There are a lot of people looking forward to the release of Apple’s new iPhone which is set to give the Australian smartphone market a real shot in the arm and encourage customers to upgrade to a new device.
Analyst firm Telsyte, says the Australian smartphone market is looking healthy after 4.4 million sales in the first half of 2017, that’s an increase of 16 per cent year on year.
Android continues to enjoy market leadership with a customer base of 55 per cent with Samsung, Huawei and Oppo the leading manufacturers.
Apple iPhone users make up 44 per cent of the market but that may increase with the upcoming release of the iPhone 8 and the updated iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus.
“The arrival of at least three new iPhones, as well as the long-held strategy of keeping older models available at lower prices, will help Apple target its loyal customer base” Telsyte Managing Director Foad Fadaghi says.
According to Telsyte, there will be more than 4.7 million smart phones sold in the second half of 2017 with Apple possibly beating its 2014 sales when it released the larger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
And Telsyte says there are a number of factors that will drive up iPhone sales in 2017.
These include:
– When the latest iOS 11 update is released later this month, there will be more than one million active iPhones (models older than the iPhone 5S) that will be unsupported.
– Apple customers are loyal and the iPhone repeat purchase intention, measured by Telsyte, is at an all-time high of 93 per cent. The second highest is Samsung with 74 per cent.
– iPhone customers tend to hang on to their devices longer with nearly one in four using an iPhone that is more than three years old.
– The strong competition between telcos and larger data allowances will encourage an estimated 65 per cent of customers to buy the new iPhone on a contract as compared to 50 per cent when the previous iPhone “S” models were released.
– The addition of Augmented Reality features and improved Artificial Intelligence will also be attractive to iPhone customers.
According to Telsyte, one in three Australian smartphone users have tried AR with apps like Pokémon Go, Snapchat and Facebook photo filters.
Telsyte believe, gaming and social media will be the most popular uses for AR closely followed by navigation, education, shopping/retail and communication.
