The iPhone craze seems to be swelling among American teenagers as a new survey revealed that nearly 40 percent of teens own an iPhone and 62 percent plan to buy one as their next phone.
The 24th semi-annual survey by Piper Jaffray is another testimony of Apple's strong hold over the market. In a report released by its senior research analyst Gene Munster, iPhone ownership surged to 40 percent among the teenagers from 34 percent in Spring 2012 and 23 percent in Fall 2011. While 62 percent said they plan to buy an iPhone as their next phone, just 22 percent went for Samsung.
"We believe it is a positive sign for the power of the iPhone among younger users that Apple was able to expand its market share with teens despite no new product launches between our Spring and Fall 2012 surveys," Piper Jaffray analysts Munster and Douglas Clinton based their thoughts on the survey that polled over 7,700 teens in the country.
When it comes to the choice of tablets, 44 percent of participants said they own a tablet of which 70 percent are Apple's iPads. Overall ownership of tablets was increased from 34 percent in Spring 2012 and 29 percent in Fall 2011.
Seventy-four percent of the students, who do not own a tablet, want to buy an iPad in the next 6 months. However, amidst reports of a small form factor iPad, 43 percent of students who are planning to by a new tablet said they are most likely to go for an iPad if Apple releases a smaller version at $299.
"The smaller iPad appears to be an attractive option for teens as 43 percent of teens planning on buying a tablet said they would be more likely to do so if Apple released a smaller iPad at $299," the analyst said.
"Overall, we expect Apple devices to continue to expand in teen ownership and believe that the company is set up well to benefit from loyalty among its younger user base," Munster said.
