451 Research released its latest survey which shows stronger interest in
451 Research surveyed 4,109 primarily North American respondents to gauge their interest in Apple’s next iPhone based on a description of probable features. The iPhone 6’s Very Likely response of 14% is very similar to the iPhone 5’s 15%. This is interesting as the iPhone 5 was the model where Apple increased the screen size to 4".
What is positive for iPhone 6 demand (and negative from a short-term perspective since people will wait) is that the Likely category is 26% vs. the iPhones 5's of 18% and the 5s’ 17%.
Source: ChangeWave Research
“Consumers want what we don’t have”
At the current trial involving Apple suing Samsung Apple’s own research mirrors wide held views that there is demand for larger screen smartphones. While the chart is from calendar 2012 it shows that larger screen smartphones costing over $300 represented 91 million units or 40% of the 228 million additional units sold that year.
Apple did increase its iPhone sales from 93.1 million in calendar 2011 to 135.8 million or 46% year over year growth in calendar 2012 which does indicate iPhones could still generate sales growth even without leading edge screen size.
Source: Apple/Samsung trial
Interest will only turn into sales if the screen is large enough
What is the biggest unknown is what size or sizes will Apple have for the iPhone 6. There are a lot of articles that speculate that it will have at least a 4.7” display and probably a second version with 5.5”. 451 Research’s results indicate that while a 4.7” screen would be helpful for Apple that it may need a 5” or larger display to capture a large amount of demand. In its survey 47% of respondents are looking for a 5” or larger screen. Samsung potential buyers have a 64% interest in a 5” or larger device while non-Samsung buyers interest has risen to 39%.
Source: ChangeWave Research
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