Teen Interest in iPhone 16 Slightly Dips, But AirPods Remain a Top Choice

Teen Interest in iPhone 16 Slightly Dips, But AirPods Remain a Top ChoiceWhile a large majority of teenagers still own iPhones and AirPods, interest in the iPhone 16 has slightly declined, according to Piper Sandler's latest survey of teens for Fall 2024. Out of approximately 13,500 teens surveyed, only 22% said they plan to upgrade to an iPhone 16 in the fall or winter, down from 23% for the iPhone 15 in Fall 2023 and 24% in Fall 2022

Teen Interest in iPhone 16 Slightly Dips, But AirPods Remain a Top Choice

While a large majority of teenagers still own iPhones and AirPods, interest in the iPhone 16 has slightly declined, according to Piper Sandler's latest survey of teens for Fall 2024. Out of approximately 13,500 teens surveyed, only 22% said they plan to upgrade to an iPhone 16 in the fall or winter, down from 23% for the iPhone 15 in Fall 2023 and 24% in Fall 2022. Despite this, iPhone remains the most popular smartphone brand among teens, with 87% of respondents saying they own an iPhone and about 88% expecting their next smartphone to also be an iPhone.

Regarding upgrade reasons, 29% of respondents said they plan to upgrade because of the addition of AppleIntelligence features. However, about one in six teens did not know what AppleIntelligence actually was. This could indicate that the marketing around AppleIntelligence hasn't been strong enough, or that teens are motivated to upgrade their iPhones for other reasons, such as design and performance of the new models.

Looking at past upgrade history, about 18% of teens own the iPhone 15 and 25% own the iPhone 13. PiperSandler believes the iPhone 15 sales are slightly lower than the iPhone 14 one year after its release. Regarding overall device age, the average teen is using an iPhone that is actually three generations older than the iPhone 16, up from a 2.5 generation lag determined in Fall 2022. This suggests that iPhones are more likely to be held onto longer and passed down to other family members more often.

Beyond iPhones, AirPods remain the most popular Apple product, with about 70% of users owning a pair. About 25% are expected to purchase new AirPods in the next six months. iPad and Apple Watch ownership are also fairly high, with over 30% of respondents owning each. About 10% of teens also watch AppleTV, but they only spend 1% of their total viewing time on AppleTV, with other platforms being more widely used.

In terms of Apple Music, about one third of users have access to the service, with 28% paying for a subscription, rather than relying on a family sharing group. This shows Apple Music has a decent foothold in the teen demographic, though theres still room for growth in paid subscriptions.

Overall, while interest in the iPhone 16 has dipped, Apple products continue to dominate the teen market, especially AirPods and iPads. Apple Music also has a sizable user base, though theres still room for growth in paid subscriptions.