Smartphones have become nothing less than data-consumption machines.
New smartphones that reached consumers in the past year consumed more than seven-times the data of smartphones launched only few years previously – 40 percent more data than 2012 models alone.
This new data on smartphone data consumption comes to use from Actix’s latest research on global mobile users.
In terms of the kings of data consumption, Apple’s iPhone rolls like a boss.
Neil Coleman, Director of Global Marketing at Actix, says networks have been struggling to keep up with the relentless growth in data demand. “In the past,” he explains, “the transition that drove data consumption was from feature phone to smartphone. Now it’s the upgrade path from low-end to high-end smartphones. Each generation adds 40 percent additional network traffic by device.”
Other findings of the report include:
- The average smartphone in a user’s pocket is 26 months old
- iPhones held the top three places in the most data hungry devices (iPhones 4, 4S and 5)
- Samsung has four models in the top 10 most data hungry devices
- Tablet users consume more than twice as much data as smartphones, while MiFi devices drive almost nine times more data consumption
“95 percent of data is being consumed on smartphones rather than tablets, but with the growth in low cost tablets, operators will need to ensure that networks are ready for more data hungry tablets,” Coleman adds.
