Skip to content

MetaFacts

beyond the facts…we help our clients create the future

  • Home
  • TUP/Technology User Profile
    • TUP Service
    • TUP Highlights Reports
    • TUP Datasets
  • TUP Lenses
    • TUP Lenses on Technology
      • TUP Devices Lens
      • TUP PCs Lens
      • TUP Mobile Phones Lens
      • TUP Tablets Lens
      • TUP Consumer Electronics Lens
      • TUP Printers Lens
    • TUP Lenses on Users
      • TUP User Profile Lens
      • TUP Households Lens
    • TUP Lenses on Activities
      • TUP Activities Lens
      • TUP Communication Lens
    • TUP Lenses on Technology + Users + Behaviors
      • TUP Game Consoles, Gaming PCs, and Game-Playing Lens
      • TUP Home Entertainment Lens
      • TUP Technology Ecosystems
      • TUP Work/Life Balance Lens
      • TUP Wearables, Hearables, Listening, and Speaking Lens
  • TUP Findings
  • TUP Client Portal
  • Contact
  • About
Posted on April 11, 2019January 11, 2021 by Meta Facts

How central and vital are home PCs? [TUPdate]

Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, April 11, 2019

Home PCs users are very active, yet they don’t only stay at home on their computers. They use a wide variety of other connected devices. The majority of home PC users (82% to 95%) also use a mobile phone. Of these, smartphones dominate. It may some surprise those steeped in technology that basic cell phones/feature phones persist in the hands of many – from 9% to 28% of home PC users.

These findings are based on results from our TUP/Technology User Profile 2018 survey, including 11,294 online adult home PC users.

Active home users

Home PC users spend more time with their home PCs than with other devices. In China, smartphone use us nearly at parity. Among home PC users in China, weekly hours using a PC are 33.2, only slightly more than the 32.5-hour average for smartphone use. By contrast, in the UK and Germany, home PC users spend nearly the same amount of time with their home PCs as do users in the other countries surveyed. However, in these countries, users spend far fewer hours with their smartphones. Across all countries surveyed, Tablets are a distant third place, being used for a third to a quarter as many hours as home PCs.

Looking ahead

I expect home PCs to continue as a solid staple among the majority of consumers. Although an increasing number of users are relying on their mobile phones for a growing range of regular activities, users prefer home PCs over smartphones or tablets for certain activities. Both thoughtful shopping and movie watching are helped with the clearer and larger images on bigger screens, such as those attached to traditional home desktops or integrated with all-in-one designs.

The biggest threat to home PCs usage is user’s willingness to shift their activities from one device type or ecosystem to another. Users are showing their growing acceptance of and demand for cross-platform applications while still expressing their incessant demands for convenience and simplicity. As users continue to increase their literacy and comfort with multiple ecosystems, and developers continue to streamline the multi-device/multi-OS experience, users will continue to follow the enticing cookies of compatibility through the forest of interoperability and may yet give up on their home PCs. Meanwhile, user inertia and habit are the greatest friends of the home PC.

About TUPdates

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.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
  • Reddit
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.
CategoriesDevices, Households, Mobile Phones, PCs, Tablets, TUP 2019, TUPdates, User Profile TagsAndroid, Basic cell phones, e-Book Reader, Feature phones, Game consoles, Google, Home PCs, Hours, iPad, Market penetration, Microsoft, Mobile phones, PCs, Smartphones, Tablets, Windows

Post navigation

Previous PostPrevious Digital publication readership – to be saved by Apple News+? [TUPdate]
Next PostNext Are we exclusive? An update on ecosystem exclusivity, dominance, and non-exclusivity [TUPdate]

Top TUP Topics

  • Activities
  • Age Groups
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Collaboration
  • Communication
  • Ecosystems
  • Employees
  • Facebook
  • Generations
  • GenX
  • Google
  • Home PC activities
  • Home PCs
  • HP
  • Installed base
  • iPad
  • iPhone
  • Laptops
  • Market penetration
  • Microsoft
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Microsoft Windows
  • Millennials
  • Notebooks
  • Operating Systems
  • PC activities
  • PCs
  • Remote workers
  • Samsung
  • Smartphone activities
  • Smartphones
  • Social networking
  • Tablet activities
  • Tablets
  • Technology adoption
  • Technology Ecosystems
  • Trends
  • Video calls
  • Videoconferencing
  • Voice assistant
  • Windows
  • Work-related activities
  • Work/life balance
  • Work from home

Categories

Top TUP Posts

  • Samsung – American customer profile [TUPdate]
  • Which age groups use the most PCs? [MetaFAQs]
  • Samsung and Apple users by age group and country [MetaFAQs]
  • Streaming subscriptions – the age cliff for music [TUPdate]
  • Google+ ... reversing the polarity? [TUPdate]
  • Home printer trends in the US [TUPdate]
  • Tablets used for educational activities [MetaFAQs]

Top TUP Topics

  • Activities
  • Age Groups
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Collaboration
  • Communication
  • Ecosystems
  • Employees
  • Facebook
  • Generations
  • GenX
  • Google
  • Home PC activities
  • Home PCs
  • HP
  • Installed base
  • iPad
  • iPhone
  • Laptops
  • Market penetration
  • Microsoft
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Microsoft Windows
  • Millennials
  • Notebooks
  • Operating Systems
  • PC activities
  • PCs
  • Remote workers
  • Samsung
  • Smartphone activities
  • Smartphones
  • Social networking
  • Tablet activities
  • Tablets
  • Technology adoption
  • Technology Ecosystems
  • Trends
  • Video calls
  • Videoconferencing
  • Voice assistant
  • Windows
  • Work-related activities
  • Work/life balance
  • Work from home

TUP Lenses, Deliverables, Formats, and Waves

© MetaFacts, Inc. 1996-2023

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Privacy Proudly powered by WordPress