MetaFAQs are answers to frequently asked questions about technology users. They are drawn from the MetaFacts TUP/Technology User Profile datasets, the latest research developed through surveys. TUP/Technology User Profile 2020 is in its 38th continuous year.
Current subscribers to TUP may request answers like these through their inquiry service, the online interactive tool, or the TUP datasets. This gives the ability to drill down more deeply into other segments, services, or products.
On request, interested research professionals can receive complimentary updates through our periodic newsletter. These include MetaFAQs – brief answers to frequently asked questions – or TUPdates – analysis of current topics in the technology industry. To subscribe, contact MetaFacts.
MetaFAQs are answers to frequently asked questions about technology users. They are drawn from the MetaFacts TUP/Technology User Profile datasets, the latest research developed through surveys. TUP/Technology User Profile 2020 is in its 38th continuous year.
Current subscribers to TUP may request answers like these through their inquiry service, the online interactive tool, or the TUP datasets. This gives the ability to drill down more deeply into other segments, services, or products.
On request, interested research professionals can receive complimentary updates through our periodic newsletter. These include MetaFAQs – brief answers to frequently asked questions – or TUPdates – analysis of current topics in the technology industry. To subscribe, contact MetaFacts.
Notebook Penetration – Now in the Middle of Mobility
Notebooks have continued their long march into widespread use, fueled by the desire to be able to get things done regardless of location. The years-long drive towards mobility continues. However, users have shown that notebooks are not their only choice to support their mobility fix. Even while notebooks have continued to be made thinner, lighter, faster, and less expensive, users have adopted other mobile devices. Smartphones have reached around 85% of online adults in the US, Germany, and the UK, surpassing notebook penetration.
Users have not embraced smartphones as a full substitute for notebooks, continuing to prefer certain activities using their notebooks or desktops. However, over the last five years, users have migrated many of their regular activities from PCs to smartphones, one by one and unceasingly.
Nor have users adopted tablets as notebook substitutes. Several years ago, tablets posed a growing challenge, although have since seen reduced active market penetration. Part of this decline has been due to users choosing to use fewer devices as they simplify their lives. Another dampening factor has been by carriers giving less attention to tablets. Since most users choose tablets connected through Wi-Fi over built-in cellular connections (with additional subscriptions), carriers have less interest in promoting them.
MacBooks With Time On Their Side
Apple has the future in its favor – to the extent it can build, broaden, and maintain loyalty among its existing base. The penetration of Apple MacBooks is skewed towards younger adults, which bodes well for the brand’s future. However, continued loyalty as users age is not guaranteed. Historically, as the youngest users enter the workforce, they adopt their employer’s technology brand standards and, in many cases, bring those home.
Users of Microsoft Windows notebooks still outnumber MacBook users across the surveyed geographies and age groups. The age skew in the US and UK is tilted towards the middle range of ages, as older adults have higher penetration of desktop PCs.
Among the youngest adults – age 18 to 24 – penetration of Windows notebooks and MacBooks is almost equal.
Chromebooks, meanwhile, are only barely registering across all age groups.
Notebooks for Industry
Among employees, Apple’ MacBooks have a long way to go to match the broad penetration of Windows notebooks. Across four broad industry groups in four countries, Windows notebooks out-penetrate MacBooks substantially – from three to one to as high as ten to one.
Chromebooks barely register in the active installed base of employer-provided notebooks.
Across most organizations, especially larger ones, standardization is a key method to simplify support, smooth the workflow, decrease costs, and increase security. Also, most larger organizations are served by enterprise sales forces and systems integrators that typically focus on volume purchase agreements, high quantity installations, and vertical integration. These initiatives typically have less input about brand choices from end-users.
With the COVID pandemic, many users suddenly working from home are getting their work done using their personal PCs. Many employers have not provided computers to homebound employees, as companies weigh their future options. The choices they face are not only about their technology products and services, but also about real estate, employment levels, risk management, finances, and even their own corporate viability. Although conditions are extremely fluid, this means that for now, more employees than ever have a greater say in their choice of computing device.
Pent-up Demand – Purchase Plans
Notebook users are showing strong plans to purchase another notebook. One in three American Windows notebook users plan to acquire a notebook in the next 12 months. MacBook users have the strongest purchase plans to buy a new personal notebook in the coming year, stronger than among users of Windows notebooks in all countries surveyed. Apple’s historical repurchase loyalty is a positive indicator supporting Apple among its customers. Additionally, Apple’s recent release of its newest MacBooks may entice more repeat buyers. Although much of the launch’s emphasis was on the speed of Apple’s own internal silicon, the broader base of less-technical buyers will likely resonate with Apple’s assurances of app compatibility.
