Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, April 13, 2018
Keep stopping the ads!
So say a large and growing group of consumers.
There are multiple ways consumers are expressing this, from actively using ad blockers, to moving beyond “freemium” sites and content to those offering an ad-free experience with a paid subscription, or simply reducing their media consumption.
Ad blockers are being used by a substantial share of online adults in the US. Based on our 2017 wave of TUP/Technology User Profile throughout the US, 40% of Connected Adults are actively using an ad blocking app on at least one of their connected devices.
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Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, April 10, 2018
Younger adults are moving away from Facebook, even while they continue to use other social networks.
The highest share of adults actively using social networks, although not using Facebook, are adults age 18 to 24. The highest share is among males age 18 to 24, with 15% doing so. That is closely followed by females age 18-24 with 11% doing so.
These two gender/age segments were also the top two Facebook-avoiding groups a year earlier. As we reported in TUP 2016, 14% of males age 18-24 and 12% of females age 18-24 were active social networkers not using Facebook.
Also, this is part of a continuing and growing trend. In TUP 2015 we reported that 10% of males age 18 to 24 and 10% of females age 18 to 24 were active social networkers not using Facebook.
About TUPdates
These results are based on results of the MetaFacts TUP/Technology User Profile 2017 survey, its 35th consecutive wave, as well as previous waves.
TUPdates feature analysis of current or essential technology topics. The research results showcase the TUP/Technology User Profile study, MetaFacts’ survey of a representative sample of online adults profiling the full market’s use of technology products and services. The current wave of TUP is TUP/Technology User Profile 2020, which is TUP’s 38th annual. TUPdates may also include results from previous waves of TUP.
Current subscribers may use the comprehensive TUP datasets to obtain even more results or tailor these results to fit their chosen segments, services, or products. As subscribers choose, they may use the TUP inquiry service, online interactive tools, or analysis previously published by MetaFacts.
On request, interested research professionals can receive complimentary updates through our periodic newsletter. These include MetaFAQs – brief answers to frequently asked questions about technology users – or TUPdates – analysis of current and essential technology industry topics. To subscribe, contact MetaFacts.
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used in a generative AI system without express written permission and licensing. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, March 28, 2020
Getting things done. Isn’t it one of the main explanations we offer when we’re buying our tech devices?
While much of actual tech device usage is about entertainment, communication, and shopping, productivity has its solid place in everyday use.
Whether using a PC, smartphone, tablet, or some combination, the majority of connected adults turn to their devices for everything from scheduling appointments to calling on a voice assistant. Based on our TUP/Technology User Profile 2017 US survey wave, 88% of connected adults regularly use one of their connected devices for any of a range of productivity activities.
Mobility is the key to productivity activities
Having one’s device handy is key for productivity-oriented people. The majority of productivity activities are regularly done using a mobile device – a notebook, tablet, or mobile phone. This focus on mobility has remained relatively constant over the last few years, representing over two-thirds of the primary productivity devices.
PCs as dominant device type for productivity
Americans use a PC of some kind for most of their productivity activities. This majority position has withered over the last two years, declining slightly from 54% and 55% of adults to the 51% mark in 2017.
During that same time period, more adults have made the switch from basic cell phones to Smartphones. This has helped mobile phones to increase their share as the favored productivity device, rising to second-place with 41% of adults.
Smartphone surpass desktops as a preference for productivity
Diving more deeply into the TUP data, and looking at connected devices in a more detailed view, smartphones emerge as the major productivity device. Even looking at desktops versus smartphones by combining tower desktops with all-in-one desktops, the year 2017 marks the first time that smartphones outnumber desktops as the preferred productivity device. In 2016, TUP showed that 37% of the primary productivity devices are desktops to 34% for smartphones. In 2017, this shifted to 33% desktops and 39% smartphones.
Voice assistants, such as Apple’s Siri, are one of the major productivity activities which have grown in usage, especially on smartphones. For those users who primarily use a smartphone for most of their productivity, 57% use a voice assistant at least monthly, a level which is 44% higher than the national average. They’re also 30% or more higher than average to be using their smartphone to manage tasks/to-do items, their personal or work calendar, store their contacts, and to save and play voice memos.
