Citing findings from their global smartphone survey, Bank of America research analysts said a “strong refresh cycle” is expected to take place for iPhone in the coming years.
The survey, conducted across US, UK, China and India, demonstrated that the iPhone upgrade cycle has lengthened, with 41% of respondents in February 2024 (up from 36% in February 2022) planning to upgrade their phones every four years or more.
Further, a considerable portion of users still have older models: 28% have an iPhone 13, 14% have an iPhone 12, and over 35% have an iPhone 11 or older, BofA revealed.
Going forward, however, BofA foresees a notable shift.
“We believe the installed base is due for an upgrade and anticipate a strong refresh cycle to take place over the next two years as Generative AI features start to take hold on smartphones,” analysts said in a note.
“Maintain Buy given multi-year iPhone cycle driven by GenAI, strong services growth, and margin expansion,” they added.