The study blames Siri for the increase in data traffic to and from the Internet, as the software is required to ping Apple’s servers each and every time a user requests information. While the actual transmission data may be negligible – around 15 to 35 kilobytes – the study discovered that Siri could accumulate over 30MB of data per month on its own, depending on usage patterns.
Nevertheless, the strain of data-intensive devices may place additional pressure on mobile operators as they perpetually scramble to catch up with consumer demand for more bandwidth, lower latencies and higher quality-of-service.
“Voice is the ultimate human interface,” Arieso Chief Technology Officer Michael Flanagan said in an interview in London. Arieso further claims that iPhone 4S users consume roughly three times as much data in comparison with iPhone 3GS users. According to prior studies, the iPhone 4 used only 1.6x more data than the iPhone 3G, while the iPad 2 consumed 2.5x more data than the iPhone 3G.
In addition to iPhone 4S consumption data, Arieso pointed out that overall data use is increasing dramatically, and the top one percent of smartphone users now consume half of all downloaded data. "It’s critical that operators redouble their efforts to limit the impact of this inevitable squeeze,” Arieso CTO and the study's author Dr. Michael Flanagan said in a statement.