Survey says some people wouldn't use a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 even if it were free

This week Samsung is hosting their Galaxy Note 8 event, which normally I wouldn’t personally care too much about, except that last year’s version of the Galaxy Note was known to catch on fire. The explosive Galaxy Note 7 was recalled and in an effort to retain customer’s trust, Samsung made it a point to detail the extensive battery and safety checks performed on all devices. So, in the end how did it all work out for Samsung? Will people buy the Galaxy Note 8? A recent survey conducted by SurveyMonkey revealed some interesting insights.

The first thing I noticed about the survey is how obvious it is that many people are truly loyal to brands (myself included). That loyalty goes back ways, of course. Now before we dive into the nitty gritty, of the people surveyed 50 percent said they currently use Apple mobile devices and 35 percent of people said they use Samsung mobile devices. No surprise there, they are the biggest brands. That being said, of the entire survey only 8 percent of people had actually owned the Galaxy Note 7.

Here’s where it got a bit interesting: of those Galaxy Note 7 owners, 48 percent of them bought a different Samsung device after the recall. Meanwhile, 35 percent of them opted for a different brand and 17 percent of them bravely (stupidly?) chose to keep hold of their Galaxy Note 7. God bless those people (and anyone who may be around them).

Perhaps my favorite part of this survey was with respect to the question of “what are the top 3 most appealing reasons you’d consider buying a Samsung Galaxy Note 8?” To which one person responded by selecting Other and specifying, “Because someone held a gun to my head.” I feel you, bro. The Other section responses (which accounted for 11 percent of responses to the question) were mostly littered with phrases like “would not consider Samsung” and “Sorry I’m an Apple person.” Those that did answer the question with the given choices selected “Features” 47 percent of the time followed “Better camera” and “Large screen size” 40 and 39 percent of the time, respectively.

Ok, but what about if the Galaxy Note 8 were cheaper than the rumored iPhone 8? Would you use/buy a Note 8 then? 35 percent said no, 18 percent said yes, and 47 percent said maybe. To me, these results really speak to the strong brand loyalty people feel towards their smartphones.

How about if you got it for free? Like, free free–no strings attached. Would you use the Galaxy Note 8 then? Perhaps unsurprisingly, 52 percent of people said yes. It’s hard to argue with free, right? Unless you’re a brand loyalist, which 14 percent of people surveyed appear to be indicating they wouldn’t use a Galaxy Note 8 even if it fell from the sky and landed safely right at their feet.

Bottom line: when it comes to smartphones it’s an Apple and Samsung world out there and people can be very, very particular.