US iPhone owners hazy on 5G compatibility, iPhone features claims survey
The iPhone 7 and iPhone XR are the hardest models to identify on the market, a survey examining the knowledge of smartphone owners in the United States suggests, with many also believing their iPhones are also compatible with just-launched 5G mobile networks.
When asked to identify their owned smartphone model by image, only 44% of iPhone XR and iPhone 7 owners could spot the correct photograph. The percentage of correct answers rises for the iPhone 8 with 45.9% and then 51% and 57.64% for the iPhone X and iPhone XS respectively, but this is far behind the Samsung Galaxy S9+, which achieved 71.32% and was the most correctly identified in the test.
In terms of features, only 14% of owners of the iPhone XR, XS, and X knew the models had NFC capabilities, the survey by Decluttr claims. For water resistance, just over half of those same owners knew there was some level of liquid protection built into their iPhones.
While the carriers are continuing to market their upcoming 5G mobile networks to consumers, as well as slowly rolling it out across the United States, there is some confusion as to whether they could use the technology. A third of survey respondents believed they owned a 5G device, despite the relative scarcity of models that support it.
Approximately 62% of people who claimed they owned a 5G-compatible device believed they also saw improvements to their mobile service while on a 5G network.
On a per-brand basis, Samsung owners were more likely to believe they had a 5G device than iPhone owners. Per carrier, AT&T had the most iPhone users who thought they were 5G-ready, with 47% of users believing so, followed by 35% on Sprint, 34% on T-Mobile, and 24% on Verizon.
Chart showing iPhone owner percentages who believe they are 5G-ready (via Decluttr)
In reality, there are no 5G-capable iPhones on the market at this moment in time. Analysts have suggested Apple may not even bring out a 5G iPhone in 2019, with 2020 likely to be the earliest such a model could hit the market.
The most common reason for a person to upgrade their mobile device is because their last one was broken, with 31% of the 2,000 US-based survey participants giving that answer. The need to get a faster mobile device is a close second, with 26%, seemingly suggesting that consumers are more willing to extend their device's lifespan than to pay out for better, newer models.
Approximately 43% of respondents also spent $500 or more on their upgrade, with 86% feeling the price was "worth it." On the question of refurbished devices, 60% thought they could save up to $399 by buying a refurbished model over a new version, but only 6% admitted to owning such a device, though 51% suggest they will consider such a purchase in the future.
When asked to identify their owned smartphone model by image, only 44% of iPhone XR and iPhone 7 owners could spot the correct photograph. The percentage of correct answers rises for the iPhone 8 with 45.9% and then 51% and 57.64% for the iPhone X and iPhone XS respectively, but this is far behind the Samsung Galaxy S9+, which achieved 71.32% and was the most correctly identified in the test.
In terms of features, only 14% of owners of the iPhone XR, XS, and X knew the models had NFC capabilities, the survey by Decluttr claims. For water resistance, just over half of those same owners knew there was some level of liquid protection built into their iPhones.
While the carriers are continuing to market their upcoming 5G mobile networks to consumers, as well as slowly rolling it out across the United States, there is some confusion as to whether they could use the technology. A third of survey respondents believed they owned a 5G device, despite the relative scarcity of models that support it.
Approximately 62% of people who claimed they owned a 5G-compatible device believed they also saw improvements to their mobile service while on a 5G network.
On a per-brand basis, Samsung owners were more likely to believe they had a 5G device than iPhone owners. Per carrier, AT&T had the most iPhone users who thought they were 5G-ready, with 47% of users believing so, followed by 35% on Sprint, 34% on T-Mobile, and 24% on Verizon.
Chart showing iPhone owner percentages who believe they are 5G-ready (via Decluttr)
In reality, there are no 5G-capable iPhones on the market at this moment in time. Analysts have suggested Apple may not even bring out a 5G iPhone in 2019, with 2020 likely to be the earliest such a model could hit the market.
The most common reason for a person to upgrade their mobile device is because their last one was broken, with 31% of the 2,000 US-based survey participants giving that answer. The need to get a faster mobile device is a close second, with 26%, seemingly suggesting that consumers are more willing to extend their device's lifespan than to pay out for better, newer models.
Approximately 43% of respondents also spent $500 or more on their upgrade, with 86% feeling the price was "worth it." On the question of refurbished devices, 60% thought they could save up to $399 by buying a refurbished model over a new version, but only 6% admitted to owning such a device, though 51% suggest they will consider such a purchase in the future.
Comments
% of how how many people asked? 12?
Maybe this will cause Apple to adopt 5G pre-maturely.
In Memphis, TN...
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, - I Believe!!
Truth is, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t exist in enough places yet for enough people. It won’t for a while.
And then we will still complain about speeds and coverage and data limits, etc. Apps and websites and downloads will embiggen and nothing will seem to change.
Stupid AT&T users...
Now we’ll have to put up with more of that crap in the future...
I agree it's a dumb idea and never said Apple would do this.
But if you've been to carriers their employees are only there to push sales. According to this chart many iPhone users think their iPhone is 5G compatible. If an iPhone user asks for 5G at their carrier, the employee may recommend a Sammy for compatibility. If this causes enough switchers than I can see Apple including 5G in the next iPhone to clear confusion and keep people from switching.
It's a dumb idea but keeping customers is more important.
5G is actually not something most people will want until those factors change.
https://www.gaia.com/article/5g-health-risks-the-war-between-technology-and-human-beings and http://themillenniumreport.com/2018/01/5g-the-most-dangerous-technological-development-of-the-millennium/
The comment above is my usage, others may vary.
Only real harm that 5G will provide is the effect it might have on weather radars. And if those don’t bother you why should 5G?
when the wavelength of radiation in longer than bonds between molecules or electron from nucleus it is not thought to be harmful. Yes you can cook a sausage with IR light and blind yourself with a laser. But staring at a lightbulb can blind you too...
In a very few select spots in every big city where there is plenty of clear line of sight, you will get “microwave“ 5G. This is the one that you always hear about, even though it will always be the rarest form of ”5G.” Speeds up the 10 times faster than LTE’s maximum are possible with this form of “5G,“ but again it has severe limitations in terms of coverage, and the carriers are planning on using consumer confusion about the two different types of “5G“ to raise prices.
Bottom line: if you don’t live near the select and small “hotspots“ in a major city, all you were going to get out of “5G“ is a higher bill and perhaps a barely-noticeable increase in your average speed, along with a very-noticeable increase in your bill.
First they broke with Qualcomm
Then Intel failed them
Huawei modems were effectively blocked
Now they surrendered and went back to Qualcomm and are in catch-up mode.