Does the aging iPhone user hurt new phone sales?

[hallda01]

First off, this is mostly based off of anecdotal evidence so don't take it too seriously; it's just a thought I had.

I'm in my twenties, and like many people my age, I'm usually chomping at the bit to get my upgrade a good 6 months prior to my actual date. I can't wait to get the latest and greatest. You should've seen the smartphone envy I had when my wife had the HTC One and I had the BlackBerry Bold 9930. Meanwhile, my Dad is the sort of person that thinks more on the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality. He's rocking an LG Rumor POS slider with a non-capacitive touchscreen, and he's had an upgrade for 2 months just sitting there. I feel like a lot of older people that are not used to the quick turnover in electronics are like this, and don't mind missing out on the best features because they're comfortable with the device they had (which probably took them a long time to figure out in the first place).

In my professional life (I'm a first-year attorney) I find that a lot of middle aged and older lawyers and office staff have iPhones. They don't really know much about technology or phones or anything (one time I told a co-worker that my wife got the HTC One, specifically saying "HTC" and he asked if that was a Samsung or a Droid), but they know that the iPhone is a great phone, so they get iPhones (much like a few years back when business people knew BlackBerrys were great so they got BlackBerrys). These are the same type of people that have the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality that my Dad has. They were dragged kicking and screaming into the smart phone arena, spent forever trying to figure out this device, and don't want to rock the boat again. They will be using that iPhone 4s until it completely dies.

These people that hold on to a device until it breaks, as opposed to until it is old, seem much more likely to get an iPhone than one of the Android or Windows flagships lately. So my question is, do you think that these sort of consumers will drive down sales of iPhones in the long run compared to the other platforms? Should Apple change to try and attract more users who want to be on the cutting edge?

 

[Just_Me_D]

First, my answers to your questions are No and No. Having said that, I am 50 years old and have been a tech enthusiasts almost all my life. I've always been among the people who had the cutting edge stuff first. Now, however, I have found that iOS is sufficient for my smartphone needs. Mind you, I said "iOS" and not the iPhone. In other words, a first generation iPhone is not sufficient for me, however, a 4S and my iPhone 5 are. There is only one iPhone but it is always being updated and improved which makes your analysis a tad moot. Staying with the iPhone basically means staying with the brand and not necessarily the specific iPhone version. I hope that made sense. If not, forgive me. I'm not having one of my better days.

 

[mountainman]

I see your point. Most everyone in my family, and in my workplace, have iPhones. But none of them are a smartphone junkie like me.

Take my wife for instance - she said this "why would I ever need another phone, this one is perfect." Now, the battery on her iPhone 4 is slowly degrading. I could easily replace it (been there done that), but some people just don't care about the latest and greatest.

Also, the other people in my family are put off by the lightning port in the new iPhone 5. "Why would they do this.... To make more money blah blah....". Whereas you and I, we would just get adapters for our most expensive toys or just bite the bullet for the sake of progress and get new cords/gear. Point is that a normal smartphone user is not like us at all. They might text, email, and surf the web a little, and update their calendar. They may never have to respond quickly to 5 emails while texting 3 other people while editing a spreadsheet and being on a call at the same time. Even if you don't need to do all that, you might still want the best tech in your pocket. That's ok too....

It could be a combo of people just don't care / budgets are tight. Not in the attorney crowd you mentioned, but the majority are probably just happy with what they have. Those batteries will wear out eventually LOL.

 

[Jaguarr40]

I don't think so speaking from being 50+ and it seems like every time lately I go into Best Buy I see a married couple that I presume to be older than me buying iPhones together. I also as I am out see more and more elder people with iPhones as well. My answer would be not at all does it hurt anything.

 

[qbnkelt]

Nope.

Almost all twenty and thirty somethings on the Metro carry iPhones.

Most teen guys carry Androids.

Most teen girls carry iPhones.

Most young teenagers carry iPhones.

That's on the DC Metro.



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[pr1nce]

Absolutely not. Being an upper 50 something user myself. I have many friends around my age who are very tech savvy and iOS users themselves.

 

[hallda01]

Nope.

Almost all twenty and thirty somethings on the Metro carry iPhones.

Most teen guys carry Androids.