Notebooks, on the other hand, are making a gradual retreat as the productivity device of choice. These still stand out, however, for being above average for certain activities among those who favor their notebooks for productivity. Several productivity activities which are done on notebooks at 25% or more above average: collaborating on work or personal files, finances/accounting, write/manage text/notes/documents, download/use/update anti-virus/security software, and adblocking software. Yes, the productivity-oriented are more likely than average to block ads and get back to work.
For productivity-primary desktop PCs, however, only two productivity activities stand out above average in their regular use: download/use/update anti-virus/security software, and adblocking software. Although these two activities do reduce interruptions, they aren’t particularly productive. This indicates that desktops are likely to continue their slide from primacy for productivity. They’ll either be consigned to other types of activities or be overtaken by notebooks or tablets.
Looking ahead
Although habits change slowly, they do change. Even as users move between multiple devices, it takes time for them to migrate their behaviors from one way of doing things to another. Apps that have versions that support platforms can ease the user’s migration between devices. By simultaneously supporting multiple platforms, the app makers can also make it easier for users to get things done among their own collection of devices, further supporting the user’s own choices.
About TUPdates
These results are based on results of the MetaFacts TUP/Technology User Profile survey, from 2015 through 2017.
TUPdates feature analysis of current or essential technology topics. The research results showcase the TUP/Technology User Profile study, MetaFacts’ survey of a representative sample of online adults profiling the full market’s use of technology products and services. The current wave of TUP is TUP/Technology User Profile 2020, which is TUP’s 38th annual. TUPdates may also include results from previous waves of TUP.
Current subscribers may use the comprehensive TUP datasets to obtain even more results or tailor these results to fit their chosen segments, services, or products. As subscribers choose, they may use the TUP inquiry service, online interactive tools, or analysis previously published by MetaFacts.
On request, interested research professionals can receive complimentary updates through our periodic newsletter. These include MetaFAQs – brief answers to frequently asked questions about technology users – or TUPdates – analysis of current and essential technology industry topics. To subscribe, contact MetaFacts.
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used in a generative AI system without express written permission and licensing. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, March 23, 2018
The number of connected adults continues to rise in the US. Based on our TUP/Technology User Profile 2017 wave, there are 212.6 million adults who regularly connect to the Internet using a PC, mobile phone, tablet, or game console. This number is up 18.9 million from the 193.8 million adults we reported in our TUP 2013 wave.
While some of the increase has come from a growing adult population, the share of adults actively connected has also grown, due in large part to the increasing use of smartphones. The use of tablets such as Apple’s iPad has also expanded since 2013, although declined somewhat in 2017.
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used in a generative AI system without express written permission and licensing. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, March 19, 2018
When consumers buy a home printer, they’re also buying ink for as long as they use their printer. HP has the lowest rate of US consumers using refilled ink. Of the major brands, HP has the lowest share – 16%, while Brother and Dell have the highest share, 37%. Over the last two years, this refill share has only slightly wavered.
This is based on the most recent wave of TUP/Technology User Profile, the 2017 edition. The majority of HP’s home printer customers are using HP’s ink, and only 7% are using a replacement brand such as Office Depot or Staples.
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used in a generative AI system without express written permission and licensing. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, March 13, 2018
Age matters when it comes to voice assistant use, and it’s overly simplistic to say that they’re mostly being used by younger adults. Yes, there’s a strong age difference between active voice assistant users, former users, and those who’ve never even given one a try.
And yes, otherwise-connected adults that have never used a voice assistant are older than active users by a decade. The average age of a connected adult who has never used a voice assistant is 51.7 years. By comparison, the average age for active voice assistant users, those who’ve used one at least once within the last 90 days, is 41.6 years.
However, in this time of experimentation and users finding their own voices, younger adults are disproportionately former voice assistant users. They used a voice assistant within the last year and haven’t used one since.
This is based on results from the MetaFacts Voice User Profile (VUP) survey conducted in February 2018. The results report on active usage, which is a practical measure to contrast with the promised potential of what voice assistants may or may not be able to do. Our TUP 2017 results show a similar pattern – the novelty effect. Older Millennials have the highest active voice assistant usage rates. This group of 28-36 year-olds also shows the steepest dropoff between recent and less-recent use. This novelty effect is also prevalent among younger millennials (age 18-27) as their usage rate drops.
