Andre Yoskowitz
14 Jan 2013 22:18
According to a new Forbes report, the worst thing possible has happened to the iPhone; it's no longer 'cool' with teens.
"There was quite some negative buzz about the iPhone 5 and the lack of a real incremental innovation, except for the screen size and weight, when compared to the 4S. So this has an effect on the originality component of coolness," says Insites-Consulting's Joeri Van den Bergh, via Forbes.
Samsung and other Android phone makers have been working hard to innovate, and there has been significant marketing on having customers move on to the "next big thing." Apple has been branded as the phone that even your grandmother uses, and for the most part, it is true.
"Teens are telling us Apple is done," says Tina Wells of youth marketing agency Buzz Marketing Group. "Apple has done a great job of embracing Gen X and older [Millennials], but I don't think they are connecting with Millennial kids. [They're] all about Surface tablets/laptops and Galaxy."
A Piper Jaffray survey recently showed that 67 percent of affluent teens want to purchase an iPhone with their next upgrade, with 22 percent looking to buy Samsung. This number is hugely skewed in Samsung's favor, year-over-year.
Of course, if Apple were to begin innovating again, they could likely take back some market share. Says Wells: "Everything moves in cycles and you can't rest on your past glory. You've got to evolve to maintain relevance. Apple just needs to focus on innovation and teens will come back."