Bluetooth Headsets – MetaFacts' TUP findings

March 1, 2018December 15, 2020

Voice Assistants-What’s Listening Now? [MetaFAQs]

Among Voice Assistant users, Apple AirPods have the most-recent use of a listening device, with 78% having used it on the day we surveyed them. This high active-usage rate is closely followed by Apple Notebook or Desktop Macs.

Android Smartphones rank last for this most-recent-use measure, although rank 1st for having been used within the prior week.

This is based on the MetaFacts Voice User Profile survey conducted in February 2018. This survey was conducted in late February shortly after the release of the Apple HomePod, so too soon to measure the impact of Apple’s new Smart Speaker on the marketplace.

Observations

We’re in a time of experimentation, as technology users are finding their voice. The novelty of voice-control is still fresh, and it remains to be seen whether Voice Assistants will be regularly used by more than a few tech enthusiasts.

Voice Assistant use has reached a greater share of the public’s attention, especially following Amazon’s aggressive push into Smart Speakers and enabling Alexa across a broader range of devices. Similarly, Microsoft’s Cortana, Google Assistant, and Samsung Bixby have garnered renewed attention, and are slowly starting to come into everyday use.

Measuring recency of use is an important indicator of true usage levels. It’s one thing for consumers to play with the features of their new technology devices. It’s another thing for them to incorporate something like Voice Assistant use throughout their day.

Related research results

The MetaFacts Voice User Profile includes other related analysis, including:

The topics Voice Assistant users ask about: weather, scheduling, music, entertainment, home automation, and more
Which Voice Assistant systems are being actively used, on which platforms, and which segments they are attracting
Which listening devices are being actively used – from Smart Speakers to Smartphones and Headsets
Where Voice Assistant users will – and won’t – do their talking: in restaurants, driving, while walking, and many other locations and settings
How well – or poorly – users experience their Voice Assistants, and how performance metrics vary by system and listening device
How many adults are active Voice Assistant users, how many are former users, and how many have never tried one
Reasons given why consumers have never used a Voice Assistant, as well as why former users aren’t currently active users

Source

The information in this MetaFAQ is based on a survey of 525 online adults during February 2018 as part of the MetaFacts Voice User Profile. The study universe included active Voice Assistant users, former Voice Assistant users, as well as consumers who have never used a Voice Assistant. Current TUP (Technology User Profile) subscribers can obtain the results of this newest research at a discount. For more information about MetaFacts and subscribing to TUP, please contact MetaFacts.

February 13, 2017October 28, 2020

Are most hearables being used by young males? (MetaFAQs)

Wireless headsets have been available for more than a decade, and are strongest among two age and gender groups. These hearables-active groups are also have above-average shares of VR Headset early adopters.

The strongest segments for active hearables use include younger males – age 18-44 and youngish females – age 25-34. Penetration is above one in four among males 25-34 (27%) and among males age 35-44 (26%). Among females, hearables usage peaks among females age 25-34, at 15%.

Looking ahead, we expect these same age & gender groups to continue as the strongest users of hearables, and don’t expect other segments to be as keen on hearables.

Continue reading “Are most hearables being used by young males? (MetaFAQs)”

January 11, 2017October 28, 2020

How many connected adults use hearables? (MetaFAQs)

For ears, it’s an exciting time in the tech industry.

Hearable technology – audio-oriented wearables spanning wireless Bluetooth headsets to VR headsets – have received a fresh round of media attention. This has stemmed from substantial recent investment in new ventures such as Oculus VR along with a wider range of product releases.

Currently, one in eight US connected adults are regularly using a hearable device – either a wireless Bluetooth headset or VR headsets. This level of use is broad enough to represent great potential opportunity, yet not broad enough to sustain many competitors.

The primary current use case for Bluetooth headsets are for phone calls, as has been the case for more than a decade. Apple is leading the charge to change this with their Airpods tightly integrated with iPhones, in a bid to help popularize voice-controlled usage. Voice assistants such as Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft Cortana, and Google Now promise to radically shift how users interact with their technology.

VR headsets, sometimes called goggles, are primarily being used for immersive games, and reaching a slightly different segment than Bluetooth headsets.

This is based on our most recent research among 7,336 US adults as part of the Technology User Profile (TUP) 2016 survey.

This MetaFAQs research result addresses one of the many questions profiling active technology users.

Many other related answers are part of the full TUP service, available to paid subscribers. The TUP chapters with the most information about activities is the TUP 2016 Wearables, Hearables, Listening, and Speaking Chapter. This details which market segments are (and aren’t) using hearables, listening to music, using music streaming services, making phone calls, playing games, using voice control, and other audio-oriented products and activities.

These MetaFAQs are brought to you by MetaFacts, based on research results from their most-recent wave of Technology User Profile (TUP).

For more information about MetaFacts and subscribing to TUP, please contact MetaFacts.

November 11, 2016October 28, 2020

Are Hearables-Users Broader Communicators? (MetaFAQs)

Does it automatically follow that Bluetooth Headset users would be using more ways to communicate than others? Or might they be so delighted with voice communications that they forego texting or even emailing?

After all, the voice is a powerful and effective way to communicate, and even more appropriate for certain conversations.

Our research shows that adults using a Bluetooth Headset or VR Headset – either type of hearable – use substantially more types of communication activities than the average adult.

Users of these wearables are twice as likely to be among the broadest communicators.

This is based on our most recent research among 7,336 US adults as part of the Technology User Profile (TUP) 2016 survey.

This MetaFAQs research result addresses one of the many questions profiling active technology users.

Many other related answers are part of the full TUP service, available to paid subscribers. The TUP chapters with the most information about activities is the TUP 2016 Activities Chapter. and also the TUP 2016 Wearables, Hearables, Listening, and Speaking Chapter.

These MetaFAQs are brought to you by MetaFacts, based on research results from their most-recent wave of Technology User Profile (TUP).

For more information about MetaFacts and subscribing to TUP, please contact MetaFacts.

October 25, 2016October 28, 2020

Are Hearables Used More Often by Game Console Players? (MetaFAQs)

When a game player reaches their highest-ever score, does anyone around them want to hear about it? Not always. Are deeply-immersed game-players interested in hearing those around them? Many aren’t.

Hearables – from Bluetooth headsets to VR Goggles like the Oculus Rift are contributing to deepening the player’s experience, at a higher than average rate.

Among users of Game Consoles, use of Hearables is 56% higher than among the general public of connected adults.

Game playing can be solitary, even when it’s multi-player.

This is based on our most recent research among 7,336 US adults as part of the Technology User Profile (TUP) 2016 survey.

This MetaFAQs research result addresses one of the many questions profiling active technology users.

Many other related answers are part of the full TUP service, available to paid subscribers. The TUP chapter with the most information about Hearables users is the TUP 2016 Devices Chapter. For a deeper dive into game-players and game consoles, TUP also covers many other consumer electronics and entertainment activities on connected devices, from game-playing to watching movies.

These MetaFAQs are brought to you by MetaFacts, based on research results from their most-recent wave of Technology User Profile (TUP).

For more information about MetaFacts and subscribing to TUP, please contact MetaFacts.