Observations
As a long-time tech analyst, I’ve seen many technologies go through fits and starts as they either reach broader adoption or settle back into their niches. Apple’s Macs had PlainTalk 25 years ago, yet the voice recognition and speech synthesis system never reached widespread regular use. Still, the earliest adopters found ways to use these early voice assistants, such as dictation. Apple’s Siri arguably brought usable voice assistants into handy use for a much broader audience. The most-recent entries from Amazon and Microsoft to Google have brought a lot of heat and light to the category, although it’s still too early to declare voice assistants as be mainstream. There are many challenges ahead for makers of voice assistant systems and listening devices. It’s hard enough to encourage users to experiment with a voice assistant. It’s even harder to get users to continue using the technology after the novelty wears off. Many who have tried have given up, disappointed or daunted that their voice assistant hasn’t lived up their, er, its words.
Source
The information in this MetaFAQs is based on a survey of 7,410 online adults in mid-2017 as part of the MetaFacts Technology User Profile (TUP) study and 525 online adults during February 2018 as part of the MetaFacts Voice User Profile (VUP) study. The TUP and VUP study universes included a representative sample of online adults, with active voice assistant users, former voice assistant users, as well as consumers who have never used a voice assistant.
About MetaFAQs
MetaFAQs are answers to frequently asked questions about technology users. The research results showcase the TUP/Technology User Profile study, MetaFacts’ survey of a representative sample of online adults profiling the full market’s use of technology products and services. The current wave of TUP is TUP/Technology User Profile 2020, which is TUP’s 38th annual.
Current subscribers may use the comprehensive TUP datasets to obtain even more results or tailor these results to fit their chosen segments, services, or products. As subscribers choose, they may use the TUP inquiry service, online interactive tools, or analysis previously published by MetaFacts.
On request, interested research professionals can receive complimentary updates through our periodic newsletter. These include MetaFAQs – brief answers to frequently asked questions about technology users – or TUPdates – analysis of current and essential technology industry topics. To subscribe, contact MetaFacts.
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used in a generative AI system without express written permission and licensing. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, March 9, 2018
As the saying goes, many talk about the weather, yet few do anything about it. Our research doesn’t show if people expect Alexa to have any skills to do anything about the weather. However, it is the main subject users speak with Alexa about. That’s followed by requests about music.
Meanwhile, web searches are the major subject users speak with their voice assistants about. This subject is dominated by Google Assistant and closely seconded by Microsoft Cortana.
Alexa is ranked #1 in the breadth of subjects actively used and is primarily used for weather, music, and entertainment. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Alexa is more-favored for shopping than other systems. What may be surprising is that shopping isn’t Alexa’s top helpful task. Since most connected shopping today is visual, most involve the use of a larger screen device such as a PC or Tablet.
Google Assistant is ranked 2nd for the breadth of subjects, mostly utilized for web searches, navigation, and music.
The 3rd-ranked Apple Siri is used primarily for web searches, weather, and navigation, and is uniquely strong in messaging.
4th-ranked Microsoft Cortana is similarly used for web searches, weather, and music. Like Alexa, it’s slightly stronger than average for scheduling.
This is based on the MetaFacts Voice User Profile survey conducted in February 2018. This subset of the results reports on active usage, which is a practical measure to contrast with the potential of what voice assistants may or may be able to do.
Observations
The market for voice assistants is in a time of flux and rapid development, as each voice assistant system touts the breadth of its skills, richness of its vocabulary, accuracy, humor, or other capabilities. Meanwhile, users are experimenting, with some former users having been discouraged by unmet expectations and others only at the start of their adoption.
Related research results
The MetaFacts Voice User Profile includes other related analysis, including:
The subjects Voice Assistant users ask about: weather, scheduling, music, entertainment, home automation, and more
Which Voice Assistant systems are being actively used, on which platforms, and which segments they are attracting
Which listening devices are being actively used – from Smart Speakers to Smartphones and Headsets
Where Voice Assistant users will – and won’t – do their talking: in restaurants, driving, while walking, and many other locations and settings
How well – or poorly – users experience their Voice Assistants, and how performance metrics vary by system and listening device
How many adults are active Voice Assistant users, how many are former users, and how many have never tried one
Reasons given why consumers have never used a Voice Assistant, as well as why former users aren’t currently active users
Source
The information in this MetaFAQs is based on a survey of 525 online adults during February 2018 as part of the MetaFacts Voice User Profile (VUP). The study universe includes active voice assistant users, former voice assistant users, as well as consumers who have never used a voice assistant.
