MetaFacts TUP/Technology User Profile analysis results for subscribers
A user’s age is often used as shorthand for estimating the sophistication, eagerness, or purchase likelihood levels of adults with technology devices and services. While age does have some explanatory power, there is much more information needed for understanding. This TUPdate looks at what people do with their devices, which types of devices they use for certain activities, and how this varies by age.
Smartphones have rapidly, although not completely, replaced feature phones. Smartphone users have expanded their range of activities with new uses while also increasingly migrating activities from computers and tablets. This TUP Highlights Report profiles smartphones – their market penetration, user demographic profile, regular activities, usage profile, key competitors, and purchase plans.
This TUP Highlights report includes the following sections: penetration of smartphones versus feature phones, smartphone brand share, top activities for smartphones, smartphone carrier share, smartphone usage profile, trends in technology ecosystems, major activities for a market segment, and the profile of smartphone users.
VR headsets have received recent attention again after more than a decade of on-again/off-again experimentation with limited market acceptance. While the overall penetration rate of actively-used VR headsets has reached 5% for the first time in 2021, usage rates vary considerably across socioeconomic groups. Having the means to acquire all that’s needed to fully enjoy VR headsets isn’t the only factor affecting adoption as even some upper-income groups are only nominally further ahead than other less advantaged groups. The groups being reported consider age group, employment status, household size, ethnicity, presence of children, educational attainment, and other socioeconomic factors.
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, October 9, 2021
During the pandemic, employees have scrambled to be able to work from home, often using their personal devices in lieu of employer-provided technology products. This TUPdate reports on the specific work-related activities regularly done by employees that do and don’t work from home using their smartphones, home PCs, work PCs, and tablets.
Users with a choice of devices choose home PCs over smartphones more often for certain entertainment and shopping activities. Conversely, users choose smartphones over home PCs for other activities such as listening to paid streaming music. This MetaFAQs reports on which activities out of over 80 activities are done with smartphones, home PCs, or game consoles versus any of the other types of devices.
How differently are tablets and home PCs being used? Among users with both tablets and home PCs, which activities are being used on both? Which activities are more unique to home PCs and which with tablets?
This MetaFAQs details the activities in common between home PC-centric, and tablet-centric users in the US, UK, Germany, and Japan in 2020. Activities measured include internet and email use, document storage, videos/movies, ad-blocking software, finance, collaboration, presentations, reading books, and taking pictures.
There are many ways for school-age children to get help with their schoolwork. This MetaFAQs looks at the connected devices that adults regularly use to help – PCs, smartphones, or tablets.
To what extent did at-home education impact device use during 2020? During pandemic times, many school-aged children, especially younger ones, were getting their education at home. This MetaFAQs reports on adults’ connected devices for children’s schoolwork and other educational activities. We have split the results by device type – home PC, smartphone, tablet, or work PC – and country – the US, Germany, the UK, and Japan. This MetaFAQs uses results from the TUP/Technology User Profile 2020, which is TUP’s 38th annual.
Has the increased demand for synchronous, high-bandwidth activities—like video meetings—affected device use? Are people choosing one device over another for such activities? This TUPdate reports on synchronous and asynchronous communication levels by country alongside device type (smartphone, home PC, or tablet), activity type (phone/video calls, text message, email, and web-based group meetings), and age group. This TUPdate considers online adults in the US, UK, Germany, and Japan from TUP/Technology User Profile 2020, which is TUP’s 38th annual.