Apple Has A Huge Opportunity In The Ultra-Competitive Phablet Market

Not so long ago phablets - large-screened phones - were ridiculed as goofy-looking and cumbersome. But consumers love them, and phablet sales are booming globally and cannibalizing tablet sales.

At BI Intelligence, Business Insider's research service, we recently completed a proprietary survey of global consumers' tablet habits and preferences.

One of the questions we asked was whether our respondents were considering buying a phablet in the next two years (we defined a phablet broadly as a phone with a screen larger than 5 inches). Among those who were interested in phablets, which was some 220 people, we asked which brand they were interested in buying.

• Apple wins. 56% of our respondents, said they would be interested in buying an Apple phablet, "if they release one." It's remarkable that phablet buyers would choose a still nonexistent product over a lineup of established phablet brands. Speculation is that Apple could launch a large screened 5.5-inch iPhone 6 in September or October, alongside a standard 4.7-inch model.
• Android- and Windows-based devices are also in the running. Samsung, not surprisingly since it manufactures the popular Android Galaxy Note phablet, was in second place (22% of prospective phablet buyers) and Nokia/Lumia running Windows Phone software was in third place (7% of prospective phablet buyers).
• Overall, phablets are competing with tablets for consumer interest. 33% of our total survey respondents said they are considering buying a phablet - a smartphone that is almost as large as a tablet - in the next couple of years. An Apple phablet would help the company recapture some of those device buyers reluctant to upgrade their old iPads. (See chart, below.)

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In full, the report:

• Reveals detailed demographics about our 700 survey respondents.
• Gives detailed survey results including purchase intent/loyalty among iPad and iPad Mini owners.
• Breaks down full numbers on tablet user stats including percentage who use cell plans with their tablets, percentage who share their tablets, frequency of usage, and interest in phablets.
• Analyzes the tablet market's recent quarterly performance.
• Discusses market share trends for tablet makers like Apple and Samsung.
• Forecasts annual global tablet shipments through 2019.
• Correlates recent tablet market trends with recent consumer sentiment, revealed by the survey's results.

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