Apple’s ability to keep existing customers is becoming a more important driver of iPhone sales than attracting users from Android. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) found that 87 percent of new iPhone buyers in the quarter ending March 2026 had previously used an iPhone.
The figure was up from 84 percent in the corresponding period a year earlier. It points to a smartphone market in which users are increasingly settled within their chosen operating system.
Switching From Android Has Declined
Only 12 percent of new iPhone buyers had previously used Android, according to CIRP. That share fell from 14 percent in 2025 and 13 percent in 2024, despite long-running efforts by Apple and Google to make device switching easier.
Buyers coming from feature phones or other operating systems accounted for just 1 percent in 2026. The data suggests that iPhone growth is now more closely tied to replacement purchases within Apple’s own customer base.
| Previous Device Platform | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android | 13 percent | 14 percent | 12 percent |
| iPhone | – | 84 percent | 87 percent |
CIRP regularly asks consumers which device they used before purchasing a new smartphone. Its findings indicate that changing platforms is not a simple hardware decision, as it can affect apps, services, connected devices, and established daily routines.
This makes customer retention increasingly significant as the smartphone market matures. For Apple, keeping current iPhone users may be as important as competing for users on rival platforms.
Survey Shows a Wider Loyalty Gap
A separate SellCell survey of more than 5,000 smartphone users in the United States also showed stronger loyalty among iPhone owners. The proportion planning to remain with iPhone rose from 90.5 percent in 2019 to 96.4 percent in 2026.
Android loyalty stood at 86.4 percent this year. SellCell also found that Android users were four times more likely to move to iOS than iPhone users were to switch to Android.
High loyalty rates do not identify one universal reason why consumers stay with a platform. Still, the figures show that ecosystem familiarity remains a powerful barrier to switching.
Messaging and AI Are the Next Tests
Apple’s support for the RCS messaging standard has not yet produced a major change in brand loyalty. RCS allows Android and iPhone users to exchange messages with end-to-end encryption and more advanced messaging features.
Google is also expanding generative AI capabilities through Gemini on Android. The reported functions include schedule automation, form completion, dictation, and automated web browsing.
Apple is preparing comparable Siri capabilities through iOS 27, which is scheduled for release this fall. The update is said to include visual descriptions, AI-based web search, and help with drafting documents.
Meanwhile, Google is reportedly preparing to tighten sideloading, which has long allowed Android users to install apps from outside official app stores. Any change could affect one of Android’s notable advantages for users who value installation flexibility.
For now, the CIRP data indicates that new AI features and messaging improvements have not displaced the influence of established platform habits. The strongest force in smartphone purchasing remains the ecosystem users already know.