Apple Continues to Dominate Teen Buying Preferences, Growing Lead Over Competitors Like Venmo and Rolex

Apple devices and services continue to dominate teen purchasing preferences in the United States, but more teens choose to not use iCloud Private Relay compared to those that use or plan to use the feature, according to new data gathered by investment firm Piper Sandler for its most recent biannual teen survey.

Apple Watch Series 7 Pink and Green Feature
According to the report, 87 percent of surveyed teens in the United States now own an iPhone, and 87 percent expect their next smartphone to be an ‌iPhone‌. In addition, 72 percent of teens already own AirPods.

Apple Watch ownership continues to climb among teens, reaching 37 percent, up from 34 percent last fall. 14 percent of teens now intend to buy an Apple Watch within the next six months.

Apple Watch is now overwhelmingly the most popular watch brand among upper-income teens, with 42 percent of upper-income teens saying that Apple is their favorite watch brand. Apple has gradually climbed up the list of the most popular watch brands among upper-income teens, reaching the milestone of taking the top spot from Rolex in the fall of last year. As of spring 2022, the Apple Watch now stands well ahead of the next three most popular watch brands, with Rolex at 33 percent, Garmin at two percent, and Fossil at two percent.

Apple Pay is still the most popular payment service among teens, capturing 23 percent of the mobile payments market, well ahead of Venmo, Cash App, and PayPal. The popularity of ‌Apple Pay‌ may be partly attributed to 87 percent of teens owning an ‌iPhone‌.

41 percent of teens are currently using iCloud Private Relay or are interested in using it in the next six months, but 45 percent of teens have Apple devices and choose to not use ‌iCloud‌ Private Relay, and do not plan to do so in the future.

The findings are part of Piper Sandler's "Taking Stock With Teens" survey, seen by Apple 3.0, which asked 7,100 teenagers with an average age of 16.2 and a median household income of $69,298 about their purchasing habits and brand preferences. This survey has been an ongoing project since 2001, providing long-term insights into teens' thinking.

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Top Rated Comments

darkharbour Avatar
41 months ago
Wait, 33% of all watches worn by teens of an average age of 16.2 and a median household income of $69,298 are Rolex’s?
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iphonehype Avatar
41 months ago
Considering the price of a Rolex and the market, luxury market etc. Why is Rolex even in the title? Wouldn't the comparison be against FitBit, Samsung and other competitors? If most of the US own iPhones, it would then likely mean x mount of those users would own AirPods and Apple Watches.

I do have a few friends that have iPhone, AirPods but have an Rolex and would never buy an Apple Watch
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nfl46 Avatar
41 months ago
Lol. This is the one of the reasons green bubbles are disliked in the States. The iPhone is incredibly popular here.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
totom_ Avatar
41 months ago

Wait, 33% of all watches worn by teens of an average age of 16.2 and a median household income of $69,298 are Rolex’s?
No. The article states the following:


the most popular watch brand among upper-income teens, with 42 percent of upper-income teens saying that Apple is their favorite watch brand
Hence, 33% state Rolex is their favorite watch brand, not that they own one. In addition, the article is not clear whether the "upper-income teens" are the ones "of an average age of 16.2 and a median household income of $69,298" or if there is another subset within this group with a higher household income.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dbwie Avatar
41 months ago
Taking the top spot from Rolex among teens cannot be hard. How many teens own a Rolex? I don't even know what the least expensive Rolex costs. EDIT: now I'm laughing, seeing that other commenters before me picked up on the absurdity of the Rolex comparison.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
threesixty360 Avatar
41 months ago
Rolex's are pretty much just jewellery for guys really. The whole mens watch industry is just jewellery.. not really comparable to the functionality of an Apple Watch.

The funny thing is, when I realised that they all cant actually keep time anywhere near the accuracy of £30 Casio I just laughed... what a crazy world!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)