Though some 1.3 billion smartphones were sold in 2014, around 80 percent of Android and iOS users were noted to be loyal to their preferred operating system (OS).
A survey conducted by Ericsson Mobility revealed that customers who chose to upgrade their devices usually upgraded to a device with the same OS as their previous choice.
The surveyors claimed, “In some mature markets, as many as 60 percent of iOS smartphone owners that switched to the newly launched model had devices that were only a year old."
Interestingly, the study also discovered that those who upgraded their phone outnumbered first-time buyers.
Across the globe in 2015, the market share of Android was an overwhelming 80%, whereas iOS stood at 15%.
The statistics of the survey pointed out that on an average 1.7% of Android users upgraded to a new Android smartphone model each month, whereas 0.3% of them switched to an iOS smartphone when they upgraded.
In reverse, 1.1% of iOS smartphone users switched to a new iOS smartphone model, while only 0.4% of those who upgraded their phones switched to an Android smartphone.
Surprisingly, in the case Windows phone users, the trend was different. 60% of users switched to an Android phone and 15% moved to an iOS phone. While only 20% of Windows phone users remained loyal.
Another trend that was noted was that customers remained loyal to the vendors from whom they had purchased their previous phone.
The most loyal customers turned out to be those who used very expensive high-end smartphones. They almost always only opted for an upgrade with the same OS as before.
Launch of the iOS phones turns table for others
Apple Inc follows a practice of launching a new iOS phone in the month of September every year, and this move affects markets the most.
The report suggested that loyalty rates of iOS users increased drastically - from 73% to 93% - after two weeks of the new iOS phone launch in September 2015. On the other hand, loyalty to Android dropped from 82% to 76% in same time period. Once the new iPhone was launched, the number of Android users who switched to iOS effectively doubled.