Change phone brand? You’re probably picking up an iPhone

Apple dominates the minds of people switching phone brands this year, according to a new Wave7 survey of US mobile phone retailer representatives.

When 37 reps were asked which manufacturer gets “the lion’s share of [OEM] according to the May report from the analysis company. Some of these Samsung “switches” are not platform switches either, as representatives included refugees from LG’s doomed mobile phone business in the Samsung herd. .

The results became fuzzier because Wave7 was asking different questions though. When reps were asked if they had seen more people switch from Apple to Android or vice versa, 51% said the change was “about equal”.

The report didn’t speculate on why these results would be different, but I think it’s likely to be brand awareness. People switching to iPhones are very aware that they are buying an Apple, while people switching to Android may think they are buying “an Android”.

Google’s own brand doesn’t seem to benefit from this halo, however, with only one store rep mentioning that people are noticeably turning to Google to get Pixel phones.

Apple’s overall market share is down slightly this month across all three carriers, according to Wave7’s report, but not significantly. At Verizon, iPhone 13 model sales are up and iPhone 13 Pro Max sales are down, the report said.

Overall, however, there isn’t much movement between platforms in the US market, just like there aren’t any wild shifts in OEM market share.

“Some reps said there were very few switches, with people sticking to what they know,” the report said.