AI on smartphones – what features do consumers value most?

With the launch of Apple Intelligence at Apple WWDC 24, newer iPhone users will soon have access to a broader set of artificial intelligence features on their smartphones. But how important are AI features when it comes to selecting a new phone, which features do consumers want to use the most, and what concerns do they have about intelligent agents on their most personal device?

According to a recent YouGov Survey, 60% of consumers now consider AI features important when choosing their next smartphone, including 21% who say AI features are very important.

Men are seven percentage points more likely than women to rate AI features as being a very important consideration in their next smartphone purchase (25% vs 18%). Among parents of kids aged under 18 – that is to say, young families – this figure rises to 30%.

The poll also reveals that users are starting to embrace these new tools in ways that go beyond the basics of photo editing or voice assistants. But while AI is making life easier for some, others remain skeptical, especially when it comes to the impact of the technology on battery life and privacy concerns.

Features in demand: What AI capabilities are most valued?

When it comes to AI features, voice assistants and photo/video editing tools are the most highly sought after by consumers. The survey found that a quarter of all Americans find voice assistants useful, including a third of those aged 18-34. Perhaps unsurprisingly, younger consumers are far more likely to find usefulness in smartphone AI features overall – about seven in ten of them say they currently use or intend to use at least one AI-powered feature on their smartphones. This figure drops to 41% among those aged over 55.

Splitting this same question by gender reveals that men (52%) are slightly less likely to use or intend to use AI-powered features than women (57%). This is interesting given that a larger share of men say AI features are a very important factor to them in their next smartphone purchase.

Other than voice assistants and photo and video editing tools, a substantial portion of consumers also see the value in advanced internet search engine functions powered by AI (20%), writing tools (20%) and visual search (20%).

Most important AI-powered features

We also drilled deeper into the preferences of consumers who do indicate a willingness to use AI-powered smartphone features, asking them to rate the two most important features to them. Again, we see generally higher interest among younger consumers for most uses.

However, several other generational differences emerge. When it comes to voice assistants, 37% of those aged over 55 rate them as among their top two features, compared to just 29% of the middle-aged group and a quarter of young adults (25%). Relative to other groups, young adults are more likely to find usefulness in visual search (24% vs 20% of those ages 35-54 and 14% of 55+).

Additionally, Americans aged 35-54 over-index for dictation and transcription tools (9%). This could be because people more established in their careers are more likely to have used or see a use for these time-saving features.

Finally, writing tools are a top two pick for a quarter of both young adults and middle-aged groups (25% each), but a relatively smaller proportion of older adults (17%).

The pros and cons of AI

Despite the growing excitement for AI, there is still notable skepticism surrounding its use on smartphones. While 63% of consumers believe that AI will save them time and 44% think it will make life easier, others worry about the potential downsides. For instance, 38% of respondents believe AI features will drain battery life, while a much larger percentage - 60% - express concerns that these tools are primarily a way for companies to collect more data on users.

Nearly four-fifths (78%) of consumers still prioritize a good mobile signal over AI capabilities, demonstrating that while AI is important, it’s not yet a make-or-break feature for most users. A reliable network signal may be a stronger selling point.

But which generative AI brands are consumers aware of?

It’s borne out by the data so far that AI has become embedded in consumer minds, with most Americans saying they will treat it as an important factor when they next purchase a smartphone. This embrace of AI may well have begun with the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022. ChatGPT remains the brand with the highest brand awareness, at 63%, followed by Google Gemini at 40%.

A third of Americans say they are aware of Microsoft Copilot and Samsung Galaxy AI (32% each). The recently introduced Apple Intelligence is already familiar to more than a quarter of Americans (26%).

DALL-E (14%), Midjourney (9%) and Claude (6%) have relatively lower levels of brand awareness.

In spite of being announced only recently, Apple Intelligence shares the joint second spot in brand awareness among consumers who own the iPhone 15 or iPhone 16 line (43%). In a follow up to this story we will examine more closely the attitudes towards and importance placed on AI by users of iOS compared to non-iOS users.

Read part two of this series, delving into what new iPhone users want from AI on their smartphone, and how that differs from Android users.

Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This study was conducted online on 23-24th September, 2024, with a nationally representative sample of 1221 adults (aged 18+ years) in the US, using a questionnaire designed by YouGov. Data figures have been weighted by age, race, gender, education, and region to be representative of all adults in the US (18 years or older), and reflect the latest population estimates from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.

Image Credit: Photo by Fan Virtual