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Comment by BugBrother | Hacker News Reader

Note that this was for one specific iPhone model, so it is hardly (a) or (d) -- that is, not that Android is more efficient and not that iCloud sucks extra bandwidth for backups. Etc.

(To be obvious: If it were those alternatives, or (e), then iPhone models 5C, 5, 4S and 4 would use similar amounts of data. At a minimum, most 5/5C should have iOS 7.)

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Indeed. The fact that this is specifically about the 5s and the recent iPad tells me that part of this is probably the speed of the A7. If it's faster to open apps, browse the web, etc, you tend to do more of it. That makes the device more useful to users and reduces friction, which leads to high usage.

In short: They use more data because they're better devices.

But there are also probably some of the other variables mentioned by the parent. They just apply to all iOS devices equally, not just those models.

True. I won't argue that better, faster devices will get more usage. For the day that I owned a 5s, it was incredibly fast. There is one more thing I forgot, however -- there might also be a bias for the 5s in that early adopters (and those who upgrade every year) could be more likely to both own the 5s and have been trained by past iPhones to use as much data as they want. Those who stick with older phones might not use them as often off wi-fi. (Where "as often" is still within reach.) Who knows, though. Perhaps the difference is that the iPhone 5S is easier to unlock, or supports LTE in more places. I'm sick of guessing, at this point. :)

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