“Apple not only commands more than half of the U.S. smartphone market, it has done an exceptionally good job of getting customers to upgrade to its latest phones,” Daniel B. Kline reports for The Motley Fool. “The company now has nearly 100 million iPhones in use in the U.S. according to new research from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. The CIRP data show that as of the end of the second quarter of the year, which ended in June, 97 million iPhones were in use in the U.S., including 33 million iPhone 6 and 17 million iPhone 6 Plus models. ”
“With the total number of smartphones in the U.S. being just over 182 million, the iPhone has a comfortable lead over the various Android phones,” Kline reports. “While Apple has succeeded in growing its U.S. user base, it has also done an impressive job of getting its customers to upgrade to the latest edition iPhone. Mike Levin, Partner and Co-Founder of CIRP explained: ‘Our estimates indicate that 52% of US iPhone owners use an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus. Relative to the installed base of about 80 million users at the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, we also estimate that 49% of the installed base at the time of the launch have now bought an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus.'”
“Holding over 50% market share in the U.S. is impressive, but the upgrade number is perhaps even more important. Apple has its users in the mind-set of switching to its latest phone if not right away, then as soon as their plan allows an upgrade,” Kline writes. “This suggests the company will keep sales booming when it announces its next models later this year.”
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MacDailyNews Take: As the era of two-year carrier contracts ends, Apple’s annual iPhone sales reap the benefit.