Apple’s better customers, actively using two or more smartphones, tablets, or computers, are decidedly younger than the online population. This youthful skew is seen in every country surveyed.
Germany stands out for its more extreme bias towards younger adults. The long-entrenched Google Android smartphone majority has proven difficult for Apple to penetrate. Germans aged 18 to 24 appear to be challenging the status quo.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of online adults in the US, UK, Germany, Japan, and China who are actively using two or more Apple OS devices (an Apple iPhone (iOS), an Apple iPad (iPadOS), or an Apple Mac (MacOS). Report [TUP_doc_2024_0127_2apl] in TUP Lenses: Devices; PCs; Mobile Phones; Tablets; User Profile; Technology Ecosystems
Tech buying plan trends are stronger among remote workers
With the onset of the pandemic, remote workers rushed to outfit their homes or remote working locations with technology to help them communicate, work, and otherwise be productive. During this time, not all workers could acquire the technology they wanted since only in some cases did employers provide the desired technology. Following this peak, most interest in tech buying plans has waned and reverted to the mean.
This MetaFAQs reports on the purchase plans for remote workers within the next twelve months. It includes mobile phones (smartphones and feature phones), computers (desktops and laptops), tablets, and printers from 2020 through 2023. Each trend is also compared to workers who never work remotely. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0127_plat] in TUP Lenses: Devices; PCs; Mobile Phones; Tablets; Consumer Electronics; Printers; Work/Life Balance
Productivity is increasingly lead by smartphones and younger adults
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, January 26, 2024
Summary
People use connected devices to be productive, actively engaging in a broad set of activities spread among their various devices. The use of smartphones for productivity is growing while the use of computers has flattened or is even in decline. Younger adults have embraced productivity activities, although Gen X and millennials use different types of devices to get things done.
This MetaFAQs reports on the number and percentage of online adults who regularly perform a set of productivity activities, from work file collaboration to appointment scheduling. These results are further split by mean age and generation and trended by age and device type for Americans from 2020 through 2023.
Smartphones are the leading productivity tool
- More online adults use smartphones for productivity than either home computers or those provided by employers
- Only one productivity activity – collaborating on work files – is done by more adults with work PCs than with smartphones, and in this specific case, the difference is nominal
- Across home PCs, regularly collaborating on personal files stands out as a top productivity activity
- The most robust productivity activities using smartphones are oriented toward communication, allowing adults to stay in touch with coworkers
A smartphone and computer are the top combo
Worldwide and in each country surveyed, the most-used combination of devices is to have a home computer, a smartphone, and no tablet. Having all three of these or only a smartphone are 2nd and 3rd and nearly equal. In Germany and China, using only a smartphone is ranked a distant 3rd. Conversely, in Japan, using all three is a distant 3rd. There is no significant difference by age group. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0125_comb] in TUP Lenses: Devices; PCs; Mobile Phones; Tablets
Computer refresh rates keep on, buoyed by later generations
With the onset of the pandemic and related economic shifts, computer acquisition patterns did not spike substantially. After reaching a peak of new computer use in 2021, the share of Americans and Germans using a computer acquired in the prior 12 months has subsided.
This MetaFAQs reports the percentage of online adults using a computer acquired in the prior year, split by country and age generational group. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0125_newt] in TUP Lenses: Devices; PCs; User Profile
Smartphone hours exceed computer hours in most countries
Adults spend more time using smartphones than computers in most countries surveyed. Online Americans use their smartphones for 5.1 billion hours per week and computers – at home, work, school, or others – for 4.5 billion hours per week. In Germany, online adults use their smartphones, computers, and tablets for a total of 2.8 billion weekly hours, half of which are while using computers.
This MetaFAQs reports on the billions of weekly hours adults use their smartphones, computers, and tablets in the US, UK, Germany, Japan, and China. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0123_hour] in TUP Lenses: Devices; PCs; Mobile Phones; Tablets; Activities
Youth using used smartphones
Economic pressures have supported younger adults, often with lower employment rates and limited funds, in turning toward acquiring technology from friends, family, or the refurbished device market. Refurbished or used smartphones are more widely used in the UK than in many other countries. Usage is especially high among adults aged 18 to 24 as compared to other age groups, a finding that is consistent across the US, Germany, the UK, Japan, and China. Generally, the use of a used/refurbished smartphone shrinks with age.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of smartphone users who are using a used/refurbished smartphone by country. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0121_yref] in TUP Lenses: Devices; Mobile Phones; User Profile
Family size influences connected device use
In larger households, adults tend to spend more time on digital devices compared to those in smaller households. Adults in larger households use their connected devices more hours per week than those in smaller households. This pattern holds among online Americans, Britons, Japanese, and Chinese. Among German adults, the pattern is bimodal, with usage highest among German adults with 3 persons in their household.
This MetaFAQs reports on the average (mean) weekly hours online adults use their connected devices (computers, smartphones, tablets) during a week. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0119_busy] in TUP Lenses: Devices; PCs; Mobile Phones; Tablets; User Profile; Households
In-country computer use: age matters
Computers such as Apple Macs, those running Microsoft Windows or ChromeOS are being used by most online adults worldwide, although penetration rates vary by age group within countries. In the US and Japan, computer users skew older. In the UK and China, computer users skew somewhat younger, although not strongest among adults aged 18 to 24. Instead, a growing group of online adults rely on smartphones for everyday activities and turn to computers for a declining subset of things they regularly do.
This MetaFAQ reports on the percentage of online adults who actively use a computer that they acquired with personal funds (a home computer), one provided by an employer (work/self-employed), or from someone else (a school, library, government, neighbor, or other). Report [TUP_doc_2024_0115_agpc] in TUP Lenses: Devices; PCs; User Profile
Employee PC hours sag, although IT/FIRE/Professional industries still lead
Employees in IT/FIRE/Professional use computers for the most hours – Many employees rely on PCs to get their work done, whether it’s using intensive software tailored to their profession or generic software used across many industries. The most intensive use of PCs among employees is within the IT/FIRE/Professional industries, those jobs that include Information Technology, Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, or professions such as legal, medical, or others. Other industries, such as the Service industries, account for the largest total PC hours mostly due to the many employees within their ranks. Across nearly all industries and countries surveyed, PC hours among employees has been declining.
This MetaFAQ reports on the mean and total number of weekly hours employees use PCs, split by industry group and country, detailing the trend from 2020 through 2023. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0104_firt] in TUP Lenses: Devices; User Profile