Attributes that matter most to people while buying a phone: 91mobiles Smartphone Buyers Insights Survey 2023

We’ve just wrapped up this year’s Smartphone Buyers Insights Survey, and have now the final data in hand. After giving you a gist of the ownership trends of various smartphone brands and the factors of how people decide on a new handset, we now take a look at the various attributes that matter the most to people while buying a smartphone. In this section, we asked the respondents about the most important attribute that they look for in a new smartphone along with their importance for the cameras and how they evaluate its camera capabilities.

Performance is the most important attribute when looking for a new smartphone

  • When deciding on buying a new smartphone, 42 percent of the survey participants consider performance as the topmost priority, which is significantly higher than other aspects.
  • After the performance, cameras are the most sought-after attribute on a new smartphone. Around 1 in 5 people take a deep interest in the phones’ cameras and specifications. This could also be the reason why companies pack in several cameras on a phone, especially on the rear.
  • As per the survey data, brand preference also seems to play a crucial role when people seek to buy a new phone. Close to about 17.6 percent of the survey takers give the brand name the highest importance.
  • One out of every ten people considers battery as a vital attribute of a smartphone.
  • Surprisingly, only around 3 percent of the respondents show interest in a phone’s design and looks as the most important aspect.

RAM capacity plays a crucial role in evaluating performance

  • Close to 33 percent of people say that RAM capacity is of utmost importance while evaluating the performance aspect of a new handset
  • Similarly, people are also keen on knowing the chipset brand their next smartphone may come with. People seem to be familiar with mobile processors from Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Samsung.
  • A good chunk of people give importance to the processor’s clock speed which gives them an idea of how fast the smartphone would perform when running multiple tasks
  • Around 5 percent of the respondents rely on the benchmark scores from AnTuTu and Geekbench to know the performance capabilities of the smartphone they are willing to purchase.

Cameras matter the most to younger age groups

  • People below the age group of 18 years consider cameras as the most important attribute of a new smartphone. With photo-sharing platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat being immensely popular amongst youngsters, this is understandable.
  • Around 27 percent of survey respondents between the 18 to 24 years age group said cameras matter the most to them when deciding on a new phone.
  • As observed by the survey data, the higher the person’s age, the least is the priority for cameras on a smartphone.

Cameras are mostly evaluated by the megapixel count

  • When it comes to evaluating the camera capabilities, around 32 percent of the survey participants examine the resolution and megapixels the most when looking for a new handset.
  • One-fourth of a group of people judge a smartphone’s camera by its video capabilities which include checking out the 4K quality, and slow-mo videography among others.
  • There are a certain group of people who also take a look at the number of rear cameras and the software features while evaluating a mobile phone.
  • Around 9 percent of the participants have a preference for selfies, making them check out the photography capabilities of the front camera.

Upcoming flagship devices people are most excited about

  • When asked about the upcoming flagship smartphone they are most excited about, 23.6 percent of the people responded with Apple iPhone 15 series, which is expected to include the standard iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and the absolute top-of-the-line iPhone 15 Pro Max/Ultra.
  • Ever since Samsung released the Fan Edition models of its Galaxy S lineup, such as the Galaxy S20 FE and Galaxy S21 FE, people seem to take high a interest in this particular lineup. This can be seen from the survey data too as around 14 percent of the respondents are looking forward to the Galaxy S23 FE which may launch after all later this year.
  • Another smartphone people are most excited about is OnePlus’ first foldable phone which is rumoured to be called the ‘OnePlus V Fold’. The device is said to launch in the third quarter of this year and will mark the company’s entry into new avenues of the mobile market.