According to a new study from mobile research group Arieso, smartphones have surpassed tablets in total data usage for the first time in the three years the company has conducted such research. Likewise, Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 5 downloads more data than any other device—four times as much as its predecessor 3G model and 50 percent more than the iPhone 4S, which topped the 2012 list. Interestingly enough, however, 40 percent of the data downloaded to iPhone 5 devices is consumed by only 1 percent of all users.
“Yet again we found that novel usage patterns, new technologies and regional idiosyncrasies are conspiring to make life increasingly difficult for mobile operators trying to meet evolving customer expectations,” said study author and Arieso CTO, Michael Flanagan. “The ability to conduct detailed analysis such as this is critical in giving operators a rich source of intelligence to help boost network performance and enrich user experience.”
The iPhone wasn’t the only data-hungry device this year, though. The study found this year Samsung Galaxy S III users uploaded almost four times as much data than iPhone 3G users, and ranked first in total generated data—including uploaded photos, videos and more—ahead of the Samsung Galaxy Note II and the iPhone 5. Likewise, in the tablet market, Samsung Tab 2 10.1 users utilized 20 percent more data than iPad users.
In fact, smartphone users consumed more mobile data than tablet users across the board during the past year. According to Arieso, six of the top ten data-hungry devices were smartphones, three were tablets and one a “phablet”—voice-capable tablet.
“This is pretty counterintuitive, but it seems the capabilities of the newest smartphones—not tablets—are unleashing even greater user demand,” Flanagan said. “Once you move away from raw consumption statistics, the most remarkable finding is the way in which people use smartphones and tablets. Regardless of device type and operating system, there is very little variation in the usage ‘signature’ between smartphone users and between tablet users. From this we discover that voice-capable ‘phablets’ – like the Samsung Galaxy Note II – are currently being used like smartphones, not tablets. If you can use it to make a phone call, the ‘phablet’ won’t be much like a tablet at all.”
Although Arieso based its study in Europe, the results can be applied to any geographic region.
“Wherever they are in the world, operators have to deal with similar challenges created by extreme data use,” concluded Flanagan. “Every year, the situation gets tougher and more complicated. But it is worth remembering two salient points. One, that these challenges only result from our industry’s incredible success in creating devices, services and networks that billions of people want to use every hour of every day. Two, that these puzzles are surmountable through careful attention to the needs of subscribers where they demand services from the network.”
Do you think Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 5’s greater data use can be attributed to the device itself or users downloading more content?
