Apple Maps Issues Have Little Impact on iPhone 5 Sales

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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A new survey of 4,270 primarily North American consumers by the research firm shows an unprecedented degree of consumer interest in the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 5. Dr. Paul Carton, VP of Research at 451 Research/ChangeWave Research, said:

Despite the media attention surrounding both the Apple Maps issue and the Apple Lightning port issue, neither has had an impact on the massive numbers of buyers queuing up to buy the iPhone 5. Rather, the survey results show both issues hardly rank as bumps in the road.

Nearly a third of consumers surveyed said they were likely to purchase an iPhone 5 in the future. That was nearly double the response for the iPhone 4S following its release. The iPhone 4S had been widely been considered the most successful smartphone release in history.

Nine-in-ten users reported having no problems or little problem with Apple Maps, which was the focus of media attention. Only about 3% characterized it as a “very big problem.”

Consumers who said they were unlikely to buy the iPhone 5 listed as their main reason (61%) that they had no need for a new phone as they were happy with their current one. No respondents indicated that troubles with Apple Maps was cause for not purchasing an iPhone 5.

In addition, the survey also showed that the upcoming release of Windows Phone 8 has the potential to make serious inroads in the smartphone industry, and Samsung is the manufacturer best positioned to benefit by a wide margin.

Photo of Trey Thoelcke
About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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