Teens Still Love the iPhone — and Many Are Looking Forward to Apple Intelligence
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If there’s any seriously waning interest in Apple’s latest iPhone lineup, it’s not coming from teens in the US. While upgrade ambitions are slightly lower than for the past two generations, it’s a minor dip.
At least, that’s what Piper Sandler’s semi-annual Taking Stock with Teens survey tells us. The survey examines the interests and purchasing habits of a cross-section of American teenagers — including how they feel about Apple’s latest iPhones.
The company has been running the survey for 24 years, and this latest one asked 13,515 US teens to comment on everything from iPhone ownership and Roblox usage to their preferred drinks and snacks and willingness to try plant-based meat products.
However, when it comes to Apple products, 87% of the teens surveyed owned an iPhone and plan to stick with Apple’s platform; 88% of those surveyed expect their next smartphone will be an iPhone, suggesting there are more than a few dissatisfied Android owners in the mix.
Only 22% of respondents said they plan to upgrade to the iPhone 16 this year. While that’s a slight drop from 23% for the iPhone 15 last year and 24% for the iPhone 14 two years ago, a much higher number expressed interest in upgrading to the iPhone 16 within the next six months — specifically to get the new Apple Intelligence features.
The gap between the 22% who plan to upgrade this year versus 30% in the first part of 2025 may reflect a “wait-and-see” approach toward Apple’s new AI features, which won’t even begin rolling out for the new iPhones until iOS 18.1 arrives later this month. The current scuttlebutt is that this will happen on October 28, but that’s only phase one; the features that are more likely to appeal to teens, like Genmoji and Image Playground, aren’t expected until iOS 18.2, which will likely land closer to December.
What these teens will be upgrading from is more of a mixed bag. Only 18% of the teens surveyed already own an iPhone 15, while 25% are still rocking an iPhone 13, putting the average three generations behind the iPhone 16. That’s a drop from the 2.5-generation average two years ago, which suggests teens are holding onto their iPhones slightly longer than before, but that’s also not surprising in today’s economy.
The second-most popular Apple product among teens shouldn’t come as a big shock; about 70% of teens surveyed owned a set of AirPods, and 25% say they’ll buy a new pair in the next six months. The iPad and Apple Watch also had a strong showing, with more than 30% of respondents reporting owning one or both devices.
Among Apple’s services, over 30% of teens have access to Apple Music, and 28% are paying for it themselves rather than getting it through their parents’ Family Sharing plan. Apple TV+ fared more poorly, with only 10% of teens reporting that they watch Apple’s streaming service, and those that do say it only accounts for about one percent of their viewing compared to other services.
