With one-third of consumers switching carriers in recent years, providers must balance cutting-edge features with core essentials like coverage and cost flexibility - while seizing a pivotal new opportunity: satellite connectivity
NEW JERSEY, NJ / ACCESS Newswire / September 8, 2025 / Amdocs (NASDAQ: DOX), a leading provider of software and services to communications and media companies, today announced new research offering deeper insight into what's driving consumer interest in smartphone upgrades - highlighting the factors influencing their choice of communications service providers.
The Life of a Smartphone: 2025 Connectivity Report* surveyed U.S. consumers about their upgrade intentions, feature preferences, and carrier expectations. Released ahead of iPhone 17 pre-orders, the findings underscore a pivotal moment: device launches draw attention, but consumers ultimately decide based on everyday value. Specifically, they continue to prioritize network reliability, affordability, and innovative connectivity - creating an opportunity for service providers to build lasting trust. This is particularly true among younger consumers, 79% of whom already own an iPhone, highlighting the generational intensity of brand loyalty.
Among the top upgrade drivers, battery life and device performance lead across all age groups. For top wants from service providers, broader 5G/6G coverage leads (46%). Notably, 62% say satellite-based features would influence - or potentially influence - their provider choice. This marks a turning point: satellite is no longer niche-it's emerging as a viable secondary network that enables always-on mobility and new monetization opportunities.
"It's 2025, and users still care more about battery life than AI-and that says everything about how integral smartphones have become to every aspect of our lives," said Gil Rosen, Chief Marketing Officer, Amdocs. "Our data shows battery longevity (42%) is the top upgrade driver, ahead of Apple Intelligence. That's a wake-up call. At the same time, we're entering a new connectivity era where users can rely on two networks - cellular and satellite - unlocking global, always-on coverage. It's not just for consumers; satellite will open the door to new products and services in verticals like logistics, emergency services, and mobility. It's a transformative layer that redefines how CSPs approach coverage, customer experience, and monetization."
Additional findings include:
Generational Divide in Ownership & Upgrade Intent
79% of 18-24 year olds report owning an iPhone, compared to just 43% of those 65+.
61% of consumers are likely to upgrade their smartphone within 12 months, with intent strongest among 25-44 year olds-nearly half saying they're "very likely" to upgrade.
Innovation Appeal Skews Young; Cost Mindset Dominates Older Consumers
Trade-in offers (30%) remain a key motivator, especially for cost-conscious users.
Enhanced camera capabilities (33%) and Apple Intelligence (31%) rank highest among new iOS feature interests.
31% of 35-44 year olds view Apple Intelligence as a "major innovation," versus just 3% of those 65+. 59% of older consumers are unfamiliar with the feature.
Trust, Reliability & Churn
33% of consumers have switched providers in the past three years-rising to 44% among 25-34 year olds, compared to just 15% of those 65+.
80% are satisfied with current network coverage, with satisfaction peaking among older adults-50% of those 65+ are "very satisfied."
Even as device makers roll out breakthrough features, the report underscores that reliability remains the cornerstone of the consumer smartphone experience. To win the next generation, providers must blend innovation with fundamentals - expanding coverage and new connectivity options, enabling affordable, flexible plans, and offering strong trade-in and upgrade programs.
*The Life of a Smartphone: 2025 Connectivity Report, conducted by Amdocs in August 2025, using Dynata who surveyed 1,000 general US consumers
Supporting Resources
Download the Life of a Smartphone: 2025 Connectivity Report fact sheet
Keep up with Amdocs news by visiting the company's website
About Amdocs
Amdocs helps those who build the future to make it amazing. With our market-leading portfolio of software products and services, we unlock our customers' innovative potential, empowering them to provide next-generation communication and media experiences for both the individual end user and enterprise customers. Our employees around the globe are here to accelerate service providers' migration to the cloud, enable them to differentiate in the 5G era, and digitalize and automate their operations. Listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, Amdocs had revenue of $5.00 billion in fiscal 2024. For more information, visit www.amdocs.com
Amdocs' Forward-Looking Statement
This press release includes information that constitutes forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about Amdocs' growth and business results in future quarters and years. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be obtained or that any deviations will not be material. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ from those anticipated. These risks include, but are not limited to, the effects of general macroeconomic conditions, prevailing level of macroeconomic, business and operational uncertainty, including as a result of geopolitical events or other regional events or pandemics, changes to trade policies including tariffs and trade restrictions, as well as the current inflationary environment, and the effects of these conditions on the Company's customers' businesses and levels of business activity, including the effect of the current economic uncertainty and industry pressure on the spending decisions of the Company's customers. Amdocs' ability to grow in the business markets that it serves, Amdocs' ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses, adverse effects of market competition, rapid technological shifts that may render the Company's products and services obsolete, security incidents, including breaches and cyberattacks to our systems and networks and those of our partners or customers, potential loss of a major customer, our ability to develop long-term relationships with our customers, our ability to successfully and effectively implement artificial intelligence and Generative AI in the Company's offerings and operations, and risks associated with operating businesses in the international market. Amdocs may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future; however, Amdocs specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These and other risks are discussed at greater length in Amdocs' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, filed on December 17, 2024, and our Form 6-K furnished for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 on February 18, 2025, for the second quarter of fiscal 2025 on May 19, 2025, and for the third quarter of fiscal 2025 on August 18, 2025.
Media Contacts
Michael Zema
Amdocs Public Relations
Mzema@amdocs.com
Emily Holt
PAN Communications for Amdocs
amdocs@pancomm.com
SOURCE: Amdocs Management Limited
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