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US Consumer Device Purchase Journey – Part 2: Purchase Drivers and Feature Priorities

By XJ Wang , Analyst & Director

Device OEMs and carriers spent 2025 marketing AI to consumers who were buying phones because their screens cracked and their batteries died. Hardware failure was the single largest purchase driver across every brand tier and every month from May through December 2025, ranging from 5.6 to 13.2 percent. AI feature priority, by comparison, peaked at 5.1 percent in a single month for a single brand.

19 Pages Length
PDF Report Format
Instant Delivery Delivery

April 2, 2026 • 19 pages

Introduction

The US Consumer Device Purchase Journey – Part 1: Market Landscape, Brand Performance & Consumer Satisfaction report established the structural foundations of the US smartphone market, including installed-base leadership, brand loyalty patterns, pricing segmentation, and competitive positioning across major OEMs. This report examines the next stage of the consumer replacement cycle: what drives consumers to purchase a new device, and which features matter most when they do.

The analysis tracks two core dimensions of smartphone purchasing behavior across Apple, Samsung Flagship, Samsung Non-Flagship, Google, and Motorola users from May through December 2025. The first dimension evaluates purchase drivers, including hardware failure, software-update obsolescence, financing upgrade eligibility, promotional offers, and new-model availability. The second evaluates feature priorities such as battery life, camera quality, performance, storage, display quality, AI capabilities, ecosystem compatibility, and ease of device migration.

The findings reveal a major disconnect between OEM marketing priorities and actual consumer replacement behavior. While AI dominated device marketing campaigns throughout 2025, hardware failure and practical replacement needs remained the dominant purchase triggers across nearly every brand tier. The report provides strategic insight for OEM product teams, carrier promotion planners, retail channel managers, and investors evaluating the durability of current smartphone market-share trends and feature-demand assumptions.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction 1
  2. 1. Executive Summary 2
  3. 2. Primary Purchase Drivers and Motivations 4
  4. 3. Feature Priorities for Next Device 10
  5. 4. Conclusion 19