Two surveys this week indicated that most iOS 6 users and potential iPhone buyers have not been affected or deterred by the flap over Apple Maps. A September survey of 4,270 US adults by ChangeWave Research discovered that demand for the iPhone 5 was greater than for the iPhone 4S.
The same survey revealed that existing iOS 6 users are having relatively few or no problems with Apple Maps. The chart below offers a comparison with the iPhone 4 “antennagate” reception issue and its impact.
About 21% of these respondents said they were having “somewhat of a problem” (14%) or a “very big problem” (7%) with Apple Maps. More than three-fourths (78%) said, however, it was “not much of a problem” or “no problem at all.”
Earlier in the week Mike Blumenthal posted about a much smaller survey he conducted online (n=168) that showed strikingly similar results. Here 74% of respondents said they essentially hadn’t been impacted, roughly equivalent to the number in the ChangeWave survey.
Source: Mike Blumenthal (n=168 US Adults)
Just over half said the problems of Apple Maps have had no impact on them. A second group (23 percent) agreed with the statement that the new Apple Maps were “good enough for me.”
Just over 17 percent agreed with the statement that the problems were “annoying but not a deal breaker.” And 9% had a negative reaction saying it would or might affect their future buying decisions.
Among other things, what all this shows is the gap between the obsessions and focus of the tech press and the perceptions and experiences of “ordinary” consumers in the “real world.”
October 15th, 2012 at 8:37 am
The feedback amongst my immediate group of friends is that the iPhone 5 is underwhelming. People are upgrading because their old iPhone’s are starting to fall apart, but not because the new iPhone gives them anything that they really really want.
October 15th, 2012 at 5:00 pm
[...] Apple Maps ‘Debacle’ Having Zero Impact on iPhone Demand [...]