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iPhone 6 Plus Owners Use Twice as Much Data as iPhone 6 Owners

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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There's a new mobile analytics report out from Citrix [PDF] and it's filled with interesting data on mobile usage, including a tidbit that suggests iPhone 6 Plus owners use far more data than other iPhone owners.

People who own the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus consume twice as much data as people who own the smaller 4.7-inch iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus data usage is 10 times higher than data usage on the 3.5-inch iPhone 3GS. That last statistic isn't surprising -- along with a small screen, the iPhone 3GS is much slower with hardware that's almost six years old.

iphone6data.jpg
Citrix suggests that the higher iPhone 6 Plus data usage is due to its users treating it like a tablet, consuming more media like streaming movies on the device.
iPhone 6 Plus subscribers generate the most data volume, double that of an iPhone 6. This increase impacts subscribers when choosing a new device -- be careful to select a data plan that matches your super-sized screen.

Clearly the phablet sized iPhone 6 Plus shows data usage patterns more akin to tablet usage. For mobile operators, this increase provides an opportunity to shift subscriber Wi-Fi usage towards mobile networks.
Click to expand...
Other details covering all smartphone usage (not just iOS) suggest that interest in mobile health apps is on the rise, with 78 percent of mobile health app users using fitness apps. Sports video watching on mobile devices is up from 21% in Q3 2014 to 50% in Q1 2015.

The report also has an enterprise section, which confirms that iOS is still the dominant mobile platform. iOS devices are responsible for 64 percent of devices managed in the enterprise, compared to 27 percent for Android and 9 percent for Windows Mobile.

Article Link: iPhone 6 Plus Owners Use Twice as Much Data as iPhone 6 Owners
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/02/11/iphone-6-plus-data-usage/
Used 60GB of data during my last billing period. Streaming video is certainly more enjoyable with a larger screen (versus a 5/5s).
 
I call bullocks. I've consistently used the same amount of data (3-4 GB a month) on my 6+ as I have with my iPhone 5 (4, 3G, and 2G as well). I can't be in the minority on this one either.
 
That represents my usage increase from the iPhone 5S. But it wasn't the screen size alone. My usage went up by getting a unlimited plan when I switched from AT&T to T-Mobile. Downloads speeds are faster too.
 
BeSweeet said:
Used 60GB of data during my last billing period. Streaming video is certainly more enjoyable with a larger screen (versus a 5/5s).
Click to expand...

60GB... how?

Mobile streams usually use less bandwidth than regular ones. I suppose video uses more data than I thought lol
 
I would be interested in seeing how this would look if you could combine with an iPad. What I mean is I use my 6 primarily as a phone as sometimes as a "game boy". For everything else I use an iPad. So this graph could represent that iPhone 6+ users don't have iPads. That would be interesting in the sense that it may indicate the 6+ is cannibalizing the iPad.

It could also mean that we have one use case of 6+ only, versus another use case of 6 + iPad (this would be me). I guess another use case would be 6/+ + Mac Air.
 
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cause and effect

It may be that heavy data users are more likely to want a larger iPhone. In other words, they're not using more data because they have a larger phone, they're buying a larger phone because they use more data (watching videos, etc.).
 
here in Germany people are jealous at me for having 1,3GB a month before I get throttled to 64kbs. most people still only have around 500 MB and some start to be throttled to 32kbs now cuz apparently 64kbs still worked too well for the providers liking
 
I love my my iphone 6 plus . I hardly use my iPad anymore . I have movie box installed on my phone , I'm sure I use a lot of my data running that app. Movies and tv shows in my finger tips , yes .....! #
 
stewy said:
60GB? Is that all mobile data or some wifi? What kind of plan do you have?
Click to expand...

All mobile data. Unlimited.

bushido said:
here in Germany people are jealous at me for having 1,3GB a month before I get throttled to 64kbs. most people still only have around 500 MB and some start to be throttled to 32kbs now cuz apparently 64kbs still worked too well for the providers liking
Click to expand...

32Kbps? Wow... Back to the dial-up days.
 
This rings true for me; the screen is so much more readable I don't reach for the iPad anywhere near as much. I just stay on the 6 plus.

In this I am sure I am not unusual.
 
Who created the image? - Doesn't look particularly accurate. Not that it's a big deal, but when you make a point of comparing 2 together... :rolleyes:
 
kemal said:
I love positive correlations!
Click to expand...
EricMR said:
It may be that heavy data users are more likely to want a larger iPhone. In other words, they're not using more data because they have a larger phone, they're buying a larger phone because they use more data (watching videos, etc.).
Click to expand...

I was just going to say the same thing. Correlation does not imply causation. They just found an easy way to separate out people who may have already been more likely to use more data.
 
BornAgainMac said:
That represents my usage increase from the iPhone 5S. But it wasn't the screen size alone. My usage went up by getting a unlimited plan when I switched from AT&T to T-Mobile. Downloads speeds are faster too.
Click to expand...

Where on earth are you getting faster download speeds than AT&T on T-Mobile?:eek:
 
bushido said:
here in Germany people are jealous at me for having 1,3GB a month before I get throttled to 64kbs. most people still only have around 500 MB and some start to be throttled to 32kbs now cuz apparently 64kbs still worked too well for the providers liking
Click to expand...

Canada here... Just got my first 2GB plan. I've only ever had a 1GB plan until now, 2GB feels luxurious!
 
eh, I've noticed that I haven't touch my iPad in a while instead reaching for my 6+ instead when browsing the web in bed/watching tv.
So i guess the data i was using on my iPad is now on my 6+
 
I find this extremely odd, which isn't to say I couldn't come up with a list of reasons that it might be true now that I know it is. It's just something I wouldn't have suspected prior to reading the article.
 
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I wouldn't attribute it to just the device.

I upgraded from a 5S to 6 Plus but at the same time I upgraded from a 10GB data plan to the 30GB promo plan AT&T offered.

The reason I did that was because I used 8-9GB a month and left around 1GB a month for my wife and had to rely on work or public wifi towards the end of the month and made other decisions to limit my data usage to make it last the month.

Now I don't have to hold back. So I went from using 8-9GB of data on a 5S to using 17-19GB a month on a 6 Plus but the phone had nothing to do with it.
 
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