Other Can anyone define what a "Power User" means?

[Ralfi]

You see this term thrown around, often as a way to describe someone who uses a smartphone in a specific way.

But what exactly does it refer to - Duration of phone use in a day? The type of Apps used (work v play)? The battery usage of the Apps used? How advanced certain Apps are that they almost blur the lines of smartphone/laptop functionality? Or something else?

Also noticed people mention specific brands of smartphone as being inappropriate for "Power Users". I would've thought many of today's mid/high-end smartphones would suit users who fit my assumptions of what a Power User is?

For eg. I use mine as a work phone most days; calls, messages, photos, reminders, email, setting up meetings in calendar, reading Word/Excel/PDF files, music (whilst working!) etc. & a communication/media consumption device at other times. It handles both uses very well, during the many hours of the day I use it, so does that make me a Power User or not?

Why do you/don't you consider yourself a Power User?

 

[keysofanxiety]

There are three definitions. It depends which camp you’re in.

1) Somebody who uses their machine for their professional work/career.

This can be confusing because even if you’re just using Excel, you’re “better” than the struggling editor using FCPX — simply because you’re making money and they’re not.

2) Somebody who uses their device for resource-intensive work over long periods.

Personally this is the closest definition, though there’ll be some that argue they’re a Power User because their third Chrome tab is chewing through 47GB of RAM.

3) The MacRumors comment section’s definition.

A Power User is somebody who, at all times, requires a modular upgradeable device. If it’s not upgradable, it’s a Fisher Price machine, regardless of its specs.

If it’s a phone or a tablet which otherwise won’t accept a block of RAM, the Power User will need access to the innards of the operating system, as the Power User frequently prefers to manually recompile the kernel on the fly if they want a feature to work differently.

The Power User is also 100% of its userbase.

 

[redheeler]

A power user is someone with a workflow that utilizes more computational resources than the average user. That's the simplest definition I can think of.

I am not an iPhone power user. I use a Mac when necessary for more demanding tasks, and the iPhone mainly for music or mobile web browsing / YouTube playback or a mobile hotspot for the iPad. None of these tasks require a large amount of computational resources, as even the YouTube playback is no problem for an older SOC like the A7.

The only resource I could use more of on my iPhone 6s Plus is storage. But I'm hesitant to call someone a power user based on storage needs alone, as that usually means most of the data is not getting accessed during the user's workflow.

1) Somebody who uses their machine for their professional work/career.

Professional user and power user aren't interchangeable in all situations.

 

[corriewf]

Ok but only if you explain to me first what a power bottom is.

 

[tonybarnaby]

A power user to me is someone who will go from 100-0 before the end of their day in most cases. Doesn’t matter if it’s cause they are sending tons of work emails or playing Pokémon go. A power user basically goes through a bunch of battery in a day and needs all the juice they can get.

If apple offered a battery case for their plus phones, the iPhone 7+ and 8+ would be legit power user phones. As it is now, if you go thru a ton of battery per day and don’t want to be attached to a portable battery, you need to buy an android.

There are battery cases for the iPhone plus, but none of them are Apple brand. A lot of people who buy Apple only want Apple accessories, which I completely understand.

The best power user phone I’ve ever had was the original Moto Z Play. It’s already known as a battery beast, but add in the incipio 2200mah battery case and it will get any power user thru the day. I paid $399 for the phone brand new and $80 for the battery case. For just under $500 I had stock android and a phone that wouldn’t die in a single day regardless of what I did. The camera was hot garbage, but it didn’t matter.

The plus series iPhones would easily be the best power user phone of all time if they had an extra 1000mah or had an official apple battery case.

 

[Macshroomer]

A power user is merely a self appointed label of tech superiority born purely from Internet forums, it’s not a real thing.

If there is one thing I have learned in using Apple products in my work since 1992, it is that use cases of technology vary greatly and that even day to day use of hardware and software can also vary greatly.

If you have not noticed, the term power user is most often associated with a person posting about a lack of or omission of a feature or access in that they like to place the blame on Apple pandering to the lowest level of consumer customer base instead of their vaulted power user needs.

The term power user is pretty much web born BS.

 

[tonybarnaby]

A power user is merely a self appointed label of tech superiority born purely from Internet forums, it’s not a real thing.

If there is one thing I have learned in using Apple products in my work since 1992, it is that use cases of technology vary greatly and that even day to day use of hardware and software can also vary greatly.

If you have not noticed, the term power user is most often associated with a person posting about a lack of or omission of a feature or access in that they like to place the blame on Apple pandering to the lowest level of consumer customer base instead of their vaulted power user needs.

The term power user is pretty much web born BS.

If you say so.

 

[FFR]

You see this term thrown around, often as a way to describe someone who uses a smartphone in a specific way.

But what exactly does it refer to - Duration of phone use in a day? The type of Apps used (work v play)? The battery usage of the Apps used? How advanced certain Apps are that they almost blur the lines of smartphone/laptop functionality? Or something else?

Also noticed people mention specific brands of smartphone as being inappropriate for "Power Users". I would've thought many of today's mid/high-end smartphones would suit users who fit my assumptions of what a Power User is?

For eg. I use mine as a work phone most days; calls, messages, photos, reminders, email, setting up meetings in calendar, reading Word/Excel/PDF files, music (whilst working!) etc. & a communication/media consumption device at other times. It handles both uses very well, during the many hours of the day I use it, so does that make me a Power User or not?

Why do you/don't you consider yourself a Power User?

Great post I honestly have no idea.

From what I can ascertain form another thread:

It’s a user who watches youtube while surfing macrumors, replies to messages, and tweets.
Oh and they use screenshot scrolling.


If that’s the definition of a Poweruser I’m certainly not one.

 

[kasakka]

I would define a power user as someone who uses a lot of the features of the device and has specific demands on what it can do. Often a power user appreciates having lots of features and customizable options to tailor the experience to their workflows.

I would consider myself a power user of my MBP as I run virtual machines and a lot of different software all day at work so a lesser laptop would not do. I am not a power user when it comes to mobile devices.

 

[Ralfi]

A power user is merely a self appointed label of tech superiority born purely from Internet forums, it’s not a real thing.

If there is one thing I have learned in using Apple products in my work since 1992, it is that use cases of technology vary greatly and that even day to day use of hardware and software can also vary greatly.

If you have not noticed, the term power user is most often associated with a person posting about a lack of or omission of a feature or access in that they like to place the blame on Apple pandering to the lowest level of consumer customer base instead of their vaulted power user needs.

The term power user is pretty much web born BS.

LOL.

 

[tonybarnaby]

Power user is someone who uses a lot of power. Pretty much any Pokémon go player (not me) is a power user.

 

[mib1800]

Power user is not an iPhone user? :lol:

.... please don't shoot me.