Correlation does not equate to causation .. at least that’s what my statistics lecturer at university taught me. When I saw some device usage stats come across in my email, I was immediately skeptical.
In this case, is it the larger screens driving more internet use, as contended, or is it more a case that, on average, larger screen phones are more and more prevalent, and thus they represent more usage than less common, smaller phones?
The short answer is – who cares, right? This information shows us something which we intuitively know, but it’s an interesting tidbit regardless. There’s a significant difference in average data user per day between smaller devices (347mb) vs larger (840mb), though the minutes used per day – across all sizes – varies only within 80 minutes or so, and the daily sessions within 50 sessions across the range.
The one thing I can draw from this is that larger phones are being used to consume streaming content – e.g. videos, movies, etc – moreso than the smaller screen Androids.
This information came to us courtesy of Strategy Analytics’ mobile research panel called AppOptix, and it’s a neat little insight into how screen size drives (or may vary alongside) data usage. If you’ve got a larger screen device, chances are you use it more. Stunning, right?
Do we know what screen size measurement they are using to determine if a phone is smaller or larger? For example, perhaps 5 inches would be the upper limit of smaller.
I can see at least 2 reasons why this may also be the case. Data is getting cheaper in general but those with larger screens are also likely to be more expensive phones and so on higher plans which have more data and so more is used. They may also be at a size deemed big enough to be used as a second screen instead of using a tablet or laptop.
Interesting point re the larger phones being more likely to be on a higher end plan.
Well some people must be stunned, like all those that say small phones are better. For me the larger the screen the more I use and enjoy it.
Agreed. The larger a phone’s display the more inclined I am to use it, because it’s easier for my giant hands haha.