Ecosystem loyalty
Apple has something else going for it – ecosystem loyalty. This shows up in many ways, one being the positive association between iPhone and MacBook use, and negative association between Android and non-MacBook use. Current iPhone users use MacBooks at a higher rate – and Windows notebooks at a lower rate – than users of Android smartphones. The level of integration between MacBooks and iPhones is tighter than between Windows notebooks and either iPhones or Android smartphones. However, the integration is not so tight as to be restrictive, which is important since a substantial share of iPhone users use non-Apple notebooks.
Similarly, Chromebooks are more likely to be used by Android smartphone users than by iPhone users. Market penetration is small overall, but still there is a positive association.
While many PC makers may not focus on the other non-PC technology devices users use, this sort of divide highlights the importance of a complete understanding.
About TUPdates
The information in this TUPdate is based on the most recent wave of the MetaFacts TUP/Technology User Profile study, its 2020 wave, the 38th annual wave. Where noted, results are drawn from previous versions. This TUPdate is focused on the US, and comparable information results are available from the UK, Germany, and Japan.
On request, interested research professionals can receive complimentary updates through our periodic newsletter. These include MetaFAQs – brief answers to frequently asked questions – or TUPdates – analysis of current topics in the technology industry. To learn about subscribing to the TUP/Technology User Profile service, contact MetaFacts.
MetaFAQs are answers to frequently asked questions about technology users. They are drawn from the MetaFacts TUP/Technology User Profile datasets, the latest research developed through surveys. TUP/Technology User Profile 2020 is in its 38th continuous year.
Current subscribers to TUP may request answers like these through their inquiry service, the online interactive tool, or the TUP datasets. This gives the ability to drill down more deeply into other segments, services, or products.
On request, interested research professionals can receive complimentary updates through our periodic newsletter. These include MetaFAQs – brief answers to frequently asked questions – or TUPdates – analysis of current topics in the technology industry. To subscribe, contact MetaFacts.
MetaFAQs are answers to frequently asked questions about technology users. They are drawn from the MetaFacts TUP/Technology User Profile datasets, the latest research developed through surveys. TUP/Technology User Profile 2020 is in its 38th continuous year.
Current subscribers to TUP may request answers like these through their inquiry service, the online interactive tool, or the TUP datasets. This gives the ability to drill down more deeply into other segments, services, or products.
On request, interested research professionals can receive complimentary updates through our periodic newsletter. These include MetaFAQs – brief answers to frequently asked questions – or TUPdates – analysis of current topics in the technology industry. To subscribe, contact MetaFacts.
Home mobile notebooks are popular for keeping at home
Mobile computing means much more than being able to work or play while traveling. Despite travel restrictions and worldwide stay-at-home orders during the pandemic, mobile computers reign as the most-popular home computer. Well over half (57%) of online adults use a home notebook, compared to 46% using at least one home desktop. MetaFacts surveyed online adults in six countries for the 2020 wave of TUP/Technology User Profile: the US, UK, Germany, China, Japan, and India. Notebook use is strongest in Japan (72% of online adults) and Germany (67%), and lightest in the US (50%).
Notebook use is strongest in Japan (72% of online adults) and Germany (67%), and lightest in the US (50%). In fact, the majority of home notebook computers have historically stayed at home. Many users choose notebook computers over desktops so they can take it with them in case they travel, for school, or if they may decide to bring it along to a coffee shop or library. However, the most mobility many notebooks may ever see is the trip from the kitchen to the living room.
Home notebooks get newer
Online adults around the world are using a notebook that is less than three years old on average. Apple has recently released updated Apple MacBooks and they are starting to get into the hands of users to update the installed base. Some users keep their notebooks longer than others. In Japan and Germany, online adults are actively using MacBooks for an average of 3 years (Japan) and 2.7 years (Germany). In contrast, online users in China and Japan are using newer home notebooks.
Google Chromebooks have the lowest age of home notebooks in the active installed base. This is primarily because the market has been slow to adopt Chromebooks. Some users are Google-averse or are not using other Google service such as Google drive that could offer them some benefits of using a Chromebook. Other users prefer more feature-rich notebooks. Yet other users simply prefer Apple MacBooks.
Home notebooks are well-used
Home notebooks are used for a wide range of activities, from everyday web browsing to focused activities such as online banking and shopping.
It could be argued that with the Internet and a browser, notebooks are not fundamentally different whether they are running Windows, Apple, or Chrome OS. However, users do not see it that way, as shown in the bottom line of how they use their home notebooks.
