Loyalty in the smartphone world isn’t dead—it’s just louder. A new smartphone loyalty survey points to iPhone customers staying put at record levels, at least compared to Android users.
According to Misryoum newsroom reporting, 96.4% of customers surveyed said they planned to stick with an iPhone for their next upgrade, while 3.6% said they would choose a different brand. That figure is up from 91.9% in the same loyalty survey from 2021 and 90.5% in 2019—so, year by year, iPhone commitment keeps getting a little bumpier, like a trend that refuses to smooth out.
The contrast with Android is where things get sharper. Android users were less loyal to their brand and are almost 4x more likely to switch than iPhone users, with 86.4% saying they would stick with an Android device and 13.6% planning to move away. In other words, fewer people seem to treat Android as “default” long-term.
Misryoum editorial team stated that among the 3.6% of iPhone users considering a move, 69.7% said they would choose a Samsung smartphone, and 20.2% said they would choose a Google smartphone. Android users contemplating switching look more split in a different way: while most would switch to Samsung or Google, 26.8% said they would choose an iPhone over an Android smartphone. That number is small, sure, but it’s notable—especially because it cuts against the usual idea that people only drift in one direction.
Why do people stay? Most iPhone users said they would stick with an iPhone because they prefer Apple (60.8%), and 17.4% said they were invested in the Apple ecosystem. And then there’s the usual “it’s not me, it’s the price” angle: about half of iPhone users contemplating switching said they would do so because the iPhone is too expensive or other brands offer better value. Still, 22.5% said other brands have better technology—no fluff there.
The survey also suggests iPhone loyalty builds over time. Misryoum analysis indicates 83.8% of iPhone users surveyed said they had used an iPhone for more than five years, while only 33.8% of Android users said they had stuck with a brand for over five years. One small real-world detail I keep thinking about is how often you hear the same notification sound go off—same ringtone, same vibration pattern—year after year. It’s silly, maybe, but habit like that matters.
Misryoum editorial desk noted the survey was limited to 5,000 U.S. respondents, with a roughly equal representation between iPhone and Android users based on two separate surveys that included the same question structure. More information from the survey is said to be available on SellCell’s website. Still, for a market where people complain, upgrade, and scroll constantly, these numbers suggest the iPhone brand pull is staying stubbornly strong—while Android users are more ready to jump.
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