Unlike shoes or hats, where you might buy less if prices increase, smartphones, especially iPhones, are a different story. iPhones, which currently dominate about half the US smartphone market, have become an integral part of the people’s daily lives. Let’s face it: Many Americans would feel lost without their iPhones, even for a day or just a few hours.
I don’t know about this. A network connection and a means of texting; sure that’s pretty integral. But iPhones themselves… that’s a brand first, and a functional product at distant second. I kinda don’t think it’s more elastic than shoes. Sure, other phones are also gonna be impacted by tariffs, but other phones don’t start with the big price tag that comes alongside a fruit logo.
I think the point might be that iOS is a particular experience and people use their phones for mission critical life functions including medical, education, and financial. Switching to Android is a higher switching cost than switching brands of shoes
Yeah, people aren’t gonna make that switch in a hurry. What Apple is really competing against is the iPhone they were selling last year. A chunk of their install base is people who upgrade each and every release, and I think there’s gonna be a pretty big contraction.
