iPhone demand still 'incredibly strong,' but declining, study finds

iPhone demand is still high.

(Credit: Apple)

Apple's iPhone is still in high demand among future smartphone buyers, a new survey has found.


According to ChangeWave Research, which conducted a survey of 4,000 North American consumers last month, 54 percent of those who plan to buy a smartphone in the next 90 days will choose the iPhone. Samsung smartphones come in second place in the ChangeWave survey, earning 13 percent share. Motorola and HTC follow with 7 percent and 3 percent of consumers planning to buy devices from those companies, respectively.

"Apple has never dominated smartphone planned buying to this extent more than two months after a major new release," ChangeWave said in a statement, referencing the iPhone 4S. The research firm went on to say that iPhone demand is "incredibly strong" right now.

However, demand for Apple's iPhone is on the decline. Back in September, ChangeWave found that 65 percent of consumers were planning to buy an iPhone by the end of 2011--11 points higher than now. Meanwhile, demand for Samsung smartphones has increased 8 percent from the 5 percent it stood at in September.

So, why is Samsung's market appeal on the rise? According to ChangeWave, it's due mainly to the recently launched Galaxy Nexus. That device, which boasts Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and comes with a 4.65-inch display, is Samsung's flagship device right now, and arguably the best iPhone competitor the company offers.

When it comes to satisfaction, however, the divide between Apple's and Samsung's handsets is quite large, ChangeWave found. A whopping 75 percent of iPhone owners say they are "very satisfied" with their smartphones, compared to just 47 percent of Samsung smartphone owners. BlackBerry owners were least likely to be "very satisfied," with 22 percent saying they feel that way about their handsets.

Smartphone demand as of December 2011.

(Credit: ChangeWave Research)

As Apple and Samsung continue to battle it out on store shelves, the companies are also heavily engaged in lawsuits all over the world. From Australia to Europe to the U.S., each company has argued that the other violates patents in both smartphones and tablets. So far, however, neither side has been able to win a decisive victory.


Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don writes product reviews for InformationWeek and is a regular contributor to Processor Magazine.

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