BlackBerry users are found to hold on to their devices for the longest amount of time, according to recent data from Kantar WorldPanel. From one perspective, it is good to see that users are loyal to one device and brand, but from the business perspective, it means slow sales.
Corporates contribute the most for BlackBerry
Kantar found that on average a BlackBerry user keeps their device for around 32 months, which is the longest compared to other brands. The average smartphone consumer upgrades his or her device every 22 months. According to Kantar, the shortest replacement cycle is of Microsoft Lumia handsets, which spans just around 16 months. The replacement cycle for Apple is 25 months, which is interesting considering every year more and more iPhone devices are sold. For Samsung, it is 18 months.
BlackBerry is still the most preferred device of corporations. Usually, corporations do not upgrade their devices as frequently as the regular customers, and this is the main reason BlackBerry devices are able to outlast their competitors when it comes to retaining a device. Though it is good that BlackBerry users remain loyal to their device, it also suggests that the devices remain on the shelf for a longer duration when compared to the competitors. Overall, this cannot be considered as an ideal achievement for business growth.
iPhone users upgrade the most
Over the last year, more upgrades have been made by the iPhone users than ever in Apple’s history. This can be due to the launch of the bigger-size devices– iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus– that pushed 32% iPhone owners to buy the new devices. Prior to the iPhone 6 cycle, only 22% of iPhone owners upgraded their devices. The trend is expected to go up as the company launched two new devices last week – iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus – with large screen sizes and the new iOS 9, which promises to pack some astonishing features.
For Apple, the “upgrades will come not only from the new iPhone models, but from the current iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which should experience the drop in price we have seen in previous years for retiring flagship devices,” says Kantar.
The rate at which people make upgrades could be higher if there were no carrier contracts that locked their customers for two years. The carriers are now abandoning the traditional two-year contract plan in favor of installment plans, and this might bring about a change in these numbers.
