The life cycle of smartphones in Poland is clearly getting longer. Already 35% of Poles use their smartphones for more than two years – according to the Smart Barometer study developed by IQS for bolttech. At the same time, however, a large number of people would like to replace smartphones more often, even every year. Therefore, the direction of market development may be flexible usage models, such as rental.
Almost three-quarters of smartphone users (73%) use one device every day, 28% use two or more. The most popular smartphones are those with the Android operating system (86%), while 12% of Poles use smartphones with the iOS system.
– One third of Poles declare that their phone is worth more than PLN 1,000, the rest declare that it is worth less, which means that most Poles use slightly cheaper smartphones, and flagships, although very desirable, are still a small percentage of the phones that Poles buy – Przemysław Kuraczyk, Business Development Director at IQS, tells the Newseria agency.
The Smart Barometer study shows that wireless headphones are among the most popular accessories integrated with smartphones (55%). Already 43% integrate their phone with the TV – in 2022 only 1% of respondents did so. Similar growth dynamics can be seen in the integration of smartphones with car systems (32% compared to 1% three years ago).
– Smartphones are playing an increasingly important role in our lives, we integrate them with many devices that we use every day, but we also see that we are increasingly willing to connect a smartphone, for example, with a TV or a car. We also observe that the smartphone plays the role of an entertainment center in our lives and the difference between the previous edition of the study and the current one is very large – emphasizes Anna Kozłowska-Pietraszko, Marketing and Strategy Director at bolttech.
Smartphone users still rarely decide on additional security services. The most frequently chosen service is protection of the equipment against damage (20%), additional warranty in case of failure (15%) and antivirus program (6%). More than half of users (64%) do not use any additional services.
– When asked what services they would most like to buy, they declare that these are precisely the services of protection against damage, but also the possibility of reselling the old device in the event of purchasing a new one – adds Anna Kozłowska-Pietraszko.
Although most Poles do not secure their smartphones, the life cycle of the average device is clearly getting longer. Most often, a smartphone is less than 1.5 years old, but the percentage of consumers who stay with the same model for more than three years is growing – in 2022 it was 9 percent, and today it is already 16 percent. Rising device prices encourage us to use our models longer, and the decision to replace them is made not so much because of an attractive offer (17 percent) or the premiere of a new model (4 percent), but because of a failure (47 percent) or a decrease in battery performance (44 percent).
– Poles most often replace smartphones due to their condition. The first place is taken by the issue of failure, the second by the issue of battery condition, and here we have a large increase compared to the previous edition of the study. The third place is taken by the issue of damage. If a device is damaged and cannot be used, instead of repairing it, we often decide to replace it – explains the Marketing and Strategy Director at bolttech.
Although consumers are making increasingly informed purchasing decisions, most of them would like to replace their smartphones more often.
– A total of 60% of respondents would like to replace it every two years or more often, which means that there is potential on the market for companies that will find a way to make these smartphones, which may currently be beyond the financial reach of Poles, available at a better price or in a different form to meet this need. There is a visible difference between how often Poles actually replace their smartphones and how often they would like to do so – notes Przemysław Kuraczyk.
