October 30th, 2023, Hoang Nguyen
Apple just debuted the iPhone 15, in line with the tech company’s steadfast tradition of releasing a new phone every fall.
The iPhone 15 features four different models: The iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. Apple packed the phone with a few notable upgrades, including leaving the lightning charging port behind in favor of USB-C charging, equipping a new periscope telephoto camera lens, adding a new Action Button and shifting from stainless steel casing to brushed titanium.
Ahead of the busy holiday shopping season, we conducted an Apple iPhone study in the US to understand if consumers are considering an upgrade from their current iPhone or a switch from Android to Apple. The research also looks at the features that prospective buyers are most excited about.
We know from several YouGov studies that inflation is changing consumer budgets, especially as they relate to electronics. Just how much are current economic conditions impacting consideration for premium consumer electronics like the iPhone in October? Let’s dig deeper.
Consideration for the new iPhone 15
39% of Apple smartphone owners would consider upgrading to an iPhone 15 in the next 12 months
The release of this year’s iPhone seems to be commanding the attention and interest of many US consumers. Data from YouGov’s Apple iPhone study reveals that a quarter (26%) of US consumers would consider buying one of the models of the new iPhone 15.
We also segmented the results by the type of phone people currently own and found that nearly two in five (39%) iPhone users plan to buy the new Apple device at some point over the next year.
Which is the most popular model among the four versions released this year? The iPhone 15 Pro Max seems to win out in terms of interest, with 15% of iPhone users saying that’s the model they would consider buying.
We also asked non-Apple phone owners about their plans around buying the new iPhone and nearly one in five (18%) consumers in this group are willing to consider it.
iPhone 15 features
Prospective buyers want longer battery life, more memory to store data and faster processing speeds in their next iPhone purchase
The iPhone 15 boasts a host of new features, and we asked people considering the iPhone to tell us what they think the key selling points are when it comes to choosing which iPhone model to buy.
At the top of the list is longer battery life, with 57% of prospective buyers looking to get more out of their phones throughout the day. Recent tests by electronics experts found that the 15 Pro and Pro Max are outperforming the previous iPhone 14 after 45-minutes of heavy usage.
Consumers are also saying storage space is a significant factor when it comes to deciding on a model (44%). Apple seems to be keeping up with consumer desires for larger memory storage capacity, particularly in its iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max models which offer up to 1 terabyte of storage.
Having a snappy and responsive phone is also important to prospective buyers, with 42% saying faster processing speeds will factor into which model they’ll buy. The iPhone 15 sports an A16 bionic chip which Apple claims will allow for more memory bandwidth and better computational photography abilities.
Photography and the iPhone’s higher resolution camera are an important factor to 38% of prospective buyers. The data reveals an additional fifth (20%) of people considering the new iPhone say the 5x optical zoom available on the iPhone Pro Max is a key selling point to them.
A larger screen (29%), titanium casing (19%) and the new “Action Button” (9%) are other factors that come into play for a smaller subset of prospective buyers when choosing an iPhone 15 model.
Impact of economic factors on buying new electronics
Two in five prospective iPhone 15 buyers say certain electronics are still worth spending on
We know that budget considerations are weighing heavily on purchase decisions, and how many consumers can afford new electronics in this economic climate will continue to impact demand for the new iPhone 15.
To get a pulse on consumer feelings at this time, we asked people about the impact of the current economic climate on their willingness to accept higher prices for premium consumer electronics such as the iPhone.
A third of US adults say inflation is very much affecting their spending on high-end electronics and that they’ll hold off on buying new electronics for a while. A near equal share of prospective iPhone buyers say the same (35%).
But in a spot of good news for Apple, 41% of people considering an iPhone 15 say certain products are still worth spending on right now even with higher prices and economic factors having somewhat of an impact on their electronics spending (vs. 22% of US adults).
Apple is offering a wide range of financing options for all models of the new iPhone 15 including a trade-in program that can take up to $650 off the cost of a new phone if consumers send in their old one.
Prices for the new iPhones start at $799 for the iPhone 15 and top out at $1,199 for the 1TB iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Get in touch to learn more about YouGov’s latest Apple iPhone 15 study including:
- The ways that prospective buyers intend to pay for the iPhone
- How satisfied consumers are with Apple’s current financing and trade-in options
- Whether there’s social pressure to own an iPhone
- Consumer perceptions of Chinese smartphone competitors
Methodology
YouGov Surveys: Serviced provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences. This study was conducted online between October 12-13th, 2023, with a representative sample of 1,180 adults (aged 18+ years) in the United States, using a questionnaire designed by YouGov. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.