Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, February 22, 2017 Mobile phones dominate home-owned connected devices like the ones used by the greatest number of U.S. adults. As of our MetaFacts TUP 2016 US survey, 87% of U.S. adults used a smartphone or basic cell phone that was home-owned. Slightly trailing mobile phones, 81% of adults use…
Tablet-first. Is it a thing? [TUPdate]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, February 17, 2017
Which comes first – Smartphone? Tablet? Notebook? For a small and steadily growing segment, the tablet comes first as the primary connected device.
Over the last three years, the share of connected adults using a tablet as their primary device has expanded. In our 2014 wave of TUP, we found that 6% of adults were using a tablet as their primary device – before a PC, mobile phone, or game console. In TUP 2015, the tablet-first rate had grown to 7% and by TUP 2016, reached 9%.
OS-polyglots are big tech spenders [MetaFAQs]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, February 15, 2017 Who are the biggest spenders – Windows-Only, Apple-Only, or some other segment? (MetaFAQs) Google went high, Apple went higher, and Microsoft is left with the rest. That’s an oversimplification, and yet is reflected in household technology spending. Users of certain combinations of operating systems spend differently. Lowest-spending…
Are most hearables being used by young males? [MetaFAQs]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, February 13, 2017 Wireless headsets have been available for more than a decade, and are strongest among two age and gender groups. These hearables-active groups also have above-average shares of VR Headset early adopters. The strongest segments for active hearables use include younger males – age 18-44 and youngish females…
The most creative – PCs or smartphones? [TUPdate]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, February 9, 2017
Creativity eludes definition, yet we know and admire it when we see or feel it. Well beyond simple clicks, creative activities greatly add to the collective oeuvre while also giving voice to expression.
It might well be argued that creativity is shown in the clever use of hashtags, emojis, or Snapchat video filters. I’m choosing to identify creativity broadly and practically – how the most-creative, most-involved tech activities get done. Activities such as creating presentations and videos require forethought and a blending of skills. Some activities such as taking photographs are now so widely commonplace that the activity spans the professional photographer to the budding amateur. So, for this analysis, I’m considering this a moderately-creative activity.
Is there an age skew for using VR headsets? [MetaFAQs]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, February 2, 2017 Virtual reality hasn’t reached market reality, despite decades of experimentation and overhyped false starts. Recent investment has brought renewed attention, hope, and development to the prospects of widespread VR use. Based on our TUP 2016 US survey, only 2% of connected adults are actively using a VR…
Voice assistants – now we’re talking! [TUPdate]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, January 27, 2017
In the mid-1980’s, one of my Apple Macs overheard me on a phone call and startled me by speaking “Wouldn’t you like to know?”. The Mac’s dialog box suggested I had asked “Macintosh, do you have an Easter Egg?” Evidently, I had triggered one of those hidden messages some programmers like to include for fun. That was quite a bit earlier than today’s quirky responses after asking Apple Siri certain questions such as “What does the fox say?” or asking Amazon Alexa “how much is that doggie in the window?”
Device primacy and OS – What we hold near [TUPdate]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, January 18, 2017
Primacy. The first device you reach for, the one you stay near, the one you rely on. You might think that it’s the smartphone, and that’s correct for many, but not all. For many activities and market segments, PCs and tablets dominate. A user’s activity focus affects which devices they choose most often, as does their operating system collection, among other factors.
How many connected adults use hearables? [MetaFAQs]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, January 11, 2017 For ears, it’s an exciting time in the tech industry. Hearable technology – audio-oriented wearables spanning wireless Bluetooth headsets to VR headsets – have received a fresh round of media attention. This has stemmed from substantial recent investment in new ventures such as Oculus VR along with…