What tech consumers are actually doing with technology – current MetaFacts TUP/Technology User Profile research results
What is Apple’s share of actively used smartwatches? How does this vary between the US, the UK, Germany, and Japan? How has this changed in recent years? This MetaFAQs reports on Apple’s share of the active installed base across four countries and four years.
Continue reading “Apple’s share of active smartwatches [MetaFAQs]”
Age matters when it comes to Voice Assistant use, and it’s overly simplistic to say that they’re mostly being used by younger adults. Yes, there’s a strong age difference between active Voice Assistant users, former users, and those who’ve never even given one a try. And yes, otherwise-connected adults that have never used a Voice Assistant are older than active users by a decade. The average age of a Connected Adult who has never used a Voice Assistant is 51.7 years. By comparison, the average age for active Voice Assistant users, those who’ve used one at least once within the last 90 days, is 41.6 years.
However, in this time of experimentation and users finding their own voices, younger adults are disproportionately former Voice Assistant users. They used a Voice Assistant within the last year and haven’t used one since.
This is based on results from the MetaFacts Voice User Profile (VUP) survey conducted in February 2018. The results report on active usage, which is a practical measure to contrast with the promised potential of what Voice Assistants may or may not be able to do.
Our TUP 2017 results show a similar pattern – the novelty effect. Older Millennials have the highest active Voice Assistant usage rates. This group of 28-36 year-olds also shows the steepest dropoff between recent and less-recent use. This novelty effect is also prevalent among younger millennials (age 18-27) as their usage rate drops.
Observations
As a long-time tech analyst, I’ve seen many technologies go through fits and starts as they either reach broader adoption or settle back into their niches. Apple’s Macs had PlainTalk 25 years ago, yet the voice recognition and speech synthesis system never reached widespread regular use. Still, the earliest adopters found ways to use these early Voice Assistants, such as dictation. Apple’s Siri arguably brought usable Voice Assistants into handy use for a much broader audience. The most-recent entries from Amazon and Microsoft to Google have brought a lot of heat and light to the category, although it’s still too early to declare Voice Assistants as be mainstream. There are many challenges ahead for makers of Voice Assistant systems and listening devices. It’s hard enough to encourage users to experiment with a Voice Assistant. It’s even harder to get users to continue using a technology after the novelty wears off. Many who have tried have given up, disappointed or daunted that their Voice Assistant hasn’t lived up their, er, its words.
Related research results
The MetaFacts Voice User Profile includes other related analysis, including:
Source
The information in this MetaFAQ is based on a survey of 7,410 online adults in mid-2017 as part of the MetaFacts Technology User Profile (TUP) study and 525 online adults during February 2018 as part of the MetaFacts Voice User Profile (VUP) study. The TUP and VUP study universes included a representative sample of online adults, with active Voice Assistant users, former Voice Assistant users, as well as consumers who have never used a Voice Assistant. Current TUP subscribers can obtain the results of this newest research at a discount. For more information about MetaFacts and subscribing to VUP or TUP, please contact MetaFacts.
We know you’re curious – like we are! That’s what compels us to be researchers, driven by the quest for clearer truth and actionable insights.
To read more findings from MetaFacts, current subscribers can choose subjects of interest from among TUP Topics in our client portal.
There you will find a full range of deliverables: MetaFAQs, TUPdates, TUP Highlights, TUP Tables, and more, spanning the wide range of technology products, services, users, and the activities those users enjoy.
MetaFAQs are answers to frequently asked questions about technology users. They are drawn from the MetaFacts TUP/Technology User Profile datasets, the latest research developed through surveys. TUP/Technology User Profile 2020 is in its 38th continuous year.
TUPdates are focused analysis on a current topics of interest in the technology industry. Like MetaFAQs, they draw on research results from the MetaFacts TUP/Technology User Profile datasets. They probe more deeply into the topic, and are typically one to three pages long.
Subscribing clients who value ready access to key results value the TUP Highlights & Tables deliverables. MetaFacts analyzes the TUP results to prepare top-level findings with written analysis and charts, organized into topical areas. These are accompanied by supporting data in easy-to-access cross-tabulations.
For hands-on analysts interested in deeper exploration, customization, and integration with other data sources value the TUP Datasets, Inquiry Service, or Interactive Tools. These deliverables provide ways for subscribing clients to quickly plumb the depths of TUP themselves.
MetaFAQs and TUPdates are a small portion of the deliverables in the TUP/Technology User Profile service. On request, interested research professionals can receive complimentary updates through our periodic newsletter. These include MetaFAQs – brief answers to frequently asked questions – or TUPdates – analysis of current topics in the technology industry.
For more information, contact MetaFacts.
You must be logged in to post a comment.