Seems like Apple's going through a difficult time. The company decided to discontinue its iPhone 5 model when it released the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. However, a new research suggests that iPhone 5 users aren't impressed by the latest iPhone models and are unlikely to upgrade.

The study was conducted by US research firm Consumer Intelligence Reseaech Partners (CIRP) on 400 consumers and it concluded that, between September 20 and October 20, only six percent of the consumers upgraded from iPhone 5 to iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. In contrast, 12 percent of iPhone 4s users upgraded to the latest iPhones.

Interestingly, CIRP also found that Apple attracted more users from Android and other platforms.

"Ideally, Apple attracts a significant percent of its customers from Android and other systems," CIRP partner and co-founder Mike Levin said in a press release.

"At the most recent launch, though, Apple saw an increase in the share of customers that already had an iPhone.

"Perhaps because of the declining base of non-smartphone owners, a smaller percentage of iPhone buyers upgraded from a basic or flip phone, compared to the year-ago launch," Levin said.

A new major update is added to iPhone models every two years. And this could be the reason why iPhone 5 users weren't inclined on upgrading to iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c models which, many critics believe, include just a few cosmetic changes. Another reason could be the 2-year contract with the wireless carrier, which allows a subsciber to upgrade once every two years.