What, Why, and How: Surveying what consumers want in new mobile phones.

Worldwide sales of smartphones totaled 968 million units in 2013, a 42.3% increase when compared to 2012 statistics [1]. International Data Corporation predicted that this number will have risen to 1.2 billion units in 2014 and 1.7 billion units by 2018 [7]. These statistics distinctly reveal that copious existing smartphone users upgraded or bought new units in 2013. Therefore, smartphone users who upgraded their phones in 2013 were most likely not satisfied with their device, their smartphone stopped working properly, or a new smartphone arrived with appealing technological features, encouraging the replacement of the existing device. According to the manufacturer, the average life of a smartphone is five to seven years. However, the actual duration for which a smartphone is used is much fewer than that.