Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, March 30, 2023
Summary
Fun is a major pastime for most, but not all, American adults using connected devices. Whether they use a game console, gaming PC, regular computer, tablet, or mobile phone, most Americans regularly play immersive or other games.
This TUPdate briefly profiles Americans who regularly play immersive/video or other games, detailing their age, gender, employment status, presence of children, life stage, and use of game-specific devices such as a VR headset.
Americans that play games skew young
Playing games using a connected device is a regular activity by two-thirds or more of Americans under the age of 45
Connected devices include computers, mobile phones, tablets, and game consoles
Beyond age 55, playing games is done by less than half of these older adults
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Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, September 1, 2021
Purchase plans – a key indicator
Online Americans have some of the most substantial purchase plans we have seen for years. Over 7,600 American respondents reported their detailed technology purchase plans, of which almost 5,000 respondents have any plans to buy PCs, smartphones, tablets, printers, or wearables. MetaFacts gathered these results between July 29 and August 19, 2021. Note: the final TUP/Technology User Profile 2021 results are based on 13,918 respondents in the US, UK, Germany, Japan, and China.
Purchase plans for PCs are nearly equal to smartphone purchase plans and are up firmly from one year ago
47% of online Americans plan to purchase a smartphone in the coming 12 months, and the rate is similar (45% for PC purchase plans
By comparison, in TUP 2020, 41% of Americans planned to purchase a smartphone, and 36% planned to buy a PC
Desktop plans are effectively equal for tower desktops as well as all-in-one designs, although both are lagging behind gaming desktops
Laptop purchase plans slightly lead desktop plans, as buyers prefer mobile PCs (even if it means only moving the PC around their house)
Wi-Fi + Cellular laptops are now on par with plans for non-Cellular laptops
Plans for tablets are much stronger than historical levels as users continue to experiment with working from home
Almost one-third (30%) of online Americans currently have tablet purchase plans
One year ago, only 23% of online Americans planned to buy a tablet in the coming 12 months
Plans for iPads are almost double the rate for Android tablets
Plans for iPhones are roughly 50% higher than the rate for Android smartphones
Plans for Apple Watches are almost double the rate for smartwatches for Android users
Planners of note
Americans working from home have stronger purchase plans than those not working from home. Even those who only occasionally work from home have stronger than average plans.
Americans planning to purchase a tablet or wearables (such as Apple Watch) have a higher than average share already using some type of Apple product (iPhone, iPad, Mac) as their primary or secondary connected device.
Wearable purchase plans are strongest among Americans already using some type of Wearable – Apple Watch, Android Wear or other smartwatch.
Looking ahead
Purchase intentions are a leading indicator of consumer interest. However, consumers are known to be fickle and current economic conditions are still in flux.
Other resources
Clients interested in drilling down into current results or comparing to prior waves can refer to the rows “810 Plans”. These results are included in the following table sets:
By Age Group, by Age Generations, By Country, By Employment/Age, By Employer Size, by Household Size, by Employer Industry, by Children Present, and by Work from Home Status
Customized tables are analysis are available by inquiry.
About MetaFAQs
MetaFAQs are answers to frequently asked questions about technology users. The research results showcase the TUP/Technology User Profile study, MetaFacts’ survey of a representative sample of online adults profiling the full market’s use of technology products and services. The current wave of TUP is TUP/Technology User Profile 2021, which is TUP’s 39th annual.
Current subscribers may use the comprehensive TUP datasets to obtain even more results or tailor these results to fit their chosen segments, services, or products. As subscribers choose, they may use the TUP inquiry service, online interactive tools, or analysis previously published by MetaFacts.
On request, interested research professionals can receive complimentary updates through our periodic newsletter. These include MetaFAQs – brief answers to frequently asked questions about technology users – or TUPdates – analysis of current and essential technology industry topics. To subscribe, contact MetaFacts.
LENSES: Devices, PCs, Tablets, Mobile Phones, User Profile
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Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, November 17, 2020
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.
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used in a generative AI system without express written permission and licensing. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.
TUP/Technology User Profile 2020 spans a broad range of technology products and services, about the full range of users, including their activities, and all unified by a central, integrated dataset. The comprehensive research results can be viewed through a number of topical lenses, and from there, can be further customized or drilled down into.
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used in a generative AI system without express written permission and licensing. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, December 19, 2019
Smartwatch and fitness band penetration tapers to 2016 levels
The race for the wrist has settled into a larger-than-niche and less-than-majority position. Over the last three years, the share of online Americans using at least one smartwatch has grown from one in six to one in five, only to settle back to the one in six level. This is based on TUP/Technology User Profile 2019 survey of 8,060 online adults in the US, and from the prior three annual waves.
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Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, March 24, 2017
Baby steps count, as long as they’re in the right direction. Digital health promises positive outcomes for a wide range of people. However, like gym memberships and home treadmills, they don’t do much unless people use them. A first step for many is to use what’s handy. Most smartphones can track a user’s steps, and many are being used for that purpose, although use isn’t as widespread as fitness trackers or smartwatches.
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used in a generative AI system without express written permission and licensing. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, February 2, 2017
Virtual reality hasn’t reached market reality, despite decades of experimentation and overhyped false starts.
Recent investment has brought renewed attention, hope, and development to the prospects of widespread VR use. Based on our TUP 2016 US survey, only 2% of connected adults are actively using a VR headset, such as the Oculus Rift or Samsung Gear VR. This modest acceptance rate is only part of the research finding, though, as there is more that can be learned from the early adopters.
Virtual reality headset adoption is led by youngish, but not the youngest, adults. Adults age 25-39 have the highest rates of VR Headset usage.
Adults age 30-34 have the strongest usage rates – at 5%. Slightly older adults – age 35-39 – have the next-highest usage rate.
In addition to their quest for fun and convenience, these age groups are in some of the most-active life stages, with the highest levels of presence of children, full-time employment, and household income. These sociological factors correlate strongly with higher demand for home entertainment, game consoles, game-playing, and gaming desktops and notebooks.
Looking ahead, we expect this age group to continue as the strongest users of VR Headsets. While there are exciting commercial developments, from training simulations to rapid prototyping, we expect these VR applications to reach fewer employees than consumers for VR Headsets.
This is based on our most recent research among 7,336 US adults as part of the TUP/Technology User Profile 2016 survey. This MetaFAQs research result addresses one of the many questions profiling active technology users. The TUP Lens with the most information about VR Headsets, age skews, and Entertainment Activities are the TUP 2016 Wearables Lens, Consumer Electronics, and Home Entertainment Lens.
About MetaFAQs
MetaFAQs are answers to frequently asked questions about technology users. The research results showcase the TUP/Technology User Profile study, MetaFacts’ survey of a representative sample of online adults profiling the full market’s use of technology products and services. The current wave of TUP is TUP/Technology User Profile 2020, which is TUP’s 38th annual.
Current subscribers may use the comprehensive TUP datasets to obtain even more results or tailor these results to fit their chosen segments, services, or products. As subscribers choose, they may use the TUP inquiry service, online interactive tools, or analysis previously published by MetaFacts.
On request, interested research professionals can receive complimentary updates through our periodic newsletter. These include MetaFAQs – brief answers to frequently asked questions about technology users – or TUPdates – analysis of current and essential technology industry topics. To subscribe, contact MetaFacts.
Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used in a generative AI system without express written permission and licensing. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.
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Usage guidelines: This document may be freely shared within and outside your organization in its entirety and unaltered. It may not be used in a generative AI system without express written permission and licensing. To share or quote excerpts, please contact MetaFacts.