Technology - Google News

About a fifth of Android phone owners plan to switch to an iPhone
PSN ID Change Feature Announced, In PlayStation Preview Program Now
Nintendo Switch Online Adds Three More NES Games

About a fifth of Android phone owners plan to switch to an iPhone

Posted: 10 Oct 2018 04:11 AM PDT

Most smartphone buyers tend to stick with the platform they're familiar with. However, new data from Merrill Lynch indicates that a large percentage of top Android brand users now intend to switch to an iPhone in their next purchase.

Analyst Horace Dediu tweeted out a chart of data compiled by Merrill Lynch Global Research on 32,523 smartphone users ranging from Apple, Blackberry, and Google to a series of global Android licensees: HTC, Huawei, Lenovo, LG, Motorola, Oppo, Samsung, Vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE.

For each maker, the most popular choice among users for their next phone was another model from the same maker. Among iPhone buyers, that figure was 70 percent. For Samsung and Huawei users, 53 and 54 percent respectively planned to stick with their brand. Just 42 percent of Google owners planned to buy another one, while other brand owners expressed even less loyalty.

Apple was the most popular brand among switchers. Of the top five Android brands globally, 15 to 25 percent said they planned to buy an iPhone next. Among HTC buyers, 25 percent said they intended to get an iPhone, nearly as high as the 34 percent who said they'd get another HTC. Only one percent of iPhone buyers indicated interest in buying an HTC.

That asymmetric brand intention played out across other top brands as well. While 19 percent of Samsung owners said they planned to get an iPhone, only 4 percent of iPhone users were looking at Samsung. The most popular alternative brand iPhone users cited was Huawei. But while 5 percent of iPhone buyers said they planned to switch, 15 percent of Huawei owners said they planned to get an iPhone next.

Other top Chinese brands, including Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi, and Lenovo's Motorola each got one or two percentage points of interest among iPhone buyers, while 20 percent of their users planned to switch in the opposite direction.

Blackberry and Google represented very small groups in the survey, with less than 50 users. Only 30 percent of Blackberry owners planned to buy another Blackberry, but 22 percent planned to get an iPhone. And even among Google buyers, a group that has gone out of its way to pay a premium for Android specifically to support Google, five times as many said they planned to replace theirs with an iPhone compared to the 1 percent of iPhone users who said they intended to buy a phone from Google.

These figures are markedly different from numbers released in 2015 by Ericsson, which studied actual activations of new phones on a monthly basis. It concluded that "the majority of smartphone users remain loyal to their operating system," and that in particular, "owners of high-end models were much more likely to select a new model in the same series from the same vendor than users of lower-end models."

It noted at the time that "around 80 percent of Android and iOS users are loyal to their operating system," while a small trickle of net switchers were continually flowing into the iOS installed base. At new product releases, however, that flow increased, with about twice as many outside users switching to iOS than there were iOS users buying other products.

If Merrill Lynch's data is anywhere close to being accurate, it means that the former models of switchers have fundamentally changed, and that use of Android is no longer protected by brand loyalty. One element of the OS loyalty Ericsson described three years ago has clearly changed —it noted that only 20 percent of Windows Phone users were buying another Windows Phone model.

Windows Phone is effectively gone. Yet among Android brands, the intention to switch to iOS has grown dramatically while loyalty to Android has softened. Other things that have changed in the last three years are the collapse of Android tablets and smartwatches, even as iPad has grown in a shrinking market for tablets. At the same time, Apple Watch has become the most popular watch brand globally while Android watches have all but disappeared. </span>

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PSN ID Change Feature Announced, In PlayStation Preview Program Now

Posted: 10 Oct 2018 06:11 AM PDT

If you ever wanted to change your PSN Online ID on your PS4 but were frustrated at the lack of ability to do so, there is some good news on the horizon. PlayStation has announced it will be testing a new feature that allows you to change your name. The much-requested PSN Online ID Change feature is currently entering PlayStation's Preview Program.

As of now, the feature will only be available to PlayStation users that have registered as testers for previous PS4 system software betas. For those that do get access, you'll be able to do your first change for free. Changes after that will cost $10 USD/CAD / €9.99 / £7.99. For PlayStation Plus members, it will cost $5 USD/CAD / €4.99 / £3.99 after the first change.

To make the change, authorized users can access the feature through the Settings menu or via the Profile page of your PS4. You'll also get the ability to display your previous PSN ID alongside your new one (so your friends can recognize you). This is a choice users will have to make; once you decide to display your old ID or not, you won't be able to change this.

Another caveat is that the new feature won't be compatible with all games. It will be compatible with PS4 games released after April 1, 2018, and "the majority of the most-played PS4 games" released before this date. PlayStation is making it clear not all PS4, PS3, and PS Vita games are guaranteed to support the feature, so users might see issues or errors in certain games. If you run into any issues with the change, PlayStation will let you revert back to your old ID free of charge.

The preview program is set to go until the end of November 2018, and PlayStation has plans to roll it out for all PS4 players in early 2019. At that time, a full list of compatible games (those published before April 1, 2018) will be released.

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Nintendo Switch Online Adds Three More NES Games

Posted: 10 Oct 2018 08:18 AM PDT

Nintendo Switch Online is the new subscription service for online play of many Switch games, but Nintendo sweetens the pot a bit by offering an expanding list of NES classics for free. This week three more games join the lineup, along with a special save data for one of the previously included games to help give you a head start.

NES Open Tournament Golf, Solomon's Key, and Super Dodge Ball all join the line-up today. Golf is one of the earliest approximations of the sport in video games. Solomon's Key is a puzzle-platforming game that has you navigate through stages with magical block-creation powers. Super Dodge Ball is an action sports game that pits teams against each other in the classic gym school game, complete with special super-shots and environments that can impact your footing.

Alongside those additions, the update includes a special save data for The Legend of Zelda. It lets you start a new game with the White Sword, Magical Shield, Blue Ring, Power Bracelet, and a bunch of items and rupees. That will give you a big leg-up on the adventure by providing key items early. Nintendo teases that other "special save data" will be coming for other classic games.

As previously announced, in November the NES app will add Metroid, Mighty Bomb Jack, and Twin Bee. Then in December it will include Adventures of Lolo, Ninja Gaiden, and Wario's Woods. The company hasn't announced further plans after that point, but we have some ideas.

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