Most teen girls carry iPhones.

Most young teenagers carry iPhones.

That's on the DC Metro.

I'm not saying those people don't buy iPhones too, I'm just asking that if a large chunk of their consumer base upgrades less often will it hurt them.

 

[LazyStarGazer]

I would say people hanging on to their iPhones as long as possible wont hurt them at all.
For the ' If it ain't broke' crowd, they will hang on to their device until they are forced to upgrade.
This is where Apples industry best customer satisfaction kicks in.
If the device serves them well, guess what they will buy?
Another iPhone.
What will they recommend to their friends, family & colleagues?
An iPhone.

Less frequent upgrades are offset by positive word of mouth.
These people want something that's easy to understand, dependable and is supported by the manufacturer (ios upgrades, updates, new features) after they grudgingly part with their hard earned dollahs.
Odds are, so do their friends.

 

[Fausty82]

I’m going to vote with the masses here... as a nearly-60 year old user, I can’t wait for the annual iPhone release. I also agree with D, as the updates to iOS keep good, solid hardware on the cutting edge, and, as far as I am concerned, I am quite satisfied to be using the iPhone and the latest version of iOS...

The same is true with my family - 95% use iPhones, and only a couple use Android...

 

[Spat]

60+ here and have iPhone 5 and iPad 4. Won't even admit how much time I spend on them daily!!

 

[anon(4698833)]

What is not "cutting edge" about the iPhone that these people would flock away to? Apple could offer a set of different colors of iPhone 5 in the fall without changing anything physically or mechanically and it would still fly off the shelves...they don't really need to change anything.

The iPhone breaks sales records every year...they move so many of them that manufacturers avoid release dates of their devices so they can enjoy some profit off of them. Do I think that an aging iPhone user base will hurt new iPhone sales? I sure don't...because I don't think there is an aging iPhone consumer base, I think it is about as age spectrum neutral as a device can get. The consumer market is not primarily made up of these types of long term keepers...the consumer base is primarily made up of people who want the latest and greatest, and because of that, the newest version of iPhone will continue to sell like hot cakes every...single...year.

 

[madeinhb]

In my 20's, I ways wanted the next greatest gadget. Now that I'm 33, I find that if my phone does what I need it to, I can use the money on other things. I think it's perception of money.

 

[taz323]

In my mid 50's and have the iPhone 5 and iPad 4, I'm always looking to update and upgrade. Don't think age has anything to do with it, just interests.

 

[sting7k]

I don't think so because I see just as many people my age who do the same thing. They will be rocking their iPhone 4 until it no longer functions and then they will just go get the newest one when they absolutely must. It's not exclusive to the iPhone either. I've been trying for months to get my buddy to upgrade his HTC Incredible. But things like better processors, more RAM, a much improved OS, and all that fall on pretty much deaf ears. He says it currently works fine so he doesn't see why he needs to upgrade.

 

[hallda01]

In my mid 50's and have the iPhone 5 and iPad 4, I'm always looking to update and upgrade. Don't think age has anything to do with it, just interests.

The more I read these comments, the more I find myself agreeing with you. It's not about age at all I'm finding, it's about whether or not you're a fan of tech.

 

[Alli]

Another 50+ tech junky here. (Have you noticed the ages of the mods & ambassadors here on iMore?) I have two lines just so I'm ALWAYS eligible for an upgrade.

Additionally, we old folk have more disposable income than the 20 something's to spend on the latest and greatest.

 

[CDG]

I don't believe age has anything to do with the "it ain't broke ......" syndrome. My young cousin has to be coaxed into any change. He had me fix his two year old Evo Shift three times, after which I finally put my foot down and talked him into an iPhone5.

So I am with the others on this.


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[EauRouge]

There is no point to discussing this here. Those "aging people" you are referring to would not be on a site like this or reading forums like this. Its better off to do a random survey on the street asking people when they suspect they will upgrade their phones

 

[pizzafootbal]

Interesting thoughts, but I think you may be wrong. My generation has grown up seeing the latest and greatest, and wanting it. Your father grew up the opposite. It has to do with the culture that he was raised in, in my opinion.

 

[Guacho]

I'm 40, oh wait... I thought this was a " tell your age" game...