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Digital Consumer Trends Survey: Smartphones are more popular than ever before

28. December 2022 Published by Raphael Doerr

Are consumers ready for sustainable consumer hardware like smartphones? What potential does advertising-based video streaming offer? Is interest in 5G growing? Who’s playing which games, and who’s even paying for them? And what’ about the willingness to spend on hardware, media subscriptions and telecommunications services? The new Deloitte study provides answers to these and other questions. In this year’s “Digital Consumer Trends Survey”, Deloitte surveyed 2,000 consumers in Germany and around 38,000 consumers worldwide.

The winner takes it all

It comes as no great surprise that the smartphone managed to defend its top spot in the hardware field among the most popular devices. 92 percent of the respondents own one, which is is roughly the same as in the previous year. With quite a gap, laptops (76 percent) and tablets (58 percent) then follow in second and third place.

Practical beats sustainable

92 percent of the respondents aged 18 and above own a smartphone. Almost all of them use it daily. The smartphone, therefore, is and remains the most important device for digital consumers in Germany. However, sustainability aspects still barely play a role when buying a new smartphone. The majority of consumers tend to be driven by practical criteria when buying a smartphone. The basic prerequisite for unspoiled fun in front of the display is strong staying power. That’s why the battery runtime is the most important criterion for four to ten respondents when it comes to buying a new smartphones – well ahead of ease of use (27 percent) and camera quality (26 percent). Sustainability, on the other hand, is not a priority when buying a smartphone: Only 12 percent are interested in the expected lifespan of a device. The carbon footprint and ease of repair are the deciding factors in the purchasing decision for just five percent and three percent respectively. Just two percent are bothered about the use of recycled materials. And the expected lifespan of a smartphone is only an important selection criterion for 12 percent of the respondents.

Long battery life and replaceable battery

It’s also worth taking a look at the battery for the brand new Gigaset GX6: With average use it lasts at least two days, and even a lot longer than that in standby mode. The new 5,000 mAh replaceable battery has real stamina, for listening to up to 55 hours of music or watching up to 15 hours worth of videos. And if the powerful battery does finally reach its limit, it can be replaced on the go. Additional batteries are available in the Gigaset online shop. The battery also shows its strength when recharging: The GX6 supports fast wireless charging with up to 15 W and super fast charging up to 30 W. And the Gigaset battery life and technology increase the battery runtime by up to 50%, with a preset charging limit of 90%. That’s both sustainable and ensures a longer service life.

Consumer 5G with room for improvement

24 percent of the respondents use a 5G smartphone with matching tariff. Just under half of them, however, say that they barely have 5G network coverage.

At the same time, more than a third of 5G users notice no improvement in performance compared to 4G networks.

Just under three years after the release of the high-speed mobile network, 5G still hasn’t really caught on with consumers: Although just under a quarter of the respondents have a 5G-capable smartphone complete with matching tariff, just under 50 percent of the 5G users report a lack of network coverage for their smartphones, and more than a third can’t tell any difference in performance compared to 4G either. In total, just under half of all the survey respondents are so far indifferent or feel insufficiently informed about the latest mobile generation. “Even when there is currently still reluctance on the consumer side, the migration to smartphones with the 5G standard has picked up speed and will continue at a rapid pace,” says Tim Bottke in closing. “It’s up to manufacturers and network operators to make up for the current high lack of information and demonstrate the capability of 5G infrastructures with appropriate use cases.”

The conclusion of the Deloitte experts: Despite uncertain times and rising prices, consumers in Germany say they would increase rather than reduce how much they spend on devices, media and telecommunications services. Hardware, in particular, remains in demand, with 36 percent planning to spend more on it. According to the feedback, no drop in sales is expected in the other market segments either.