The suburbs of Lonehill in Sandton, Rietvalleirand in Pretoria, and the western part of Stilbaai have the highest concentrations of iPhone users in South Africa, according to Analytico.
The market research and network intelligence firm used 513,629 data points collected through MyBroadband’s mobile speed test apps in the first quarter of 2024 to determine the top 20 suburbs with the highest densities of iPhone users.
Lonehill, an upmarket suburb in Sandton consisting mostly of residential properties, had the biggest percentage of iPhone users.
However, even here, Apple’s smartphones accounted for less than half of the total usage.
40.7% of devices were running the iPhone operating system iOS in Lonehill, compared to 59.3% using Android.
Tied for the areas with the second-highest iPhone concentrations was the small Rietvalleirand suburb in the southern part of Pretoria East and the town of Stilbaai in the Western Cape.
38.5% of testers in these areas were found to be using iPhones, compared to 61.5% running Android.
Rietvalleirand has a mixture of higher-end townhouses, security estates, and large freestanding homes, most of which have upmarket property prices.
Stilbaai, Afrikaans for “still bay”, is a popular seaside town in the Garden Route, about four hours from Cape Town.
Most of the remaining iPhone-loving neighbourhoods in South Africa were also middle-to-upper class areas.
In Gauteng, the areas with the most iPhones included Bryanston and Douglasdale in Sandton, Northcliff in Johannesburg, Midstream Estate in Olifantsfontein, and Kyalami Estate in Midrand.
In the greater Cape Town area, upmarket neighbourhoods like Cape Farms, Welgemoed, and Table View were also fond of iPhones.
Another affluent coastal town with high iPhone density was Ballito in KwaZulu-Natal.
In South Africa, Apple’s iPhones have played second fiddle to smartphones running Google’s Android operating system for years.
This is in large part due to Apple not offering entry-level variants of its devices.
While a wide range of fairly capable Android-powered smartphones can be bought for less than R5,000, the most affordable new iPhone smartphone will set you back over R10,000.
The table below shows the top 20 neighbourhoods in South Africa with the highest concentrations of iPhone users in the first quarter of 2024.
| Top 20 neighbourhoods in South Africa with highest iPhone usage — Q1 2024 | ||
| Suburb | Area | Portion of users with iPhones |
| Lonehill | Sandton | 40.7% |
| Rietvalleirand | Pretoria | 38.5% |
| Still Bay West | Stilbaai | 38.5% |
| Montana AH | Pretoria | 35.7% |
| Bryanston | Sandton | 30.4% |
| Midstream Estate | Olifantsfontein | 29.4% |
| Douglasdale | Sandton | 29.4% |
| Ballito | Dolphin Coast | 28.6% |
| Welgemoed | Cape Town | 27.6% |
| Table View | Cape Town | 26.4% |
| Bedfordview | Germiston | 25.0% |
| Kyalami Estate | Midrand | 23.8% |
| OR Tambo (airport) | Kempton Park | 23.7% |
| Carlswald | Midrand | 22.9% |
| Durbanville | Cape Town | 22.2% |
| Moreleta Park | Pretoria | 22.2% |
| Fourways | Sandton | 21.7% |
| Grahamstown | Makhanda | 21.7% |
| Northcliff | Johannesburg | 21.4% |
| Cape Farms | Cape Town | 21.1% |