When it comes to millennials’ favorite consumer electronics brands, the list is likely to surprise many people. What you might think would be a straightforward list of the most hip brands is rather surprising. Who would have thought that products like the iPod or Nintendo Wii would make this list in 2024?
It turns out that millennials believe that’s what old is new. At least that’s how YouGov presents it with their ranking of the most popular consumer electronics brands from Q1 2024. As YouGov has done the heavy lifting for us, we can take a look and see what other surprising additions make this list.
Why Are We Covering This?
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If you’re asking why we want to cover this topic on 24/7 Wall St, it’s a fair question. The answer is also pretty obvious. Many of the names and brands on this list are publicly traded companies. Brands like Apple, Sony, GE, and Amazon all make a cameo and they are some of the most important names in the stock market today. As such, we feel it’s important to look at these companies through the lens of a powerful generation full of budget-conscious shoppers.
17. Xbox
Source: Miguel Lagoa / Shutterstock.com
- Popularity: 66%
- Year Founded: 2001
Even though the Xbox console has seen its market share diminish in recent years, it still has plenty of brand affinity with millennials. After all, millennials are the generation who helped the Xbox grow into one-third of the console industry by endlessly playing games like Halo and Forza. The original Xbox launched in 2001 and hit right at a time when millennials wanted something other than Nintendo and PlayStation.
16. Apple iPhone
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- Popularity: 66%
- Year Founded: 2007
As the most popular smartphone in the U.S., the iPhone needs little introduction. With over 50% market share in the country, the iPhone continues to dominate holiday and birthday wish lists. Millennials grew up watching the iPhone launch as a too-expensive competitor to the Motorola Razr only to become the dominant smartphone it is today. The growth of millennials’ favorite social media apps can even be attributed to the rise of the App Store.
15. SanDisk
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- Popularity: 66%
- Year Founded: 1988
Any millennial who owns a smartphone, computer, or video game system likely knows the SanDisk name. The manufacturer of USB drives and microSD cards, SanDisk has a strong brand affinity. With millennials growing up transferring files to and from different computers using a SanDisk thumb drive, the brand affinity started very early. Today, SanDisk continues to make the best memory products in the space and millennials know it.
14. Fitbit
Source: Eric Thayer / Getty Images
- Popularity: 67%
- Year Founded: 2007
Fitbit is one of the most popular fitness-tracking products on the market today. Even though the company has since been purchased by Google, it remains a strong competitor. Fighting against the Apple Watch is no easy task, but Fitbit continues to outperform Apple’s product in multiple areas. As millennials love to keep track of their fitness, it’s hardly a surprise to see a popular fitness brand appear on this list.
13. Nintendo Wii
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- Popularity: 67%
- Year Founded: 2006
With retro gaming enjoying a huge surge in popularity, it’s no surprise the Nintendo Wii is a popular brand. The Wii was one of the first consoles many millennials owned and its unique features resonated with over 101 million console owners. Games like Wii Sports were incredibly fun to play with friends as the Wii remote allowed you to bat, bowl, and golf like you would in the real world.
12. Bose
Source: Paul Hudson from United Kingdom / Wikimedia Commons
- Popularity: 67%
- Year Founded: 1964
Founded in Massachusetts, the Bose brand has had a terrific reputation for decades. The Bose name carries a lot of weight as far as outstanding audio quality. With parents loving Bose products and believing they are worth the price, this same understanding has carried over to millennials. From noise-canceling headphones to soundbars, you may find Bose products all over a millennial home.
11. Kindle
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- Popularity: 68%
- Year Founded: 2007
As one of the most popular consumer electronic products on the market today, it’s not at all surprising for the Amazon Kindle to make a cameo on this list. Millennials were among the first generation to truly embrace e-readers and it remains a product lineup they still love using today. In the e-reader space, there is no better product than the Amazon Kindle. Not only does Amazon have the best product, but they also have the best subscription to help you get more books.
