For the first time since the iPhone’s inception, the percentage of the smartphone’s owners who say they will buy another iPhone has declined. According to research conducted by Strategy Analytics, a study found that 88% of U.S. iPhone owners are likely to buy another Apple smartphone, a decrease from 93% last year and in Western Europe, the total stands at 75%, a decrease from 88% in 2011.

SiliconANGLE contributing editor John Casaretto believes that some contributing factors to this decline in repeat customers could be competition, saturation, the seemingly endless cycle of upgrades, or even just a natural decline. He said, “People expect revolutionary things from Apple every time they announce a product . . . and realistically, it isn’t possible to dominate the world every year.”

Despite the research figures, the director at Strategy Analytics’ User Experience Practice, Paul Brown says “There is no doubt that Apple is continuing its success in retaining existing user base while attracting new customers.” Casaretto wholeheartedly agrees with Brown on this statement, noting that Apple continues to innovate in putting out great products, while constantly pushing forward. Casaretto explained, “We’re on that adoption curve, where numbers aren’t as strong and aren’t going to come in where they once were.”

The day the iPhone 5 went on sale Apple stocks rose to an all-time trading high of $705.07. Since then Apple’s market value has declined by more than $70 billion from the high it hit when the iPhone 5 was released in stores. To put that in perspective, that’s more than the current combined market value of Facebook, LinkedIn and Dell. Casaretto stated, “Market value is really a marker of perception, it states what the price is perceived at right now.” He said any number of factors goes into determining market value, and it’s expected that the market value will rise and fall accordingly.

The Android and Google mobile platforms have seen an increase in market share recently. Android has 75% of the market share for smartphone mobile operating systems in the 3Q of 2012, and iOS was a distant second. Casaretto contributes this to the many vendors that want to be a part of the smartphone game, and having the opportunity to jump in on the Android experience is certainly adding to Android’s charm. See the whole segment with Kristin Feledy and John Casaretto on the Morning NewsDesk show.