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.
Virtual reality headset use among socioeconomic groups
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.
Profile of Americans using gaming PCs
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, October 9, 2021
Profile of Americans using gaming PCs
- All online American adults who regularly use a gaming PC
- They number 25.3 million – 12% of all online American adults
- Defined as using a “Gaming desktop or gaming notebook – designed for playing video games, such as with special video cards and extra memory”
- Profiled by characteristics that are distinctive
- Only profiled by those characteristics which have an index of 80 or below and 120 and above – those which are 20% above or below the average by category
- Expressed as market penetration – the percentage of online adults within each group
- Distinctive characteristics profiles
- Age, gender, age within gender
- Employment status
- Presence of children
- Household size
- Life stage (age, employment status, presence of children)
- Number of home PCs used
- Technology ecosystems
- Characteristics examined and not found to be distinct
- Educational attainment
Americans who regularly use a gaming PC by age group
- Gaming PC users skew younger
- Game console use is strongest among the youngest American adults – aged 18-44
- Penetration among online Americans aged 18-44 is 19%-20%
- Beyond age 45, the rate drops steeply
Juggling work and devices to get things done [TUPdate]
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.
Activities for PCs versus smartphones
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.
Preferences for tablet or home PC for activities [MetaFAQs]
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.
Children’s schoolwork by device type-American adults with kids 6-17 by adult’s gender [MetaFAQs]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, March 24, 2021
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.
Schoolwork and younger children’s education by device type [MetaFAQs]
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.
Communication platforms – fast, now, or visible? [TUPdate]
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.
How many gamers? [MetaFAQs]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, December 15, 2020 How many gamers are there? Is the market size big or small? Are the people that play games online or with their connected devices a small group of busy fun-loving people, or is game-playing more widespread? This MetaFAQs answers the baseline question about how many millions of…