iPhone Upgrades

iPhone owners in the United States are apparently no longer in such a rush to upgrade to the latest version of the gadget.

Among people who upgraded from an old iPhone to a new one, the age of the old phones has increased over the past several years, meaning people are waiting longer to upgrade, according to data released Tuesday by research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.

For the 12 months ending June 2013, 34 percent of iPhones were at least two years old when replaced. But since June of 2014, that figure has been hovering at around 50 percent. CIRP based its data on surveys of almost 3,000 Apple customers in the US.

Smartphone makers such as Apple depend on sales not just from new buyers but from current owners who upgrade to the latest model. The notion is that an iPhone owner who gets hooked into the Apple ecosystem is more likely to remain a customer. However, Apple needs to make each new iPhone upgrade-worthy or current owners may just rely on an existing device.