79% Of Gen Z Us Consumers Prefer Iphones to Rivals, Finds Bloomberg Intelligence

A vast majority of young smartphone users in the United States prefer iPhones over the competition, according to a new research report by Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) based on the findings from a study surveying smartphone users. The survey finds that this large preference of 79%, compared to the current market share of 41%, may indicate that iOS could gain even more dominance in the region as these consumers age.

The 1,000 person survey was diverse across gender, ethnicity, region, employment type and household income, and showed that Apple is the clear preference for users between the ages of 18 and 24. A previous study spanning ages 18-85 found iOS preference to be 47%, which is slightly higher than Apple’s US smartphone unit market share of 41% out of a base of 353 million smartphones. Analysis of this shift shows that Apple may continue to grow faster than the overall market in the US, building a larger share as Gen Z ages. Apple’s strength of brand loyalty means that this cohort of smartphone users is unlikely to switch from iOS as they age.

Even if the US smartphone market  grows a conservative 2% annually over the next 10 years, an increase in Apple’s market share to 65% in 2032 from 41% in 2022 could lead to 7% growth in the iOS install base per year. With the addition of a slight increase in average selling price per year, Apple could grow its US sales by 10% per year.

The most critical buying determinant for Gen Z consumers is camera quality, with around 50% of survey respondents saying this was the most important factor in their smartphone decision, suggesting that this demographic is more likely to opt for the higher-end Pro models that carry more advanced camera systems. This is a significant shift from the prior survey of 18-85 year-olds, 64% of whom decided that price was their most important factor.

iPhones weren’t the only popular Apple product among Gen-Z users, with 62% of survey respondents indicating that they owned AirPods. This high percentage of attach rate in the US will likely be reflected in other regions — according to IDC data the global install-base of AirPods sits around  300 million units compared to iPhones at 811 million units — translating to an attach rate of 37% which the report finds could steadily rise to around 60% in the future.

Anurag Rana, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Technology Analyst and lead author of the research report said: “We’re seeing that Apple’s dominance in the US smartphone market continues to be driven by Gen Z adopters. As Apple’s brand loyalty is so strong and this population continues to age, we expect that Apple will likely continue to accrue more market share in the region — and likely, greater adoption around the globe.

Surprisingly, the report also finds that in both Gen Z and the overall population, only 16% of respondents kept their phones for more than three years. This study finds that Apple’s refresh rate will likely remain at around the 3.5 year mark a decade from now, even as the demographic mix diversifies, and suggesting that Apple’s market share gain and ASP increase will likely be the two main determinants of iPhone revenue growth in the future.

The full iPhone Market Share survey is available to Bloomberg Terminal subscribers who can access the full report via {BI-GO-}.

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