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New iPhone doubles data consumption: study

N

NoHo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 2, 2011
303
5
I never understood how people so easily gave up their unlimited data plans simply because they didn't use 2GB of data AT THE TIME.

Just because you didn't use 2GB then doesn't mean you wouldn't in the future. The technology on these mobile devices are moving so quickly. Data consumption is getting larger and larger just from one single generation of device to the next. And with cloud storage looking to become the norm and all media becoming digital, it's only going to keep growing. Imagine the apps we're going to have at our disposal in the future.

Mobile broadband companies were smart and did what the home broadband companies should have done a long time ago. Don't let your customers get used to using the internet however much they want. Make them be aware of how much they use it so they can save bandwidth and also charge more for capped internet. It allows them to be in control of what their customers do with their devices they pay for, not the consumer.

If you're on an unlimited plan, I'd advise to keep it as long as you can. It's worth it for the peace of mind. And if you already have it and they try to take it away, cause a fuss. Don't just give it up so easily the way so many already did. Make it hard for them to take it away so other people who may not realize how important unlimited data will be in the future can finally understand.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/06/us-mobile-data-idUSTRE80500Q20120106

(Reuters) - Apple's new iPhone 4S consumes on average twice as much data as the previous iPhone model and even more than iPad tablets due to increasing use of online services like the virtual personal assistant Siri, an industry study showed.

When Apple rolled out the iPhone 4S in October, its small improvements disappointed many analysts and reviewers, but consumer demand for the device has been strong, and buyers have extensively used their devices.

IPhone 4S users transfer on average three times more data than users of the older iPhone 3G model which was used as the benchmark in a study by telecom network technology firm Arieso.

Data usage of the previous model, the iPhone 4, was only 1.6 times higher than the iPhone 3G, while iPad2 tablets consumed 2.5 times more data than the iPhone 3G, the study showed.

Today's generation of smartphones is placing increasing demands on available carrier bandwidth as applications become slicker and average personal usage of videos intensifies.

That sharp rise in data consumption puts more pressure on wireless operators to speed up capacity investments, as they are struggling already with clogged telecom networks to keep up with growing demand for data services on the go.

A smartphone's consumption of data depends upon what the user asks it to do.

The iPhone 4S is perceived by some as a data hog because of Siri, a well-reviewed virtual personal-assistant and search app. It is integrated into the iPhone 4S and responds to voice commands.

"I use the iPhone 4 myself and when I first heard of the iPhone 4S features I was not compelled to rush out and get one. However, the data usage numbers I am seeing make me wonder what I am missing," said Arieso's chief technology officer, Michael Flanagan.

He said as tablets use smartphone-like user interfaces and software platforms, their data usage was similar to top-end smartphones.

"A tablet still looks like a big smartphone," he said.

Mobile data usage has skyrocketed since the introduction of Apple's original iPhone in 2007, with usage of data networks seen roughly doubling each year. Emerging mobile cloud services such as Siri are expected to further boost growth.

Wireless operators are keen on raising revenue from Internet browsing and the social networking boom as revenue from traditional voice calls declines, but they are facing increasingly congested networks.

Fearful of losing customers, only a few operators have publicly admitted to the problem of keeping pace with data traffic, but the majority are experiencing difficulties.

"There is no silver bullet," Flanagan said, adding that the introduction of new, more efficient LTE networks will help. But he said operators should also identify heavy users of data and distribute small cellsites to them to offload traffic from mobile networks.

New, so-called small cell technologies enable operators to use tiny, almost personal base stations which cost around $100 to remove mobile data traffic from the big base stations which serve hundreds or thousands of clients around them.

Telecoms gear makers Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks and Alcatel-Lucent -- which have had to battle aggressive pricing by Asian rivals -- hope rising data traffic will lead to new orders.
Click to expand...
 
it was the extra 15.00 a month it cost me. by having only to pay 15.00 a month over the 30.00 I could get my blind wife a iPhone too for no more extra monthly cost.
 
steve knight said:
it was the extra 15.00 a month it cost me. by having only to pay 15.00 a month over the 30.00 I could get my blind wife a iPhone too for no more extra monthly cost.
Click to expand...

