The main trend in smartphones right now is artificial intelligence, as evidenced by the AI-packed Google Pixel 9 lineup. However, for iPhone owners, AI may not be such a big deal.
This is the result of a survey conducted by SellCell (via 9to5Mac) of over 2,000 U.S. adults who own an iPhone.
Although Apple did its best to tout Apple Intelligence earlier this year, the survey found that only 21.9% of respondents consider AI to be the most important factor in deciding whether to upgrade, and 82.1% said they would be happy to wait an additional month after launch for AI features to roll out.
So what are the main reasons that might entice people to upgrade to an iPhone 16? Well, according to this survey, affordability is the main factor, which – since Apple has never been particularly known for competitive pricing – could be a bad sign for the upcoming phones.
However, this is only the most important factor for 30.9% of respondents. There is therefore no clear consensus on the most important aspect.
Second is the hope of a new thermal design to combat overheating, presumably a response to the overheating issues some iPhone 15 Pro models initially exhibited.
Third is AI, so there is at least some interest there, followed by a faster chipset and then the rumored larger screen sizes on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
But while only 19.3% of respondents considered larger screen sizes to be the most important rumored feature of the iPhone 16 lineup, 54.9% said they would like a larger iPhone, while only 12.9% said they would wait for a new compact model.
Buttons are apparently boring
However, the rumored record button and the likely presence of the action button on all four upcoming phones apparently didn’t excite many potential buyers: only 19% said the latter was the most important factor in their purchase, and 17.7% cited the former.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s even less interest in Wi-Fi 7 or a vertical camera lens arrangement on the standard models, but the potential for new iPhone 16 colors was what few respondents considered a major factor in a potential purchase. Which is fair enough, especially if you’re just planning on putting the phone in a case anyway.
However, despite the rather muted response to some of the most discussed features, 61.9% of respondents said they would likely buy an iPhone 16 series model, and for those who would not, the main reasons are cost and their satisfaction with their current iPhone.
While there is some interesting data here, it’s important to remember that this is a small sample relative to all people who might consider buying an iPhone 16. It also only takes into account the US – Apple’s biggest market – and only existing iPhone owners, so this definitely won’t tell the whole story.
