Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, November 19, 2020
The smartphone-smartwatch Connection
Smartwatches offer the promise to extend the user’s experiences. Most are tightly coupled with a smartphone and its ecosystem. We looked into whether smartwatch users’ behaviors are any different, whether they have an iPhone or Android smartphone. Drilling into the MetaFacts TUP/Technology User Profile 2020 results showed there is a gap between OS and between countries.
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, November 18, 2020
Is downloading paid apps a regular activity for smartphone users? Is there a difference among iPhone users as compared to Android smartphone users? This MetaFAQs identifies the active penetration rates in the US, Germany, UK, and Japan.
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, November 15, 2020
Are households with more occupants more likely to have their connected devices sharing sounds, or are they less likely? Do large households have a higher or lower prevalence of listening activities, using their smartphones, PCs, or tablets for phone or video calls, watching TV or videos, or listening to music? This MetaFAQs details the percent of adults regularly engaged in listening activities by household size and country.
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, November 5, 2020
Some information such as news, sports, and weather are most useful when they’re current and easily available. There are many ways to get this information across smartphones, PCs, or tablets. Some users are more actively intent on tapping into this information, and different age groups prefer different devices. This MetaFAQs reports on the active use of checking the news, sports, and weather information by smartphone, PC, tablet, or across all three. Further, it reports on activity levels by age group and country.
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, November 5, 2020
Some information such as news, sports, and weather are most useful when they’re current and easily available. There are many ways to get this information across smartphones, PCs, or tablets. Some users are more actively intent on tapping into this information, and different age groups prefer different devices. This MetaFAQs reports on the active use of checking the news, sports, and weather information by smartphone, PC, tablet, or across all three. Further, it reports on activity levels by age group and country.
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, October 15, 2020
Smartphones are in widespread use, as are PCs and tablets. They are being used for more than phone calls. This MetaFAQs looks at the regular smartphone activities of employees in the US, Germany, and China, detailing the work-related activities they do.
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.
The home PC has been a central part of the American technology user’s world for years, and while remaining so for many, the home PC is slowly losing its primacy among some market segments.
Home PCs have been challenged by the emerging use of smartphones and tablets, not only among younger Americans. Older Americans have also rapidly adopted smartphones and are starting to discover how to use them well. Home PC makers, software developers, and service providers have worked hard to keep the home PC as a central device, or at least one that is included.
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.
The home PC has been a central part of the American technology user’s world for years, and while remaining so for many, the home PC is slowly losing its primacy among some market segments.
Home PCs have been challenged by the emerging use of smartphones and tablets, not only among younger Americans. Older Americans have also rapidly adopted smartphones and are starting to discover how to use them well. Home PC makers, software developers, and service providers have worked hard to keep the home PC as a central device, or at least one that is included.
The home PC is not down and out – not by a long shot. The humble PC is in use by most online Americans. In 2020, 75% of online adults in the US actively used a home PC. From 2015 to 2019, this level was effectively flat at 80%.
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 22, 2019
So many of us have done it – started doing with our smartphone or tablet what we only formerly did with our PC. Are some activities so addictive or prevalent that people do them across their many devices? Based on our latest research, the answer is yes, and especially so for certain activities.
Nearly one-fourth (24%) of online adults around the world tap into their social networks on 4 connected devices, from among the many PCs, smartphones, and tablets they use.
This is based on the TUP/Technology User Profile 2018-Global survey, spanning 14,273 online adults across the US, UK, Germany, China, and India.
By contrast, certain activities are limited – being used more often on only one device. Making voice/video/web calls is mostly done on a single device, at 44% of online adults. Around one in three online adults also primarily use one device for the following types of activities: managing finances, photos, create/share videos, purchases, and reading.
What encourages or limits users to focus certain activities on fewer devices? Convenience and capability are key factors. Although desktop PCs can and do have webcams for video calls, they are less mobile and therefore less convenient than smartphones or tablets for unplanned calls or conferences. The same can be said for taking spontaneous photos or videos using cameras in ever-handy smartphones and tablets. Screen size and setting also have an impact. Comparison shopping benefits from the larger screens of PCs and tablets. Reading a book can be more enjoyable while sitting back with a tablet than sitting upright at a desktop PC.
The capability and preference gap
There is a perennial gap between what’s possible with a device and what people choose to do. For example, we still find few who regularly take photos with their tablets. In this specific case, social pressure has some impact as larger devices may block other’s views or at the least be less discreet.
Platforms from Facebook to Amazon and Spotify do their best to be widely present and highly available. Native apps typically offer a more stable, richer, and device-appropriate experience, further encouraging users to use them across their multiple devices. Meanwhile, device-makers continue to expand the capabilities of their devices to better accommodate and anticipate user demand.
Looking ahead
Our research shows that as users gain experience with tech products, they broaden their activities and simultaneously expand their use across the devices they regularly use. I expect users to continue demanding to do whatever they want with whatever device they have.
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.
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 16, 2019
Consider the device juggler – emailing with a PC, next a smartphone, and then with a tablet or different PC. Do they seem more talented or rare than most of us? Our research shows they are not that unique. Ninety-six percent of those with 2 or more connected devices do at least one type of personal activity across multiple devices. However, the range of multi-platform activities is so broad and unique to the individual user that no single type of activity is cross-platform for the majority. This defines demand for smoother user experiences.
Based on the 2018 wave of the TUP/Technology User Profile survey, we find that 89% of online adults with 3 or more devices do at least one personal activities across 3 or more of their devices, and 83% of 4+ device users also do.
However, none of the type of activities are being used by more than one-sixth (17%) of those with 4 or more devices. And, the top multi-platform activity across multiple countries is obtaining free apps.
The top five multi-platform activities for those using 4 or more devices are similar in or more devices.
Multi-device users in China and India have the highest level of multi-platform activities, with several exceeding 10% of 4+ device users doing the activity across their 4 or more devices. These involve free apps, social media, and music or email. For multi-device Americans, multi-device game playing ranks highest. In the UK and Germany, multi-platform personal email ranks highest, although in these countries the multi-device rate is lower than in the US, India, or China.
Looking ahead
Technology users have proven that they can and will juggle multiple devices. Currently, the market is spotty, and for multiple reasons. Most multi-device users have devices which use different operating systems. This not only limits which apps are available or identical across platforms, but also means the user’s experience often requires adjustment or learning on their part.
Users continue to experiment with using more and then fewer devices. Most haven’t found a single device for all they do, and they aren’t likely to anytime soon. Furthermore, with experience, users discover more ways to use what they have and further integrate device use into their everyday lives. This underscores the growing demand and market readiness for a smoother, more integrated multi-device experience.
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.
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.