Apple to Android and Android to Apple - Do People Really Switch?

There is insatiable interest in the iPhone vs. Android rivalry, and perhaps the strongest indicator of their relative strength is how smartphone users switch between the platforms. The headline is that only a very small percentage of smartphone owners switch operating systems. Familiarity, hardware brand comfort, and perhaps most importantly, fear of the complexity of switching means that more than 90% of smartphone owners stick with their operating system when they purchase a new phone. (More people switch mobile carriers than operating systems.)

Recently we looked at the percent of new iPhone buyers who were switching from an Android phone. With data from our quarterly survey of US consumers who activated a new or used smartphone in the prior quarter, this week we look at switching in both directions, based on prior operating system and new operating system.

Looking at their existing installed user bases, iOS and Android both enjoy better than 90% customer loyalty - that is, more than 90% of existing iOS and Android users remain with their incumbent operating system when they get a new phone (Chart 1). iOS loyalty is somewhat higher at 94%, compared to 91% for Android owners.