Apple’s iPhone Market Segmentation

Introduction about Apple :Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company was established by Steve Jobs , Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne on April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, California. It designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. Its hardware products are the iPhone smartphone, the iPad tablet computer, the Mac personal computer, the iPod portable media player, and the Apple Watch smartwatch. Apple's consumer software includes the OS X and iOS operating systems, the iTunes media player, the Safari web browser, and the iLife and iWork creativity and productivity suites. Its online services include the iTunes Store, the iOS App Store and Mac App Store, and iCloud.

What is iPhone???iPhone is a line of smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. They run Apple's iOS mobile operating system. The first generation iPhone was released on June 29, 2007; the most recent iPhone models are the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, which were unveiled at a special event on September 9, 2015. The user interface is built around the device's multi-touch screen, including a virtual keyboard. The iPhone has Wi-Fi and can connect to cellular networks. An iPhone can shoot video (though this was not a standard feature until the iPhone 3GS), take photos ,play music, send and receive email, browse the web, send texts, GPS navigation, record notes, do mathematical

calculations, and receive visual voicemail. Other functions—video games, reference works, social networking ,etc.—can be enabled by downloading application programs (‘apps’); as of October 2013, the App Store offered more than one million apps by Apple and third parties and is ranked as the world's second largest mobile software distribution network of its kind (by number of currently available applications).

iPhone’s Market Segmentation Strategy : 1) The first segment : customers with high loyalty to Apple

Apple’s loyal customers are divided into two groups : the first group is a group of people who has strong loyalty to this brand, acting as the role of primary customer. Primary group consumers are mainly people who are the big fans of the products of Apple company, not only iPhone but also products in other series such as iPod, iPad and iTouch. People in this group may have more than one product from the firm. They know well about the features and the benefits of the products and they are willing to pay for the extra money to get these features. The second group contains the people from the middle to high class in the society and have the ability to pay for the new products in the company. They are the main consumer group of the company. This is also the main reason why Apply can have a higher price than most of its competitors.

2) The second segment : technical orientedThis segment contains people who are attracted by the novel design and functions of the product. These people are adults in the middle class, who are curious about new high tech products. They use smart phone quiet frequent. A superior product could simplify one's daily life.

3) The third segment : social acceptance orientedThis segment has  people who chase after social status. Social acceptance and fashion are the main reason of their purchase. They are capable to pay for iPhone 4S as their daily supplement, they still need to use external material to differentiate with others and make them feel confident. Among these three groups, the first group is the primary customer. They are the reason why Apple can enjoy premium in the market.