The iPhone 5c has been attracting large numbers of first-time Apple buyers who are switching over from Android devices. It has also proven popular among buyers with below-median incomes.
More than 40 percent of iPhone 5c buyers earned less than $49,000 per year, while just over 20 percent of iPhone 5s owners fell into the same economic group, according to a new report from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. The study tracked smartphone sales throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia during August, September, and October 2013.
The age of customers buying the iPhone 5c also skewed slightly older then buyers of the iPhone 5s. Buyers came in at 38 and 34 years-old respectively.
“Almost half” of the buyers of the iPhone 5c were switching from Android devices. Samsung and LG were the hardest hit by the migration to Apple’s mid-priced handset. The flagship iPhone 5s saw most of its sales, (80%), going to customers upgrading from previous iPhones.
Kantar says iOS accounted for 16% of smartphone sales in Europe, 61% in Japan, 35% in Australia, 16% in China, and 41% in the U.S. during the period covered by the study.
