What do people want from a new smartphone? More than camera quality, processor speed or brand name, what they really want is long battery life, according to a new survey.



When asked about the importance of features, 89% cited battery life as "important", with only 11% citing it as "neutral" or "not important", according to an online panel of 1,000 Britons surveyed by research company GMI.

Brand name was next, at 68% (with 26% rating brand as "neutral"), followed by processor speed, at 67% (with 25% neutral).

The survey revealed that peoples' concerns over battery life means that half of them turn off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or GPS location services when they're not needed. Turning down screen brightness - one of the most effective methods of preserving battery power - was used by 40%.

Although all those surveyed had a smartphone, only 5% carried a spare battery, and 4% had a case with a spare battery built in. Half of users charged their phone once a day; 10% charged it more than once a day. A third charged it every two to three days.

Such tactics meant that 60% didn't run out of power ever - or only had such problems at most once a fortnight. But they tended to be older users; among the 18-24 group, 29% said that they ran out of power at least once a day while needing to do something, and then had to recharge their phones.

Features voted 'important', 'neutral' and 'not important' by British users in GMI's survey, April 2014. Panel size: 1,000. Photograph: /PR/GMI Photograph: PR/GMI

Gender split for desired smartphone features from survey of 1,000 Britons by GMI, April 2014. Photograph: /PR/GMI Photograph: PR/GMI

The findings tally with a survey of 50,000 smartphone users carried out by the research company IDC earlier in May, which also found battery life at the top of purchase decisions across all the smartphone platforms.

IDC survey finds "Top 10 Smartphone Purchase Drivers" (Source: IDC's ConsumerScape 360) (by IDC Michael DeHart) pic.twitter.com/AS2VjrEF2x — Francisco Jeronimo (@fjeronimo) May 12, 2014

The IDC survey also found camera resolution - which some companies have touted as a selling point - was low in the preferences of smartphone buyers, rating 7th for Android and Windows Phone buyers, and 10th for iPhone buyers.

While battery life amounted almost to an obsession, other features that have been touted by some handset makers were far less popular. The least-wanted features were touchless payment technology - which only 20% thought "important", and 53% thought "not important" - and 4G capability, which only 36% thought important, against 31% who didn't.

Other features that ranked well were having a large screen - 60% thought it important, against 9% who called it "not important" - and having an operating system that links easily with the buyer's other devices, which was important to 57%, while 15% didn't.

Screen size was ranked 5th most important in the GMI survey; in IDC's survey it was equal 2nd in importance to Android buyers, equal 6th most important to iPhone buyers, and 4th most important to Windows Phone buyers

Gender difference

There were some notable differences between genders: although both picked battery life as the most important element, women ranked brand name ahead of camera quality and processor speed.

But men thought processor speed was more important than brand, which in turn they picked that ahead of camera quality.

The GMI survey also suggested that battery life was a factor in previous purchases: 71% said that it had been an important consideration in their purchase of their existing phone. Perhaps surprisingly, it was least important to those aged 18-24 (cited by 63%) - yet most important to those in the next age group (25-34).

But the experience of running out of power clearly left its mark. Only 10% said that they would not research the battery life of their next phone - against 64% who said they would.

Ralph Risk, marketing director for GMI in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, commented: “The fact that a long-lasting battery is the leading criteria when buying a new phone may come as a surprise. Whilst consumers are still concerned about getting the basics right, innovative features and ground-breaking apps still help to differentiate the products in a very competitive market.”



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