Chromebooks, the most basic of notebooks, are being used for a narrower breadth of activities than either MacBooks or Windows notebooks. Fewer Chromebook users do the same activities other home notebook users regularly do. The relatively strongest activity among Chromebook users is shopping (36% versus 38% overall) and searching on health topics (30% versus 33% overall).
Part of these usage differences say more about the types of customers attracted to a Chromebook than about the hardware or operating system. In broad socioeconomic terms, Chromebooks are used by adults in lower socioeconomic groups, Windows used throughout all strata, and Apple used primarily by upper socioeconomic groups.
MacBooks are also not used for as wide a range of activities as Windows home notebooks. However, several activities are strongest among home MacBook users. With Apple’s tightly coupled ecosystem with iPhones such as with Handoff, text messaging and phone calls rank higher than on Windows or Chromebooks. Also, managing home security/climate/lighting is stronger among MacBook users, although likely because of the stronger tech profile of its users and less so about only using Apple’s HomeKit.
Home Windows notebooks are used the most broadly. More Windows notebook users use their notebooks more than MacBook or Chromebook users for all the major activities except one – cloud storage of personal files.
Looking ahead
Home notebooks will continue to be a mainstay for home technology devices for the foreseeable future. Although smartphones have started to be used for several activities, particularly for communication, they have far to go before fully replacing notebooks. Similarly, while online adults with tablets are using them for many of the same activities, tablet penetration still lags far behind notebook use.
About TUPdates
The information referred to in this TUPdate is based on the results gathered in TUP/Technology User Profile 2020, its 38th annual wave, and based on surveys of online adults in the US, UK, Germany, Japan, China, and India.
Current subscribers to TUP/Technology User Profile will be receiving a full report on notebooks, desktops, who is using them, and how they are being used as part of TUP and its PC chapter. Also, clients with inquiry privileges may request more detailed analysis into their own choice of market segments, technology products and services.
Smartwatch and fitness band penetration tapers to 2016 levels
The race for the wrist has settled into a larger-than-niche and less-than-majority position. Over the last three years, the share of online Americans using at least one smartwatch has grown from one in six to one in five, only to settle back to the one in six level. This is based on TUP/Technology User Profile 2019 survey of 8,060 online adults in the US, and from the prior three annual waves.
Worse yet for both fitness bands and smartwatches – it’s not as if each are cannibalizing the other. Use of either type of device is also down, dropping from a high of 33% in 2016 to 27% in 2019. The market has tapered even while smartwatch makers continue to add capabilities well beyond timekeeping and step-counting. Also, it’s happening even as watch-wearers begin to actively use the new capabilities – broadening their use of smartwatches to more activities. Some of the top smartwatch activities include seeing who’s calling before taking a call through or on their smartwatch, recording their heart rates, checking current weather, or using their smartwatch in a store to check products or prices. Convenience is at hand.
Younger adults embrace wearables more than older Americans
Younger Americans have adopted Smart watches and other wearables more strongly than older Americans.
Just over half of online Americans age 18 to 34 use at least one Bluetooth headset, smartwatch, or fitness band. In stark contrast, just less than one in five (19%) online Americans age 65 or higher use any of these wearables. Among this set, fitness bands have the highest penetration, on the wrists of one in nine (11%). Hearables are an important category to track. In addition to sales by watchmakers, beneficiaries include digital media services (specifically music), cellular carriers, and the full ecosystem of e-wallet payments and retailers.
All along the watch tower
Apple’s penetration towers head and shoulders above Wear OS/Android Wear and other smartwatches. With nearly two-thirds (63%) of smartwatch users using at least one Apple Smart Watch, Apple has double the active usage rate of every other type of Wear OS/Android Wear smartwatch. Apple’s continued model refresh has helped it keep the top spot as much as miscues by Google and other Wear OS smartwatch makers has hurt them. Apple has arguably kept the smartwatch category alive as both smartwatches and fitness bands have lost their luster.
Apple’s broad footprint
Apple is concinnating its offerings through a range of devices and supporting services both free and paid. This has especially helped with the adoption of its most-personal products such as Apple Watch. Apple’s Watch customers use many other Apple products. In the US, users of Apple Watch actively use an average of 3.2 Apple products. The collection among Apple Watch users varies by age, with younger adults having relatively higher penetration of Apple Macs and AirPods, and older adults having greater iPad and Apple TV use. Higher iPad use helps bolster the average number of Apple products to 3.4 and more among adults 45 and over. Apple continues to walk the fine line of designing products open enough to play well with other ecosystems, while also reserving some benefits to those who stay within the Apple family.
