
iPhone 5s Owners Gobbling “Unprecedented” Levels of Data, Study Finds - justinzollars
http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/22/jdsu-data-study/
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duskwuff
The iPhone 3G is a _really_ old and strange device to be using as a benchmark
- it was released in 2008, and was already considered rather dated when it was
discontinued in 2010. If they're using data from when the iPhone 3G was
current, smartphone usage trends have changed drastically since then; if
they're using data from users who still have those devices, they're limiting
the sample to users who haven't upgraded in at least three and a half years,
or who are using a hand-me-down phone (and, either way, probably don't use
their phones very much).

The numbers are still interesting to compare between each other, although I'm
not sure how significant some of the differences really are.

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sib
Agreed. Additionally, many (most?) apps won't even run on the iPhone 3G
anymore because they need a newer version of iOS than it supports (4.2.x, I
believe).

[edit for spelling]

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duskwuff
Oh, good point! Indeed, the iPhone 3G can't be upgraded to iOS 5, limiting
what applications can be used on the device. While Apple does have a system
for allowing users on older devices to install the latest compatible version
of an app, that only helps if a compatible version exists, and it still works
with the application servers. With an increasingly small number of
applications available to use bandwidth, it stands to reason that average
bandwidth usage per iPhone 3G user would go _down_ over time.

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lstamour
Personal experience doesn't bear that out. Back when I had an iPhone 3G, my
most-used app was for radio streaming. I consumed 5gigs in a month easy with
that. Don't confuse slower with incapable. The real question is if you can't
afford a newer phone, can you still afford the more expensive data plans?

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duskwuff
Right.. but as time goes on, an increasing number of those applications will
have released mandatory updates that require iOS 5 or later, leaving 3G users
unable to continue using them. With a shrinking number of working applications
to choose from, it's inevitable that usage will drop.

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lstamour
You can download "the last supported version" if you want, the app store
offers that now. And any apps already installed or purchased can be re-
installed at a later date.

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duskwuff
Right, but that only gives you an old version of the application - it doesn't
include a matching version of the online service the application is connecting
to. If the service has changed sufficiently, the old application may no longer
work properly (or may just get a "too old, please upgrade" message).

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S_A_P
I just think that the 5s is actually snappy enough to use it in cases you may
hesitate to do so before. I actually had a 5 that I accidentally dropped and
destroyed. The difference in speed between the 5 and 5s is very noticable to
me. I use it much more than the 5 for every day stuff.

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MikeCapone
I don't have a 5s, but I went from the original retina iPad (with the A5) to
the iPad Air (with A7) and the difference is massive, and it does lead to more
usage. Just the waiting time could easily result in me going on 20% more
webpages per day, or watching an extra youtube video.

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lstamour
How I read this article? (a) Android apps are more efficient about data.
(Chrome has a bandwidth saver feature, for instance.) That said, (b) iOS has
better, more content- or communication-rich apps that promote interaction and
consume data. (c) iPhone owners may be able to afford larger data plans and
therefore use more data. Or (d) iPhones tend to backup over the air a lot more
thanks to iCloud than most (every?) Android app I've ever used. Plus (e) iOS
focuses on background networking and downloads at an API level that Google is
only now starting to with projects like Volley.

Which leads me to my last point: There's too many variables here. Focusing on
phone model and total data used doesn't speak enough to app preferences,
platform differences, and ecosystem maturity. Frankly, as a Nexus 5 lover
waiting for the iPhone 6, I really like how iPad raises the bar for iPhone app
quality. I don't expect things to take off for Android until Google convinces
people that the Nexus 7 isn't just a bigger phablet, perhaps with new APIs.
The one thing Google got right vs iOS that no one will argue is their API
compatibility layers. It keeps older platforms feeling modern -- when was the
last time you saw a pre-5.x app on the App Store? Android goes back to single-
digit API numbers easily. (8 or so, at this point.)

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BugBrother
Note that this was for _one_ specific iPhone model, so it is hardly (a) or (d)
-- that is, not that Android is more efficient and not that iCloud sucks extra
bandwidth for backups. Etc.

(To be obvious: If it were those alternatives, or (e), then iPhone models 5C,
5, 4S and 4 would use similar amounts of data. At a minimum, most 5/5C should
have iOS 7.)

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MikeCapone
Indeed. The fact that this is specifically about the 5s and the recent iPad
tells me that part of this is probably the speed of the A7. If it's faster to
open apps, browse the web, etc, you tend to do more of it. That makes the
device more useful to users and reduces friction, which leads to high usage.

In short: They use more data because they're better devices.

But there are also probably some of the other variables mentioned by the
parent. They just apply to all iOS devices equally, not just those models.

