Actix: Data shows that Apple devices account for 59% of 3G traffic consumption

According to the latest data released by mobile traffic analysis company Actix on June 12, 2013, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 account for nearly 54% of 3G traffic of all devices in the network monitored by the company. If the share of iPad is included, the figure will rise to nearly 59%.

Actix specializes in optimizing mobile network performance on congested routes, and the company's data comes from "mature" mobile operators it has worked with over the past six months, during the busiest times of the network. Actix currently operates in more than 100 countries around the world.

Among the top 10 devices in Actix's statistics, three are Android devices, namely Samsung Galaxy S, Galaxy S2 and Galaxy S3, while the latest Galaxy S4 is not among them. The combined share of 3G traffic of these three devices is less than 18%. In addition, BlackBerry phones account for a little more than 3%, while products from Nokia and other manufacturers are not included in this list.

This 3G traffic share is very different from the share of mobile phone sales. Currently, Android phones account for about 64% of new smartphones sold. In the United States, Android phones account for 53% of all smartphones in use.

So what does Actix's data mean? Actix doesn't explicitly say that the higher 3G traffic on Apple devices is due to the increased use of apps and mobile data services by users of those devices, but other market research firms such as Flurry have reported that this may be the case.

However, some data traffic may not be what users expect, for example, many iPhone apps will automatically connect to the Internet to request data, which not only reduces battery life, but also consumes the user's monthly data traffic.

Apple will address this issue in the next version of iOS. In the future, users will be able to decide how much activity an app can have on non-Wi-Fi networks. Users can not only turn off the data connection for the entire phone, but also for a specific app. In addition, users can also specify how much data traffic a certain app can use.

Apple's tablet computer entered the Actix top 10 ranking for the first time, while the iPhone 3GS and BlackBerry 9700 dropped out of the top 10. Currently, most tablet computers only support WiFi access, and data from a year ago showed that tablet computers accounted for a very low proportion of 3G traffic. However, this situation has changed.

Actix said 3G traffic from tablets, especially iPads, has grown fourfold in the past six months. Typically, tablets consume three times more mobile data than smartphones. This may be because tablets have larger screens and are therefore more suitable for data-intensive services such as mobile video.

"The ubiquity of iPads with mobile contracts has led to an increase in demand for data on mobile networks," said Neil Coleman, head of marketing at Actix. "Consumers want to be connected wherever they are and whatever device they use. This is the second phase of the mobile data revolution that was sparked by the iPhone in 2007."