iPhone users are too loyal.

Apple has a very high customer retention rate compared to Android manufacturers. Photo: Apple Insider .

Smartphone users in the US are more loyal to brands than ever, but the switching trend remains skewed toward Apple. This is the result of a 2026 survey by SellCell of more than 5,000 iPhone and Android users in the US.

Accordingly, 96.4% of iPhone users said they would buy an iPhone again at their next upgrade, while only 3.6% planned to switch to Android. This figure represents a significant increase compared to 91.9% in 2021 and 90.5% in 2019. Conversely, 13.6% of Android users plan to switch to iPhone, nearly four times the rate of iPhone users leaving the ecosystem.

When asked why they remain loyal to Apple, 60.8% of iPhone users said they simply prefer iOS. Second, the ecosystem factor came in at 17.4%, reflecting the strength of the combination of iPhone, Mac, iPad, AirPods, iCloud, and other services. Other reasons included product reliability, ease of use, and trust in Apple's privacy policies. Notably, the top two factors combined account for over 78% of the motivations behind iPhone user loyalty.

Among the few iPhone users planning to switch to Android, the primary reason is price. In this group, 69.7% are targeting Samsung and 20.2% are leaning towards Google Pixel.

The integrated ecosystem makes it convenient for Apple users to use the product. Photo: The Street .

Among Android users planning to switch brands, 26.8% chose iPhone as their destination, while 31.5% wanted to switch to another Android brand. The main reasons for leaving their current Android brand included better value from another brand (31.8%), better technology (27.1%), and a desire for a different experience (23.5%).

Looking back at long-term trends, brand loyalty across all smartphones declined sharply in 2021 before recovering and reaching a new peak in 2026. Google followed a similar pattern, falling from 84% in 2019 to 65.2% in 2021 before recovering to 86.8% in 2026. Samsung also showed significant improvement compared to 2021, although it did not disclose specific figures in this survey.

The survey results were released amidst a global smartphone market downturn due to the memory chip crisis. While most Android manufacturers had to raise prices and faced sales pressure, Apple kept the price of the iPhone 17 unchanged and recorded 3.3% growth in the first quarter of 2026. High customer loyalty and a one-way conversion trend from Android to iPhone helped Apple consolidate its market share even as the entire industry declined.