About MetaFAQs
MetaFAQs are answers to frequently asked questions about technology users. The research results showcase the TUP/Technology User Profile study, MetaFacts’ survey of a representative sample of online adults profiling the full market’s use of technology products and services. The current wave of TUP is TUP/Technology User Profile 2020, which is TUP’s 38th annual.
Current subscribers may use the comprehensive TUP datasets to obtain even more results or tailor these results to fit their chosen segments, services, or products. As subscribers choose, they may use the TUP inquiry service, online interactive tools, or analysis previously published by MetaFacts.
On request, interested research professionals can receive complimentary updates through our periodic newsletter. These include MetaFAQs – brief answers to frequently asked questions about technology users – or TUPdates – analysis of current and essential technology industry topics. To subscribe, contact MetaFacts.
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used in a generative AI system without express written permission and licensing. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, March 1, 2018
Among voice assistant users, Apple AirPods have the most recent use of a listening device, with 78% having used it on the day we surveyed them. This high active-usage rate is closely followed by Apple notebooks or desktop Macs.
Android smartphones rank last for this most-recent-use measure, although rank 1st for having been used within the prior week.
This is based on the MetaFacts Voice User Profile survey conducted in February 2018. This survey was conducted in late February shortly after the release of the Apple HomePod, so too soon to measure the impact of Apple’s new smart speaker on the marketplace.
Observations
We’re in a time of experimentation, as technology users are finding their voice. The novelty of voice-control is still fresh, and it remains to be seen whether Voice Assistants will be regularly used by more than a few tech enthusiasts.
Voice Assistant use has reached a greater share of the public’s attention, especially following Amazon’s aggressive push into Smart Speakers and enabling Alexa across a broader range of devices. Similarly, Microsoft’s Cortana, Google Assistant, and Samsung Bixby have garnered renewed attention, and are slowly starting to come into everyday use. Measuring recency of use is an important indicator of true usage levels. It’s one thing for consumers to play with the features of their new technology devices. It’s another thing for them to incorporate something like Voice Assistant use throughout their day.
Related research results
The MetaFacts Voice User Profile includes other related analysis, including:
The topics Voice Assistant users ask about: weather, scheduling, music, entertainment, home automation, and more
Which Voice Assistant systems are being actively used, on which platforms, and which segments they are attracting
Which listening devices are being actively used – from Smart Speakers to Smartphones and Headsets
Where Voice Assistant users will – and won’t – do their talking: in restaurants, driving, while walking, and many other locations and settings
How well – or poorly – users experience their Voice Assistants, and how performance metrics vary by system and listening device
How many adults are active Voice Assistant users, how many are former users, and how many have never tried one
Reasons given why consumers have never used a Voice Assistant, as well as why former users aren’t currently active users
Source
The information in this MetaFAQs is based on a survey of 525 online adults during February 2018 as part of the MetaFacts Voice User Profile. The study universe included active Voice Assistant users, former Voice Assistant users, as well as consumers who have never used a Voice Assistant.
About MetaFAQs
MetaFAQs are answers to frequently asked questions about technology users. The research results showcase the TUP/Technology User Profile study, MetaFacts’ survey of a representative sample of online adults profiling the full market’s use of technology products and services. The current wave of TUP is TUP/Technology User Profile 2020, which is TUP’s 38th annual.
Current subscribers may use the comprehensive TUP datasets to obtain even more results or tailor these results to fit their chosen segments, services, or products. As subscribers choose, they may use the TUP inquiry service, online interactive tools, or analysis previously published by MetaFacts.
On request, interested research professionals can receive complimentary updates through our periodic newsletter. These include MetaFAQs – brief answers to frequently asked questions about technology users – or TUPdates – analysis of current and essential technology industry topics. To subscribe, contact MetaFacts.
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used in a generative AI system without express written permission and licensing. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, February 1, 2018
Which is more fun – the one-trick-pony device that does one fun thing well, or the device you can use for many types of entertainment?
