Are iPhones overpriced? The Market Force Wireless Panel Study looks at Apple vs. Samsung and Google and others to reveal consumers' favorite wireless devices in 2023.
The brand equity is strong with iPhone, but there are limits. Although iPhone continues its dominance across devices (93% loyalty), under the covers, it doesn’t win among consumers in most categories. Not surprisingly, consumers give it the lowest score on price, but in Market Force’s current wireless industry study, this poor price perception goes along with the most negative perception of value as compared to other manufacturers. iPhone wins only on reliability (53.3% satisfied) and security (52.9% satisfied).
Other device manufacturers don’t capitalize on the strength of their hardware. Google, in particular, gets high marks from consumers across many categories, including uniqueness (36.8% satisfied) and screen size (64.7% satisfied), but they continue to trail iPhone and Samsung in overall performance and overall satisfaction.
Google, we’re looking at you. Google is the clear winner in seven (7) of our performance categories: value, signal strength, look and feel, camera, video, screen and uniqueness. iPhone comes in second with three (3) wins in the performance categories: overall, reliability, and security.
Samsung struggles. Although Samsung commands admirable market share among device manufacturers with roughly 36% of the market, their devices do not stand out with consumers, with the exception of value. Samsung’s strategy of going hard at the value segment of consumers is evidence of their knowledge of their vulnerabilities. That strategy, however, may have a short shelf life. 93% of iPhone customers say they will likely stay with iPhone come upgrade time, while only 77% of Samsung users report their likely intention to remain loyal to Samsung.
Brand Loyalty
While iPhone may have strong brand equity and market share dominance across devices, there are limits to its appeal among consumers. In contrast, Google stands out in many categories but still trails behind iPhone and Samsung in overall performance and satisfaction rankings. Samsung, despite its market share, struggles to differentiate itself from the competition, with the exception of value. Explore these results and more by accessing the full Wireless Panel Study below.
