iPhone sales may be slowing down, but the popularity level of Apple’s handsets among teenage customers is higher than ever — and increasing all the time.

In an extensive new survey carried out by analysts at Piper Jaffray, entitled “Taking Stock with Teens,” a whopping 69 percent claim to be iPhone owners. Better still, 75 percent of teens say they expect their next phone to be an iPhone.

iPad approval ratings are also high among the same demographic, although not quite up there with iPhone levels. While iPad ownership slipped slightly to 48 percent ownership, compared with the last time Piper Jaffray ran this survey, iPad mini ownership increased one point to 16 percent. 50 percent, meanwhile, say that they would be getting an iPad as their next tablet.

The survey interviewed 6,500 teens with an average age of 16.5.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen evidence of Apple’s popularity among younger consumers. A previous study of consumer preferences among kids aged 6-12 placed the iPad brand in top position — beating even the likes of Disney, Nickelodeon, Toys”R”Us, McDonald’s and YouTube.

Exactly why Apple should be popular among teens doesn’t seem a great mystery. It’s a company which puts a huge amount of effort into marketing itself as youthful and on-trend, helped by its association with other youth-friendly brands like the Apple-owned Beats. Given that devices like iPads are also used in schools, it’s also likely that children are welcomed into the Apple world at a young age, which sticks with them until later on.

In all, it certainly bodes well for Apple’s future as today’s teenagers become Apple’s future primary market.

Source: Piper Jaffray

Via: CNet