In the smartphone business, Apple and Samsung are pretty much the only makers that consistently make money and, for that matter, win awards. That said, you have got to wonder why Moto, HTC, Nokia, ZTE et al bother at all.
Statista has published an infographic (above) showing the various makers’ respective customer smartphone loyalty scores. As in every other survey in recent memory, Apple comes out on top by a wide, double-digit margin:
iPhone users are more loyal to Apple than users of any other smartphone brand are. According to data from Morgan Stanley’s AlphaWise tracker, which compiles sell-through data using web search analysis, 90 percent of iPhone users stick with the brand when purchasing another phone. Samsung, Apple’s largest competitor, managed to improve its brand retention rate significantly over the past years, but still trails Apple by 13 percentage points.
So why do the smartphone makers that aren’t either Apple or Samsung continue to play the game? Together, Apple and Samsung account for 106 percent of industry profits (ie the others cumulatively report losses).
Further, as shown in the smartphone loyalty survey results above, there are only three makers — Apple, Samsung and, surprisingly, Nokia — that actually add satisfied users on a consistent basis. Yes, the smartphone business is brutally competitive and you’ve got to wonder how much longer the also rans will continue to run…
What’s your take?