Study: Almost 40 Percent of U.S. Smartphone Owners Use Voice Recognition

According to a recent study by Parks Associations, a market research and consulting company, 39 percent of smartphone owners in the United States use some form of voice recognition (e.g., Siri, Google Now). The usage is higher (more than 50 percent) for iPhone owners compared to Android owners (less than 33 percent). Harry Wang, Director of Health & Mobile Product Research at Parks Associations said:

“Smartphone penetration has reached 86% of U.S. broadband households, so it is a mature market, with users, particularly younger consumers and iOS users, exploring more intelligent features and interfaces, including voice control... The growing consumer interest in voice control features is driving this technology into new IoT areas... Following Apple’s lead with Siri, other brands have created ‘personalities’ for their voice-control solutions, like Alexa for Amazon Echo and Cortana for Windows Phones."

Usage is higher among younger persons. 48 percent of smartphone users ages 18-24, use voice recognition software, usage of the “Siri” voice recognition software increased from 40 to 52 percent between 2013 and 2015. In total, about 15 percent of all U.S. broadband households use Siri.

About 70 percent of smartphone owners who use voice recognition are satisfied. 38 percent said they are very satisfied, and 9 percent said they are not satisfied.

Additional findings about U.S. smartphone users:

• More than 70 percent watch short streaming video clips, and more than 40 percent watch long streaming videos.
• 36 percent use WiFi calling.
• 26 percent use a payment app for purchases at retail stores, and
• 24 percent stream video from their phones to a second screen (e.g., TV, PC).

Learn more in the "360 View: Mobility and the App Economy" report, or the press release, by Parks Associates.