3.2 percent) and Symbian (0.5 percent).