Apple's new iPhone 4S consumes on average twice as much data as its precedent iPhone 4 and even more than iPad tablets, according to a study by UK-based network management firm Arieso.
iPhone 4S users on average transfer three times more data than users of the older iPhone 3G model which was used as benchmark in the study.
Data usage of iPhone 4 users was only 1.6 times higher than the iPhone 3G, while iPad2 tablets consumed 2.5 times more data than the iPhone 3G, the study showed.
The study also found that iPhone 4S users are not alone in consuming big chunks of bandwidth. Results showed Android-powered smartphones users, along with iPhone users, make up the “very hungry handset users” list, while other devices such as RIM’s Blackberry smartphones consumed significantly less data.
According to the study, HTC Desire S users upload 3.23 times as much data as iPhone 3G users, while Google Nexus One and Samsung Galaxy S users also upload twice as many data as iPhone 3G users.
The rapid rise in data consumption however spells a bad news for mobile operators worldwide who are plagued by capacity issues due to the ongoing smartphone data traffic surge.
“The capacity crunch is still a very real threat for mobile operators, and it looks set to only get harder in 2012,” said Michael Flanagan, CTO at Arieso.
He said mobile operators need to put new investment and adopt new approaches to boost network performance and manage the customer experience.
“Without adequately preparing networks to support the new generation of smart devices, operators risk spiraling and misplaced operational expenditure and delivering a sub-par quality of experience to customers. It’s critical that operators redouble their efforts to limit the impact of this inevitable squeeze."