IT Brief New Zealand - Technology news for CIOs & IT decision-makers
Story image
Apple lures Samsung customers with iPhone 5C…
Tue, 3rd Dec 2013
FYI, this story is more than a year old

Despite taking a fair old bashing in the press of late, Apple's iPhone 5C is working wonders in Cupertino - poaching customers from rival brands such as Samsung and LG.

In what can be see as worrying news for Samsung in particular, technology strategist firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech claims the tech giant's low-end smartphone is tempting fans to 'Think Different.'

"Almost half of iPhone 5c owners switched from competitor brands, particularly Samsung and LG, compared with 80 percent of 5s owners who upgraded from a previous iPhone model," says Dominic Sunnebo, strategic insight director, Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

Billed as the "most colourful iPhone' yet, the iPhone 5C entered the market as the young sibling of the eagerly anticipated iPhone 5S, struggling to gain a market foothold in the early days since its release.

Fast forward only a few months and it appears Cupertino's low-cost device is finally doing the business, echoing previous analyst comments that iPhone 5C customers simply don't "stand in queues days before release."

Yet despite encouraging signs for the device, it looks as though Apple will have to contend with lower sales this year - compared to a sterling performance from the universally popular iPhone 5.

"Apple's share of the market still remains lower than when the iPhone 5 was released, although this is not wholly unexpected, as shoppers tend to react more positively to 'full' releases than incremental improvements such as the 5s and 5c," Sunnebo adds.

Have you bought the iPhone 5C and switched to Apple? If so,