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lstamour
True. I won't argue that better, faster devices will get more usage. For the
day that I owned a 5s, it was incredibly fast. There is one more thing I
forgot, however -- there might also be a bias for the 5s in that early
adopters (and those who upgrade every year) could be more likely to both own
the 5s and have been trained by past iPhones to use as much data as they want.
Those who stick with older phones might not use them as often off wi-fi.
(Where "as often" is still within reach.) Who knows, though. Perhaps the
difference is that the iPhone 5S is easier to unlock, or supports LTE in more
places. I'm sick of guessing, at this point. :)

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IBM
Just one more data point in a long list showing iOS users are the most
engaged. Developers still have no reason to stop being iOS-first.

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TwoBit
You're assuming that Internet usage equates to app usage. I use the Internet a
lot on my phone but hardly run apps. In fact my usage of the Internet surely
eats into time I might spend running apps.

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eli
My business news sites get 3 to 5 times as many visits from iOS versus
Android.

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lstamour
Given there's 3x the types of devices in iOS land (phone, iPod and tablet) vs
most people using Android phones, the difference isn't that huge. I do find,
though, that I tend to browse more on Android because I need to get something
done or check up on something. On iPad, sometimes I just tap around for the
heck of it. :)

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eli
Nope. iPhone traffic alone still crushes all Android devices combined. And
there are certainly many more Android devices in the US.

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TrainedMonkey
I might be oversimplifying things... But more data usage is what I would
expect given that 5S is faster compared to 5.

I make an assumption that less we wait for apps to start/load data is more
time we can use to consume more data. I am sure there are other contributing
reasons such as more media rich apps (taking advantage of faster
hardware/networks) played significant role as well.

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bsdetector
In my case it's the fingerprint sensor, not so much the CPU. I used the
passcode with my old phone for basic security in case it was stolen, but it
was just annoying enough to keep me from checking the phone for random things.

Now I just touch home and I'm in. I use the phone way more now. I thought the
sensor would be marginally useful, but man it's the cat's pajamas.

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rayiner
This data presentation sucks. When dealing with exponentially growing markets,
each new data point will break all previous records. What's interesting is
deviations from the expected exponential growth trajectory.

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dchuk
I know that I use a ton more data on my 5S than my previous 4S, but that's
because my new phone now supports Sprint LTE, so I can actually stream stuff
and download full web pages rather than the bullshit spotty 3g that I was
previously using on my 4S.

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brc
Not in Australia, they don't. No carrier provides an uncapped plan, and most
plans have to be extended with a 'data pack' just to get 1GB/month. If you go
over that, you start getting charged _per Megabyte_.

It's ridiculous.

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piggity
I recently went on holidays and was merrily tethered away on 4G to Telstra.
Hit the cap limit on my plan - 3GB - called Telstra to get a datapack add-on -
"I'm sorry, but you are on the highest plan, we can't add on any more data".

Basically I would have had to sign onto a completely new contract to get more
data for the 5 days to end of month. Ridiculous.

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brc
Are you getting good speeds on 4G? I'm considering turfing my fixed line
connection altogether and going pure 4G.

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alexeisadeski3
Will the major telecoms drop their charge per GB anytime soon? The going rate
of $10/gb is usurious.

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ChuckMcM
I find it interesting when someone is watching what looks like HD video on an
iPhone 5s on the train. At arms length I would expect that something less than
full res would be sufficient, but I don't know if the phone can let you
select.

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alexbell
I think lots of video streaming is adaptive to bandwidth, and if you have an
LTE connection that can handle HD video you'll get it. Still doesn't account
for why the trend is supposedly 5s specific. Perhaps because the 5s can handle
more LTE bands?

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ChuckMcM
That is a good point on the LTE bands, I had not considered that it just may
be that now this is more often achievable at an acceptable quality rate.

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bruceb
So am I blind or do I not see the actual amount of data used? Avg MB or GB? if
Apple 3g is the measure what was the avg user consuming on the 3g? How do I
know how much more 5s users are using if I don't have the baseline?

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vfclists
Does the higher usage related to the high video resolution of the Retina
displays? Does more data imply higher res video and graphics, or data in the
traditional sense, words and numbers and perhaps maps?

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aryastark
The iPhone 5c surely cannibalized 4s/5 stats, no? I mean, in prior generations
people would purchase last year's model. But this time they got the 5c
instead.

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programminggeek
My guess is the background app updates are contributing to this a lot. A
couple large game updates could consume a few gig in a hurry.

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tfe
Isn't this mitigated by the 100MB limit while on mobile data?

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gnu8
I guess iPhone 5c users can go ahead and eat shit then?

