Latest look at the Android to iOS pipeline shows an increase in iPhone loyalty
Apple has been blessed with incredibly loyal iPhone owners.
iPhone loyalty rate grows in 2026 | Image by PhoneArena
According to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), over the last few years, 11% to 15% of new iPhone buyers came from Android users. This ongoing trend stands in contrast to the early years when Apple was first introducing the iPhone to other carriers in the US after AT&T lost its exclusivity. The aforementioned percentage range is based on the number of iPhone buyers who owned an Android phone at the time they purchased their new iPhone.
The most recent data from CIRP shows an 87% loyalty rate from iPhone users
In the most recent quarter surveyed by CIRP, 12% of new iPhone buyers came to iOS from Android. That means 87% of iPhone buyers remained loyal to the iPhone in the first quarter of 2026 as 1% of the iPhone buyers came from a feature phone, a smartphone running something other than Android, or it was the buyer's first phone. That happens to be the highest figure in the last three quarters.
The 87% loyalty rate for the iPhone was up 3 percentage points quarter-over-quarter, a decent increase from the 84% iPhone loyalty rate for the 2025 first quarter that closed at the end of March 2025. During those three months, 14% of iPhone buyers owned an Android phone at the time they bought an iPhone. 2% owned a feature phone, another smartphone model, or the iPhone was their first smartphone.
Graph shows the incredible loyalty of iPhone owners. | Image by CIRP
Most smartphone buyers have already selected a side
For the first quarter of 2024, the iPhone loyalty rate was 85% as 13% of iPhone buyers owned an Android phone when purchasing their new iPhone. Once again, 2% owned a feature phone, another smartphone model, or the iPhone was their first smartphone at the time they purchased their new iOS-powered handset.
The iPhone was first released in 2007 and the first Android phone, launched in October 2008, was the HTC Dream, known in the US as the T-Mobile G1. However, to be clear, it wasn't until the Motorola DROID was released in November 2009 as the first Android model running Eclair (Android 2.0) that the iPhone arguably had competition.
Now, here we are 19 years later, and most consumers have already picked their side, although a small percentage of them do switch every year. Each side is happy with the features available from the OS that they have favored for years. The release of Siri AI in iOS 27 (which I've been able to test by installing the iOS 27 beta on my iPhone 15 Pro Max) might keep some iPhone users from switching to Android.
What could get Android users to switch to iOS
As for those switching from Android to iOS, it's hard to think of a reason why someone would switch. Perhaps something like a crease-free internal display for the iPhone Ultra could attract some Android foldable users. And if the iPhone 20 has a pristine display with no ports and solid-state buttons, it could be such a radical new look that more than the typical percentage of Android users could be attracted by this glass slab.
While we only briefly touched on it, it is worth mentioning again how loyal iPhone users are. In the three years of data presented by CIRP, the lowest loyalty percentage for iPhone users was 84%, which is quite impressive.
iOS users believe in this slogan about the iPhone
Which side you stand on in the greatest tech debate of our time comes down to what you want from the software on your smartphone. If you want customization and the ability to make your phone conform to your design wishes, you are going to want to go with Android. Google also happens to do a good job saving Android users time with their UI designs for their apps.
Those who prefer iOS are happy to go along with the operating system as it comes right out of the box. Fans of iOS are strict believers in the slogan, "It just works." They are happy with the "Walled Garden" because for them, it works, and that is all they want from the software on their phones.
Popular stories
Latest News
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: