85% of surveyed teens own an iPhone, a new all-time high

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What you need to know

  • Piper Sandler has surveyed 5,200 'Gen Z' teenagers.
  • They revealed that 85% of those teens owned an iPhone.
  • An even higher 88% expect their next phone to be an iPhone, both all-time highs.

A survey of 5,200 'Gen Z' teens has revealed that 85% of them own an iPhone and even more plan on having an iPhone as their next device.

The survey was the 39th such semi-annual survey which looks at spending trends and brand preference amongst teens:

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR), a leading investment bank and institutional securities firm completed its 39th semi-annual Taking Stock With Teens® survey, which highlights discretionary spending trends and brand preferences from 5,200 teens across 41 U.S. states with an average age of 16.2 years. Generation Z, which contributes approximately $830 billion to U.S. retail sales annually*, represents an influential consumer group where wallet size and allocation provide a proxy for category interest.

The report notes that the survey was "conducted during a time of significant upheaval" because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As such most of the responses came from teens within their own home. The coronavirus was named the no.2 social/political issue by the teens, and 13% had dropped their self reported spending.

The biggest takeaway from a tech standpoint? A whopping 85% of teens surveyed owned an iPhone. An even higher number of 88% said they expected their next phone to be an iPhone, which means a few of those teens are lined up to make the switch.

In other tech-related finds, Netflix was the no.1 daily video consumption service, and Disney+ entered the top 5 ahead of both Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video.

This is super interesting given that nearly all social media services popular amongst teens, and all content consumption platforms are available across both Android and iOS. What do you think are some of the reasons that teens prefer the iPhone over all of the other options available? Let us know!

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design. Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9