That's probably because you're on the 200MB plan. Not the 2GB plan. Unlimited was $30 and 2GB was $25. 200MB I believe was only $15. If saving money is what you're after and 200MB lasts you without going over, you could probably save a lot more money by going to a non-smart phone if you're just texting and checking email. If you're only using the smart phone on WiFi, get an iPod touch. There's no monthly fee there and it looks just as cool as an iPhone. Put it in a case and nobody will even know the difference.

A 200MB plan montly iPhone user is probably the wireless companies favorite customers.
 
I was saying this over a year ago, when the iPhone 4 first came out. The carrIers dropped unlimited plans for a reason: they KNEW what was coming, and that continuing to offer unlimited data would've meant massive data consumption increases, unchecked.

I also think though, that the study assumes the worst case scenario: the iPhone is always on cellular for data, Never for wifi. In such a case, definitely the 4S uses way more data. But if you have wifi at home, that should cut down dramatically on cell data usage. Even Morelos if you have wifi you can access at work, too.

I have both and found that my data usage on AT&T hasn't changed much between my 4 and 4S.
 
NoHo said:
That's probably because you're on the 200MB plan. Not the 2GB plan. Unlimited was $30 and 2GB was $25. 200MB I believe was only $15. If saving money is what you're after and 200MB lasts you without going over, you could probably save a lot more money by going to a non-smart phone if you're just texting and checking email. If you're only using the smart phone on WiFi, get an iPod touch. There's no monthly fee there and it looks just as cool as an iPhone. Put it in a case and nobody will even know the difference.

A 200MB plan montly iPhone user is probably the wireless companies favorite customers.
Click to expand...

I think you misread -- he HAD the unlimited by for the same price could get two $15 plans.

I didn't give mine up until last spring - I gave it up because I went with the 4G tethering plan.

JJ
 
NoHo said:
That's probably because you're on the 200MB plan. Not the 2GB plan. Unlimited was $30 and 2GB was $25. 200MB I believe was only $15. If saving money is what you're after and 200MB lasts you without going over, you could probably save a lot more money by going to a non-smart phone if you're just texting and checking email. If you're only using the smart phone on WiFi, get an iPod touch. There's no monthly fee there and it looks just as cool as an iPhone. Put it in a case and nobody will even know the difference.

A 200MB plan montly iPhone user is probably the wireless companies favorite customers.
Click to expand...

So I pay $15 a month convenience fee and don't have to carry around two phones. I am also able to check my mail almot as often as I want that month off of wifi safely. Or, if I want to use google voice for texting over data as it uses a miniscule amount of data in the end. All the while, if I go on a trip, I can bump up the data plan to 2GB and have data on the go.

My point? It doesn't have to be more expensive than said iPod touch and a dumb phone. It's all in how you look at it and how you use what you have.
 
I use close to 200 megs a month. it gets close with the 4s. but most months I never used 2 gigs let alone more so I was just wasting money. My wife is so happy to have a phone that talks to her it is worth it.
 
i have been keeping tabs (graph) of my usage of my android phone for the last year. I am now curious to see what it says my consumption is with my iPhone 4s. I wonder if the numbers will go up?!?!
 
It's definitely higher. But I wouldn't say "doubles" in my case. I have the 4GB tethering plan. And I averaged about 250mb with the Iphone 4 and I average about 350mb now with the 4S.
 
I generally use a few hundred MB a month so I have no need for it. With 16 days left on my cycle, I've only used 55 MB. That's even with iOS 5.

I think the 2GB plan is the soft spot for most people.
 
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Siri probably doesn't contribute squat to that compared to iCloud and the ability to download apps and music up to 20GB in size. I used about half of my 2GB of data in one week because I got a little careless with iTunes Match. Thankfully Verizon does a good job of sending you notices when you hit certain thresholds. I just made sure to not download much over 3G for the rest of the month and I was fine.
 
steve knight said:
I use close to 200 megs a month. it gets close with the 4s. but most months I never used 2 gigs let alone more so I was just wasting money. My wife is so happy to have a phone that talks to her it is worth it.
Click to expand...

Just wanted to say this made me smile. :)

Heif
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

I'll keep my unlimited for as long as I can. We will need it in the future.
 
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