Looking ahead
The thousands of respondents we surveyed in July and August 2019 reported the strongest purchase plans for Apple Watch smartwatches among those planning any smartwatch, higher than for Wear OS/Android Wear or other smartwatches. This is on track with recent market penetration trends. Intentions for purchasing fitness trackers are modest, also in line with withering active usage rates.
Shortly after we conducted the TUP/Technology User Profile 2019 wave, Apple released its newest Apple Watch 5 line. Also, Google tendered an offer to acquire FitBit. In our privacy surveys earlier this year, online Americans rated Google 2nd in distrust after Facebook – reportedly another bidder for FitBit. Consumers distrust both companies with their privacy and personal data, and this sentiment is among the overall population of online Americans as well as their own customers. I expect to see further entrenchment among both Google Android and Apple users, as each expands its footprint. Current Apple or Apple-positive users will be the first to abandon a Google FitBit platform to protect their privacy and personal health data. Many will consider Apple Watch more seriously. Consumers deeply engaged with the Google ecosystem with Android smartphones are less likely to leave FitBit over privacy concerns. We’ll be watching.
About this TUPdate
The analysis in this TUPdate is based on results drawn from multiple waves of TUP (Technology User Profile), including the 2019 edition which is TUP’s 37th continuous wave. This survey-based study details the use of technology products by a carefully-selected and weighted set of respondents drawn to represent online adults.
Resources
Current TUP subscribers may request the supporting TUP information used for this analysis or for even deeper analysis. For more information about MetaFacts and subscribing to TUP, please contact MetaFacts.
There are many ways to serve technology users, and each family of operating systems – Apple’s, Google’s, and Microsoft – have expanded in different ways. While Windows-driven products are being actively used by nearly three-fourths (73%) of U.S. online adults, Apple MacOS and iOS devices and Google Android devices are each being used by half.
Device penetration by ecosystem
This is based on the results of our TUP/Technology User Profile 2018 and 2017 surveys, with sample sizes of 14,273 and 13,572, respectively, with 7,886 in the US.
Each OS family leads in their own way. Apple has more than 10% of Americans using one of five types of devices: Smartphone, Tablet, PC (Macs), and a TV set top box and service, or watch. Google Android/Chrome OS has a different set of five types, with speakers stronger than Apple and PCs weaker than any other. Microsoft Windows only has 10% or more of Americans using one of two categories: PC or Tablet.
Penetration Growth For Apple
While market penetration is one important measure, even more telling is active device quantity. The average number of actively used devices has shifted in the US as well as in other major markets. Between 2017 and 2018, the average number of Apple devices in active use rose from 2.2 to 2.3 in the US, 2.0 to 2.1 in China, and 1.6 to 2.0 in India. Meanwhile, Windows use has declined across all markets surveyed.
Apple Stabilizes In The US
Netting together the various Apple OS product categories, Apple’s footprint in the US did not change between 2017 and 2018. Growth within that base has been with a broader adoption of Apple TV. In India, Apple’s penetration has risen markedly, reaching 45% of online adults in India. Most of the growth has come from two strongly accepted products: Apple TV and Apple Watch.
Apple’s Expansion In India
Looking ahead
We’re likely to see a further fragmented world, with Apple focusing primarily on breadth and Google on initial penetration. Apple will continue to focus on deepening their relationships with their customers while Google will continue its conquest for new customers. Apple’s direction will be one of expanding services and commensurate revenue streams, serving their unique customer base more deeply. Meanwhile, Google’s direction will be mostly about supporting any devices or services that will help them expand their data acquisition and advertising businesses. Apple’s expanded emphasis on privacy and security will play well with their existing customers and more importantly may yet attract users further away from the Google ecosystem. Beyond the speeds and feeds of the latest gadget, these softer issues of privacy and security are likely to help Apple more than Google.
About this TUPdate
The analysis in this TUPdate is based on results drawn from multiple waves of TUP (Technology User Profile), including the 2018 edition which is TUP’s 36th continuous wave. This survey-based study details the use of technology products by a carefully-selected and weighted set of respondents drawn to represent online adults.
Resources
Current TUP subscribers may request the supporting TUP information used for this analysis or for even deeper analysis. For more information about MetaFacts and subscribing to TUP, please contact MetaFacts.
Do customers act on ecosystems, choosing to focus within a brand’s family for their products and services? How many technology users are exclusive, or at least favor one over another?
Only one in eight (12%) of online adults around the world are truly exclusive, using products and services from only one of either Apple, Google, or Microsoft. This is based on the most recent wave of the MetaFacts TUP survey (Technology User Profile 2018), conducted among 14,273 online adults.
