To coincide with the 10th anniversary of the launch of Apple’s revolutionary iPhone, customer experience firm Axway has published the results of a survey examining the role that smartphones play in enhancing consumer lives with improved services and experiences—and how consumers would like to see the smartphone evolve in the future.
The survey of 1,200 U.S. consumers found that consumers value data security and privacy over cool new apps and features, prefer mobile apps to new voice activated services like Siri and Alexa, want to send messages instead of talking, and believe that extended battery life is the key to enhancing the mobile user experience.
Security and privacy top consumers wish list
While every new smartphone launch focuses on the “cool” new features and capabilities that will be delivered, the survey found that data security and privacy is top of consumer’s wish list for future smartphone updates.
- 69 percent of smartphone owners want smartphone development to focus on data security and privacy as opposed to cool new apps and features.
Apps still make consumers “appy”
While the industry conversation increasingly focuses on voice-activated services such as chatbots, the survey found consumers do not want to give up their mobile apps and currently do not view voice-activated services as a key component of the mobile experience.
- 62 percent said they would not give up all their mobile apps for a voice-activated service like Siri that works perfectly every time
- Only 5 percent of consumers ranked new voice capabilities on their wish list for improving the smartphone experience
It’s good to message: Messaging overtakes phone calls
Over the last 10 years the smartphone has unified a range of different consumer devices—everything from music players to games consoles and maps—and redefined the very definition of a phone. To examine how this has changed the way consumers use their mobile phones, the survey asked consumers to rank the top five ways they use their smartphone. Top of the list: Messaging.
- 70 percent cited messaging as a top use case
- 62 percent cited phone calls
- Email (54 percent), social networking (51 percent) and camera (37 percent) were also in the top five use cases
- Other popular use cases included gaming (30 percent), music (28 percent), directions/maps (24 percent), clock (23 percent), shopping (23 percent), weather (22 percent) and banking (21 percent)
- Emerging services like video chat (8 percent) and mobile TV (11 percent) saw minimal usage
Battery power key to future mobile experience
The smartphone experience continues to change as new technologies such as augmented and virtual reality emerge that enable more immersive experiences. To determine what consumers think is going to make the most difference to the mobile experience, the survey asked consumers what would be top of their wish list for improving the smartphone experience in the future.
- Battery power was far and away the top priority for consumers with almost half (48 percent) putting it at the top of their wish list
- Wireless charging (15 percent), increased durability (10 percent) and greater connectivity with other devices (8 percent) were also noted as important to the future mobile experience
- More futuristic technologies such as a 3D screen (4 percent) or virtual reality (4 percent) were not seen as being as important by consumers
What will my smartphone replace next?
Smartphones have taken huge market share from companies selling devices ranging from cameras to portable music players and GPS systems. When asked what they thought the smartphone would replace within the next two years, ATM cards topped the list.
- 37 percent think their smartphone will replace ATM cards
- 28 percent think that the smartphone will replace the tablet
- 27 percent think the smartphone will replace laptops
- 21 percent think the smartphone will replace car keys
Don’t take my smartphone away
It’s no secret that smartphones now play a critical role in our daily lives and that most people struggle to imagine what life would be like without one. When asked what they would rather give up for a week, their smartphone or other essentials, consumers were happy to make sacrifices to keep their smartphones.
- 47 percent of survey respondents would give up alcohol
- Approximately one third would give up sugar (35 percent), coffee (33 percent), exercise (31 percent), and watching TV (31 percent)
- 24 percent of respondents would give up sex
- 10 percent would give up talking to their significant other for a week of smartphone access
“People often talk about digital transformation, but in the case of the iPhone it really did change the game by not only redefining the mobile phone, but also the way we all experience digital services in today’s demanding experience economy that is blurring our personal and professional lives,” said Jean-Marc Lazzari, CEO at Axway, in a news release.
“To mark the tenth anniversary of such a significant technological advancement, we decided to examine the role smartphones now play in our daily lives with mobile apps and APIs that create immersive experiences and increasingly convenient services,” Lazzari continued. “We see this trend as the inherent evolution and growth of customer experience networks and the smartphone will be the key. The survey results provide interesting insights—and a few surprises—as brands look to continue to enhance the mobile experience.”
The survey, “The Role of Smartphones in Our Lives Today,” examines the role smartphones currently play in our lives and how consumers would like to see the smartphone evolve in future. Conducted by international research firm Research+Data Insights (RDI), the survey was fielded online and included participation from 1,200 smartphone users in the United States who use Apple, Android and Windows devices. Respondents were a mix of male and female, ranging in age from 18 to 60 years old.
