Smartphone attributes that matter most to people while buying a phone: 91mobiles Buyer Insights Survey 2022

Continuing our in-depth look at this year’s Smartphone Buyers Insights Survey, we now take a look at smartphone attributes that matter most to people while buying a new handset. Last week, we took a look at smartphone ownership trends which indicate that Apple is looking to pip Samsung as the most preferred brand going forward, as per survey data. Also, people seem to be upgrading to a new phone more frequently now simply to upgrade to something newer and better. We now talk about the specific attributes of phones that matter most to people when deciding on a new phone, based on the insights from the survey data.

Performance matters most while buying a new smartphone

• It seems people care a lot about performance and speed when it comes to deciding on a new phone. Around 43 percent of our survey participants consider performance over other attributes.
• The camera is the next most important factor when buying a new phone. Around 1 in 5 people look for a good camera when buying a device.
• The brand name is almost equally important for people when purchasing a new phone. No wonder Samsung and Apple, which are legacy brands, are leading the race in terms of brand preference.
• Interestingly, the display is not the most important aspect for people when buying a phone, despite advancements in screen technology such as high refresh rates, touch sampling, and AMOLED panels.

• Data shows that 45 percent of the men care about performance or speed when buying a phone, compared to 31 percent of women.
• On the other hand, more women prefer the camera when buying a phone compared to men.

What is it about performance?

• There are several factors that can potentially impact the performance of a smartphone, especially from the point of view of prospective buyers, such as chipset brand, RAM capacity, and processor clock speed, among other things.
• Roughly 1 in 3 people care about RAM capacity over processor brand when buying a smartphone. This makes sense considering processors, even budget ones, have gotten pretty good over the years to the point that differentiating the good from the bad is getting difficult now. Meanwhile, most phones with 6GB or 8GB RAM tend to offer a smooth and dependable day-to-day performance.
• A sizeable number of people do still look at processor brand and clock speed when purchasing a phone. These people know exactly what they are looking for from their smartphone, be it gaming or for intensive usage.
• It seems that benchmark sites like AnTuTu and Geekbench do very little to influence smartphone buyers as only around 5 percent refer to benchmark scores when making a decision.

How do people evaluate a phone’s camera capability?

• When it comes to a smartphone’s camera, most people look at the resolution. Higher the megapixel count, the more likely that the phone’s camera looks attractive to the buyer.
• A smartphone camera’s video capabilities are almost as important to people as the resolution. Whether a camera can record in 4K, slow motion, etc. are factors when choosing a new smartphone.

Upcoming devices people are most excited about

• In the flagship space, most people are excited to see the new iPhone 14 series, which is expected to be unveiled in September 2022. People are also excited for the OnePlus 10 Ultra.
• In the budget / mid-range segment, the Redmi Note 12 Pro tops the list as the device people are most looking forward to seeing. The OnePlus Nord 3 is second on the list.

To sum up, it looks like performance tops the list of attributes that matter most to people when buying a phone. RAM capacity, in particular, is what consumers are looking at when buying a performance-centric smartphone. Meanwhile, people are most excited to see the iPhone 14 series and Redmi Note 12 Pro in India in 2022.