Nearly twice as many actively use a balanced mixture of ecosystems. True non-exclusivity is being actively practiced by one-fourth (25%) of online adults. (see the Methodology below for details on the segmentation approach used in this analysis.)
The largest group of users is between exclusivity and non-exclusivity, slightly favoring one ecosystem while still actively using at least one other. Over six in ten (62%) of online adults are in these segments. The Google-Dominant segment is on par with the Apple-Dominant segment, each representing one in five online adults.
Apple’s most-focused are more broadly invested in Apple’s ecosystem than are Google’s or Microsoft’s best. Most of Apple’s strength is supported by their connected devices – iPhones, iPads, and Macs to a lesser extent. The Apple-Exclusive (3% of online adults) use an average of 2.3 connected devices, and among the Apple-Dominant, this average is 2.1 devices. Use of voice assistant Apple Siri is the second-most component among the Apple-Exclusive, and also tied for second place among the Apple-Dominant. The Apple-Dominant are equally active with Microsoft devices, primarily Windows PCs.
The Google-Exclusive (3% of online adults) only use 1.4 Google devices on average, primarily an Android smartphone. Android tablets and Chromebooks aren’t as widely used among the Google-Exclusive as are Apple’s devices among the Apple-Exclusive.
The Microsoft-Exclusive (6% of online adults) show a pattern of entrenchment. Only Microsoft devices are in use besides some nominal use of Microsoft Cortana or Xbox consoles. The Microsoft-Dominant are a bit more exploratory, including a small number of Google devices and some use of Microsoft Cortana.
Profile of the Ecosystem Exclusivity Segments
Each ecosystem has appealed to very different groups of people, especially with respect to life stage. While Apple’s most-exclusive users have a higher share (44%) of younger adults with children, nearly half (48%) of Google’s most-exclusive users are not employed outside the home and don’t have children. This bodes well for Apple’s services and devices that bring extra value to families, such as Apple’s Family Sharing feature, which enables a way to share music, books, cloud storage and other Apple services between multiple users.
The Microsoft-Exclusive segment is singular, with nearly a third (32%) of its members being in a one-person household. The Apple and Google segments are relatively similar to each other, although Google’s have slightly more household members.
Looking ahead
It’s increasingly a multi-device, multi-person world. Sharing between one’s devices and platforms will continue to grow as a user need, as will sharing with others between disparate ecosystems. Although companies may aim for exclusivity, interoperability is more important. It involves the largest part of the market. Exclusive users will remain a small group of loyal fans willing and able to narrow their choices. Although the non-exclusive make up a sizable segment, the future will be with the ecosystem-dominant.
Methodology
For this analysis, we defined ecosystem exclusivity, dominance, and non-exclusivity as follows:
Exclusivity – all of the user’s connected devices, items, services, and voice assistants are in the same operating system family
Dominant – more of the user’s devices, items, services, and voice assistants use one ecosystem more than others
Non-Exclusive – none of the ecosystems is used more than any others
We drew on the TUP data to identify a broad range of offerings within Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon ecosystems.
Connected devices – smartphones, tablets, PCs, or game consoles, using Apple iOS, MacOS, Google Chrome, Google Android, Google-branded, or Microsoft Windows
Services – Music/Video (Apple Music, Prime Video (in Amazon Prime), Prime Music (in Amazon Prime), Amazon Music Unlimited, Google Play Music)
Items – TV set-top boxes (Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Google TV/Android TV, Google Nexus Player, Google ChromeCast), speakers (Amazon Echo, Amazon Spot or Dot, Amazon Show, Google Home, Google Max or Mini, Apple HomePod), Game Consoles (Microsoft Xbox One X, Microsoft Xbox One, Microsoft Xbox 360, Microsoft Xbox, Microsoft Other), smartwatches (Apple Watch, Android Watch)
Voice assistants – active use of a voice assistant (Apple Siri, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Microsoft Cortana) through a connected device
The segmentation approach was a simple categorization based on the accumulation of the above attributes. Each device, service, item or voice assistant was given an equal weight.
About this TUPdate
The analysis in this TUPdate is based on results drawn from multiple waves of TUP (Technology User Profile), including the 2018 edition which is TUP’s 36th continuous wave. This survey-based study details the use of technology products by a carefully-selected and weighted set of respondents drawn to represent online adults.
Resources
Current TUP subscribers may request the supporting TUP information used for this analysis or for even deeper analysis. For more information about MetaFacts and subscribing to TUP, please contact MetaFacts.
