Consumers no longer care about new iPhone introductions, survey confirms

Online publication Quartz recently ran a report that confirmed what most already knew — consumers no longer care about new iterations of the iPhone being introduced.

Despite the hoopla Apple creates for each of its new product’s introductions, after 10 years of re-introducing the same (though slightly altered) product time and again, consumer interest can officially be described as “exhausted”. 

Among some of the key findings within the survey of 525 online readers is that 90% of the group confirmed if Apple does not dramatically alter the next device model, the iPhone7, from its previous version, the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, than they will not upgrade.

What’s more, less than 10% admitted they would be “very likely” or “extremely likely” to drop their current device (iPhone 6 or otherwise) for the new iPhone 7 when it’s introduced.

These findings come at a time when Apple has reported a decline in sales. One change that might help would be slowing down the speed with which new versions of the iPhone product are introduced. The company has a habit of introducing a new device once every two years; recently, they’ve begun the practice of introducing “S” versions of the current model in the year between the announcements. This model is typically the current device plus enhancements made to fix the kinks in the original. 

The likelihood that the company will take this measure is slim. You see, a recent report found that nearly 60% of iPhone users own a device older than an iPhone 6. This is a (huge) target audience that the company wants to convince to drop their current device in favor of a newer, upgraded model. 

One method that is currently being tried out is a program that allows users to pay off a new iPhone with credit, and then update once a year. 

Worth noting is a rumor that Apple is considering the possibility of skipping the introduction of an “S” model of the iPhone 7 in 2017, and will instead go straight to introducing an iPhone 8, which is expected to be a complete overhaul of the device — both stylistically and technologically.

This suggests that the iPhone 7 will not be all that different from the iPhone 6, an unfortunate decision by the company as it could further hurt its profit as well as how the brand is viewed by consumers.

Via Quartz