Over 80% of consumers have a very positive opinion about 5G; Faster download speeds are the expected key benefit

Seoul, Hong Kong, New Delhi, Beijing, London, Buenos Aires, San Diego

July 19th, 2019

Out of the total number of US consumers polled by Counterpoint Research’s 5G Consumer Opinion Survey, 81% find 5G ‘appealing’ or ‘very appealing’ over 4G service. Further, purchasing intent for 5G handsets is high. Over 59% of respondents were ‘very interested’ or ‘extremely interested’ for purchasing a 5G smartphone.

Commenting on the findings, Tom Kang, Research Director at Counterpoint Research, said, “This study is good news for handset OEMs and carriers who have invested heavily in 5G. Consumers have a very positive opinion about 5G despite not having a clear understanding of its capabilities. The study revealed there is tremendous interest in 5G and that over 30% of consumers are willing to buy a 5G device even if 5G is not yet available where they live.”

Another insight the Counterpoint survey revealed was that consumers do not have high initial expectations of 5G. Consumers look forward to faster download speeds and improved network experience of currently available applications.

Exhibit I: 5G Consumer Poll: What are the Key Benefits of 5G?

Source: Counterpoint Consumer Research

Despite rather low service expectations, 95% of respondents expect to pay more for their 5G smartphone than what they paid for a 4G smartphone. A total of 75% of the respondents commented they expected to pay US$1,000 or less.

Research Director Jeff Fieldhack commented, “There appears to be a price ceiling at US$1,000 for most consumers. This is an important data point for handset OEMs. The positive news for handset OEMs is that there is very high brand loyalty when buying 5G devices. Even handset OEMs with low overall market share had brand loyalty above 82%. The loyalty is not nearly as high on the carrier side. Almost 50% of respondents were willing to switch carriers for access to 5G. The big four US carriers were smart to all launch 5G nearly simultaneously and not fall behind on the marketing war.”

Other insights include:

• Younger respondents had a more favorable opinion of 5G, however there was no significant difference between the ages of 18 and 44. There was a dropoff in the reporting of the significance of 5G in respondants 45 years of age and above.
• 95% of respondants expected to pay more for their 5G smartphone than what they had paid for their 4G smartphone.
• The majority of respondents using 4G smartphones priced $800 and were willing to spend more than 20% to upgrade to a 5G smartphone.
• Most respondents using Samsung smartphones were willing to spend 10% to 30% more on their upgrade to 5G.

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Analyst Contacts:

Jeff Fieldhack

 
Tom Kang

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