10. Toshiba
Source: Neilson Barnard / Getty Images
- Popularity: 68%
- Year Founded: 1875
For a brand that is almost 150 years old, it’s surprisingly popular with millennials according to YouGov. As Toshiba has mostly gotten out of the television and computer space, its popularity stems from being a household name. There’s a sudden passion for products made during the early 2000s in the millennial space and the Toshiba name was very big at the turn of the millennium.
9. Mac
Source: Kaspars Grinvalds / Shutterstock.com
- Popularity: 69%
- Year Founded: 1984
Walk into any coffee shop or college classroom these days and Macs are everywhere. While macOS only has a true market share of 16.13% in the U.S. as of February 2024, you wouldn’t know that by looking around. The “cool factor” of the Mac computer combined with macOS makes it very attractive for millennials. As a bonus, Mac computers have the best battery life in the laptop space today, which millennials on-the-go value.
8. JBL
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- Popularity: 69%
- Year Founded: 1946
With millennials being some of the biggest consumers of music, it shouldn’t come as any surprise to see JBL on this list. The same brand that makes popular portable speakers like the Charge 5, Flip 4, and Clip 4 has grabbed market share. In addition, JBL has worked to build up its soundbar lineup, which works well for millennials who want to watch their streaming favorites with improved sound quality.
7. Roku
Source: FASTILY / Wikimedia Commons
- Popularity: 70%
- Year Founded: 2008
As the most popular smart television operating system, Roku has been a big hit since it launched in 2008. At the end of the first quarter of 2024, Roku reported it had 81.6 million active accounts worldwide. Millennials love their streaming services and Roku makes it super easy to combine all of your favorite platforms like Netflix, Disney+, and Apple TV+ onto one screen. Plus, Roku’s value is a big attraction for millennials on a budget.
6. iPod
Source: Photoguy439 / Wikimedia Commons
- Popularity: 70%
- Year Founded: 2001
The product that rejuvenated a close-to-bankruptcy Apple, the iPod needs little introduction. For many years, the iPod dominated the global MP3 player market, and for good reason. Apple’s marketing was cool and the iPod could easily sync with iTunes on Mac and Windows. Between the iPod Classic, Mini, Photo, and Nano, the iPod is a distraction-free and enjoyable way for millennials to listen to music.
5. iPad
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- Popularity: 70%
- Year Founded: 2010
It won’t come as any surprise to see the iPad on a list of favorite consumer electronics. The iPad’s popularity knows no boundaries and millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers all similarly love the iPad. With its portability and ease of use, the iPad’s launch in 2010 brought a tablet market that was on life-support into the mainstream. Additional iterations on the iPad have even made it more powerful than our computers.
4. General Electric
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- Popularity: 71%
- Year Founded: 1892
Another surprise on this list is General Electric’s popularity with millennials. However, the reasoning might be less shocking than you think. As millennials move into their first apartment, home, or shared space, they want reliable appliances. GE is a name millennials know to trust from their parents, which in turn drives them to purchase GE products like a microwave, refrigerator, or washer and dryer.
3. Samsung Galaxy
Source: Sean Gallup / Getty Images
- Popularity: 72%
- Year Founded: 2009
Arguably the most popular and best-known Android smartphone and tablet line, the Samsung Galaxy series is very popular with millennials. In the smartphone space, the Samsung Galaxy S series is widely considered the best alternative to the iPhone. Samsung’s marketing efforts with hip commercials highlighting new features of its phones compared to Apple have helped it gain more and more market.
2. Philips
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- Popularity: 73%
- Year Founded: 1891
A definite surprise near the top of this list, according to YouGov, Philips is the second most popular consumer electronics brand with millennials. Tied with Sony at 73% popularity, the long-time brand continues to perform well thanks to adopting new technologies. As millennials gravitate toward new and shiny, Philips’s efforts with products like LED lighting have paid off.
1. PlayStation
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- Popularity: 73%
- Year Founded: 1994
The most popular consumer electronics brand for millennials is hardly a surprise. At number one is the Sony PlayStation, the most popular video game console on the market right now. Starting in the mid-1990s, the PlayStation brand has only grown stronger and stronger. In the first quarter of 2024, Sony continues to dominate with the PlayStation brand owning over 50% of the video game console market.
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