In India, the most-preferred connected device for fun is a smartphone or a basic feature phone. Connected adults in India find more ways than those in other countries to entertain themselves with their mobile phones. Their breadth of entertainment activities is greater than with their PCs or tablets.
This is based on our most recent wave of research – the MetaFacts TUP/Technology User Profile 2017 edition.
Unlike connected adults around the world in other countries, in India, smartphones are used for a unique set of entertainment activities.
More than half of India’s connected adults use their Smartphones for music and movies. Watching videos/movies and listening to music on one’s smartphone are regular activities at more than a third higher share of connected adults.
In contrast, when Germans use their connected devices for entertainment activities, they prefer their PCs. And when they use their PCs for entertainment, most Germans use a PC to play a game (39% of connected adults), hobbies (38%), and to watch videos/movies (37%). Very practical, those Germans, to use the larger screens of PCs.
Tablets have yet to make their way as being the most-entertaining connected device. Although tablets are growing in regular use throughout the world, only in the US and UK do they account for more than one-tenth of the preferred entertainment device.
Looking ahead
Entertainment continues to remain one of the reasons why people use connected devices. As both wired and wireless networks continue to expand their speed, this has made for more enjoyable experiences, especially for bandwidth-hogging activities such as watching movies or television. Similarly, as wireless carriers such as T-Mobile in the U.S. have removed or reduced data caps, this has reduced barriers for many customers.
Consequently, these types of entertainment activities have reached a broader swath of consumers. Consumers continue to be the leading innovators in finding ways to get to the content they want, meaning they’ll consider moving beyond the devices they’re using today.
Source
This MetaFAQs is based on the TUP/Technology User Profile 2017 survey.
About MetaFAQs
MetaFAQs are answers to frequently asked questions about technology users. The research results showcase the TUP/Technology User Profile study, MetaFacts’ survey of a representative sample of online adults profiling the full market’s use of technology products and services. The current wave of TUP is TUP/Technology User Profile 2020, which is TUP’s 38th annual.
Current subscribers may use the comprehensive TUP datasets to obtain even more results or tailor these results to fit their chosen segments, services, or products. As subscribers choose, they may use the TUP inquiry service, online interactive tools, or analysis previously published by MetaFacts.
On request, interested research professionals can receive complimentary updates through our periodic newsletter. These include MetaFAQs – brief answers to frequently asked questions about technology users – or TUPdates – analysis of current and essential technology industry topics. To subscribe, contact MetaFacts.
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used in a generative AI system without express written permission and licensing. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, January 29, 2018
How many years do consumers use their Notebook PCs? Based on our MetaFacts TUP/Technology User Profile 2017 survey, the average is 3.1 years around the world. In the US, the average is a full half-year newer, at 2.6 years.
Among the world’s leading economies, Germans use their notebooks PCs for longer than Americans or Brits. Among Germans, nearly one in four (24%) of actively used notebooks were acquired in 2012 or earlier, more than 4.5 years old. By contrast, in the US and UK, only 15% or fewer of laptops are this old.
Those who watch consumer buying patterns and recycling initiatives and actions may not be surprised at this. Americans tend towards buying new replacements for many products. Germans are known for buying goods with a focus on long-term use as well as limiting environmental impacts.
About MetaFAQs
This MetaFAQs is based on TUP/Technology User Profile 2017 survey.
MetaFAQs are answers to frequently asked questions about technology users. The research results showcase the TUP/Technology User Profile study, MetaFacts’ survey of a representative sample of online adults profiling the full market’s use of technology products and services. The current wave of TUP is TUP/Technology User Profile 2020, which is TUP’s 38th annual.
Current subscribers may use the comprehensive TUP datasets to obtain even more results or tailor these results to fit their chosen segments, services, or products. As subscribers choose, they may use the TUP inquiry service, online interactive tools, or analysis previously published by MetaFacts.
On request, interested research professionals can receive complimentary updates through our periodic newsletter. These include MetaFAQs – brief answers to frequently asked questions about technology users – or TUPdates – analysis of current and essential technology industry topics. To subscribe, contact MetaFacts.
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used in a generative AI system without express written permission and licensing. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.