Which smartphones are the most popular in Switzerland? To find out, independent online comparison service moneyland.ch surveyed 1500 consumers across Switzerland as to which mobile phones they use and how satisfied they are with their phones.
iPhone and Samsung smartphones at the lead
The iPhone is the most popular mobile phone in Switzerland, with 40.8% of participants using a variant of the smartphone created by the US company. Samsung takes second place, with 35% of consumers using phones from the South Korean electronics giant.
It is somewhat surprising that Apple is still the most popular mobile phone manufacturer among Swiss consumers. Our representative survey clearly shows that Switzerland remains an Apple country, explains moneyland.ch telecom expert Ralf Beyeler.
In third place after Apple and Samsung is Chinese mobile phone maker Huawei (used by 8.8% of Swiss consumers), followed by Nokia (3.5%) and Sony (3.3%).
All other phone makers are notably less widely used by Swiss consumers. Manufacturers with market shares under 1.5% include Fairphone, Google Pixel, Honor, HTC, LG, Oppo, Wiko and Xiaomi. Both Oppo and Xiaomi were previously unknown in Switzerland, but have broken into the market by partnering with Swisscom and Sunrise to supply 5G-compatible devices.
Samsung more popular in French-speaking Switzerland
The iPhone is somewhat more popular in German-speaking Switzerland, with 41.4% of consumers using iPhones compared to 39.7% of French-speaking Swiss. Samsung devices, on the other hand, are more popular in French-speaking Switzerland, with 37.9% of consumers using Samsung phones compared to 33.4% in German-speaking Switzerland. Apple leads by a very tight 1.8% margin in French-speaking Switzerland, with 39.7% market share compared to Samsung’s 37.9% market share. Things look very different in German-speaking Switzerland, where Apple clearly leads by an 8% margin with a 41.4% market share compared to Samsung’s 33.4% market share.
Also interesting is the fact that Huawei is somewhat more popular in German-speaking Switzerland (9.2%) than in French-speaking Switzerland (7.5%). Nokia is more popular in French-speaking Switzerland (4.2%) than in German-speaking Switzerland (2.9%).
The iPhone is particularly popular with women
The iPhone is more popular among Swiss women than men. A high 44% of the women who participated in the survey use an Apple iPhone, compared to 37.4% of men. Smartphones from Samsung are equally popular among men (35.4%) and women (34.6%). Huawei devices are more popular with men (9.3%) than women (8.3%). The gender-based differences in the use of Sony phones are somewhat surprising, with twice as many men (4.4%) using Sony phones than women (2.2%).
iPhones more popular in cities
The iPhone is more widely-used in cities (42.1%) than in rural areas (37.3%). The opposite applies to Samsung, whose devices are used by 35.5% of rural consumers compared to 34.8% of urban dwellers. Rural dwellers are also more likely to use phones from Huawei (9.8%) and Nokia (6%) than urban dwellers, of which 8.5% use Huawei phones and 2.6% use Nokia phones.
iPhones exceptionally popular among young adults
The iPhone is most popular among adults aged 18 to 25 years old. Every second young adult (50.2%) has an iPhone, compared to 40.8% of all adults in all age groups combined. Results are very different for Samsung: Only 24.9% of young adults who participated in the survey use a Samsung phone. Huawei is more popular among young adults than among adults in other age groups.
Results for the age group between 26 and 49 years old are similar to those for all consumers combined. Both iPhones (41.7%) and Samsung smartphones (36.9%) are somewhat more popular in this age group than with the population as a whole.
Surprising: Samsung smartphones are more popular than Apple phones among adults aged 50 to 74 years old. Samsung phones are used by 36.8% of older adults, while 35.8% use Apple. Another notable fact is that the revived brand Nokia is more popular among older consumers, with 5.4% of adults in this age group using Nokia smartphones. “For most older adults, the first mobile phone they owned was likely a Nokia. The brand is widely known among older consumers, who are consequently more likely to buy new Nokia phones,” says telecom expert Ralf Beyeler.
Samsung and Huawei customers are the most satisfied
As well as surveying the use of phones from different manufacturers, moneyland.ch also surveyed customer satisfaction among mobile phone users. Participants could rate their satisfaction with their phones on a scale of 1 (not satisfied) to 10 (very satisfied).
Users of Samsung and Huawei smartphones are the most satisfied. Both of these manufacturers received and average of 8.4 out of 10 points. Apple’s iPhone follows at third place, with 8.3 out of 10 points.
These are followed by Nokia (8.1 points), HTC (7.3 points), Sony and Wiko (7.2 points each) and Xiaomi (7.0 points). The numbers of LG, Fairphone, Honor and Google Pixel users are too small to be used for a representative survey of customer satisfaction.
“Differences in customer satisfaction among Apple, Samsung and Huawei users are very small. Users of devices from all three of these manufacturers are apparently satisfied with their phones,” states telecom expert Ralf Beyeler.
Customer satisfaction ratings in German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland
The three biggest smartphone manufacturers Apple, Samsung and Huawei jointly take first place in German-speaking Switzerland, with customer satisfaction rating of 8.4 out of 10 points. Samsung wins the popularity contest in French-speaking Switzerland with 8.5 out of 10 points, followed by Huawei (8.4 points) and Apple (8.3 points).
Men are most satisfied with Nokia
Surprisingly, the highest customer satisfaction ratings from men go to Nokia, with an average customer satisfaction rating of 8.6 out of 10 points. Nokia is followed by Huawei (8.5 points) and Samsung (8.4 points). Another surprising fact is that the iPhone only comes in at fourth place with men, at 8.3 out of 10 points.
Women are most satisfied with Samsung (8.5 out of 10 points). Samsung is followed by the iPhone (8.4 points), Huawei (8.3 points) and Sony (7.9 points).
Customer satisfaction among urban vs rural consumers
Of urban dwellers, Huawei smartphone users are the most satisfied with their phones (8.5 out of 10 points). Huawei is followed by Samsung (8.4 points) and Apple (8.2 points).
Among rural dwellers, Apple’s iPhone and Nokia received the highest customer satisfaction ratings, both averaging 8.7 out of 10 points. These are followed by Samsung (8.5 points) and Huawei (8.3 points).
Age-based differences in customer satisfaction
Of adults in the youngest age group (18 to 25 years old), Samsung users are the most satisfied with their phones, with an average rating of 8.3 out of 10 points. The iPhone takes second place at 8.2 out of 10 points, followed by Huawei (7.9 out of 10 points).
Ratings by consumers between the ages of 26 and 49 years old are more surprising. Nokia phone users in this age group are the most satisfied, with Nokia getting an average rating of 8.7 out of 10 points. HTC takes second place with 8.6 out of 10 points. Huawei comes in third with 8.5 out of 10 points. Market leaders Samsung (8.4 out of 10 points) and Apple (8.2 out of 10 points) only took fourth and fifth place for customer satisfaction in this age group.
Among adults aged 50 to 74 years old, smartphones from Apple and Samsung received the highest customer satisfaction ratings at 8.6 out of 10 points. Huawei takes third place with 8.6 out of 10 points. Nokia received 8.1 out of 10 points for customer satisfaction in this age group.
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