iPhones are more popular with teenagers than ever
Teenagers are heavy smartphone users - many spend six hours a day on their phones - and Apple's iPhone remains their brand of choice.
Nearly 7 out of 10 teens surveyed by Piper Jaffray own an iPhone, and 75% percent said they intend to buy an iPhone as their next smartphone. The investment bank found that 69% of teenagers surveyed are currently iPHone users. That's the highest interest in the iPhone among teenagers since at least 2013.
Here's the chart:
These numbers are from Piper Jaffray's semi-annual survey of teenagers. This survey, conducted along with DECA, a student-focused marketing group, surveyed 6500 teenagers with an average age of 16.5.
The continued teenage interest in the iPhone is a good sign for Apple, because its iOS ecosystem is proving to be very "sticky," or good at retaining customers. Recent surveys have shown that Apple retains about 90% of its customers, which means many of these iMessaging and Snapchatting teenagers will continue to be Apple customers for the long haul.
However, the survey shows that while young people are now more aware of the Apple Watch than they've ever been, it's not necessarily a must-buy for the high school set.
In terms of teenagers' "preferred watch brands," Apple lags behind Rolex, Michael Kors, and the more affordable brands Fossil and Casio. Fossil's popularity is notable considering it just purchased Misfit, a fitness tracker company, and has made a smartwatch running Google's Android Wear software.
In terms of preferred fitness band brands, teenagers pick Fitbit, with 72% of those polled saying it's their preferred brand. Even Nike - which does not currently sell a wearable - is preferred over Apple's watch.
