Apple is the teen choice
For quite some time now, Apple has enjoyed ferocious popularity with teenagers. Features like iMessage, AirDrop and the best experience when using social media apps have solidified Apple’s lead. In a new survey from analytics firm Piper Sandler, 87% of teens in the USA are using an iPhone. And that same 87% expect their next smartphone to be an iPhone.
What is particularly interesting is the halo effect that the iPhone has. 72% of the teens surveyed already own a set of AirPods. In many ways that isn’t surprising. AirPods are a cultural hit in their own right. The ease of use and the instant brand recognition have aided the tech giant in shipping them in volumes that even the iPod couldn’t match. But AirPods aren’t the only product that the iPhone is accelerating…
Apple extends lead over Rolex
37% of teens surveyed in the USA own an Apple Watch. That’s pretty impressive and is up for 34% in a previous survey. And according to their data, Piper Sandler states that 14% of teens plan to buy an Apple Watch over the next two financial quarters. In more affluent teens, Apple Watch holds a lead of 42% when asked what their favourite watch brand is (yes watch, not smartwatch).
In even better news for the company, they enjoy higher popularity with teens than even Rolex who has been supplanted into 2nd place since last year. And Apple holds a comfortable lead over the likes of Fossil, Casio and Garmin with just 2% of teens citing these brands as their favourite.
The full survey is an interesting read and is well worth checking out.
More details on yesterdays beta releases
Yesterday a number of new betas were released to developers. But now we have a clearer idea of some notable new features found in iOS 15.5.
Firstly, there seems to be a rebranding of iTunes Pass in the wallet app. Moving forward it will be referred to as ‘Apple Balance’. That makes a lot of sense as Apple has gradually been moving away from iTunes as a branding and marketing term. This represents the balance linked to your Apple ID.
Secondly, Apple Pay Cash now features buttons to either request or send money directly below the card in the Wallet app. No further updates have been found to suggest that Apple Pay Cash is coming to more countries, unfortunately.
Finally, the new software contains numerous references to a yet to be announced ‘Apple Classical’ app. For a while now it was rumoured that Apple has been devoting time to creating a bespoke app for classical music. And the new text strings found in iOS 15.5 suggest that the release of this app is imminent. As reported by MacRumors, Apple acquired classical music streaming company Primephonic in August 2021. And at the time stated they had plans to build a new experience for classical music fans. The app will benefit from various Apple Music features such as Lossless playback, Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos.
The TLDR take
iOS 15.5 contains a variety of other minor updates and features. But it’s good to see that Apple still has one or two significant features on the way. It’ll be a while before the next major release of iOS (presumably iOS 16) is ready for primetime. And there are many users who prefer to delay their installation until they have confidence that it won’t break their experience.