U.S. iPhone upgrades ‘may prove challenging’ after surge
While Apple (AAPL) says just 20% of iPhone users have upgraded to iPhone 6 series handsets, the percentage is twice that in the U.S., a new study indicates. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners on Friday said 40% of the 94 million iPhone users in the U.S. have upgraded to Apple’s newest handsets, with 25 million people using the iPhone 6 and 13 million using the iPhone 6 Plus. “In the quarterly investor call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said, ‘There’s a lot of people that haven’t upgraded to a 6 and 6 Plus,'” Josh Lowitz, CIRP partner and co-founder, said in a statement. “We see 56 million U.S. iPhone owners with older models who are potential upgraders.” Apple has sold 38 million iPhone 6 series handsets in the U.S. from the September launch through March, CIRP said. By comparison, Apple sold 18 million iPhone 5S handsets during the year-earlier…