Apple Buyers Just Use Their iPhones More than Their iPads

As we think about how critical Apple devices are in our lives, we thought to compare some specific use cases between iPhone and iPad, Apple’s two leading devices. Not surprisingly, iPhone owners use their iPhones more frequently than iPad owners use their iPads, and that extends even to applications and uses that seem ideal for an iPad.

CIRP asks US iPhone and iPad buyers how often they use each device in various ways: emailing, internet access, watching video, playing games, and listening to music. For iPhone, we also ask how often a buyer uses it for calling, texting, and taking photos. For iPad, we also ask how often a buyer uses it to read books and other written material.

iPhones are used very intensely. For iPhone buyers, across almost all applications, at least 80% of consumers use the application at least daily, with over 90% texting and accessing the Internet at least daily. The exceptions are playing games, listening to music, and taking photos, but still two-thirds of consumers or more use their iPhone at least daily for those applications (Chart 1).