IPhone 4S Doubles Data Usage, Thanks to Siri

The voice assistant is reportedly responsible for a surge in data consumption by iPhone 4S users, according to a study from network firm Arieso. The 4S has the highest downlink data volumes of any phone measured in Arieso's study, which covers more than 1 million subscribers, ranking slightly behind the Android-powered HTC Desire S.

The study pointed out the consumption is not evenly distributed and a smaller number of incredibly powerful users account for the surge. Also, the survey suggests in addition to Siri, better mobile network infrastructure, more data-demanding apps and higher-resolution image and video sharing also account for the increase.

Apple introduced Siri with the 4S in October. Billed as a flagship feature for the latest Apple smartphone, the assistant requires either Wi-Fi or a 3G connection, since the translated voice text is sent to Apple's servers for processing.

Arieso, which advises customers on how to manage wireless networks, explain the addition of personal assistant's ability to help schedule appointments, write text messages and check local weather encourages greater use of these activities, creating bigger data appetites.

Users' growing facility with the interactive voice tools and the increase in data-intensive devices places additional pressure on mobile operators to meet the demand effectively, without dropping calls or slowing speeds.

Verizon announced this week it set the record for most iPhones sold on a U.S. carrier in a single quarter, but the news followed reports last month of sporadic outages affecting both 3G and 4G data for the network's customers.

Novice customers continue to get on the bandwidth bandwagon as smartphones become more prevalent, and as brawnier devices gain in popularity, already-hungry users will find no shortage of ways to expand their appetites. Both trends are creating unprecedented demand for carriers, who may rely on restructured data plans, greater use of Wi-Fi, or technology to compress data as some alternatives.