iPhone 4S Uses Twice As Much Data As Previous iPhone

Recent studies suggest that Apple's latest iPhone consumes nearly double the data as the previous iPhone model and even more than previous generation of the smartphone and the iPad tablets due to the increasing use of online services like Siri.

IPhone 4S users transfer on average three times more data than users of the older iPhone 3G model which was used as the benchmark in a study by telecom network technology firm Arieso. Data usage of the previous model, the iPhone 4, was only 1.6 times higher than the iPhone 3G, while iPad2 tablets consumed 2.5 times more data than the iPhone 3G, the study showed.

According to Arieso CTO Michael Flanagan the top reasons behind the growing data volume include the addition of Siri and iCloud as well as other online services.

Apple users certainly aren't alone in their higher than average data usage, but they were in the top tier of Arieso’s research. Other heavy data users include owners of Samsung's Galaxy S and S II, as well as the Nexus One and HTC Desire S. According to the reports the study showed that users of the latest RIM BlackBerry smartphones, the Curve and the Bold Touch, were amongst the lowest downloading about five times less data than iPhone 4S subscribers.

To me the numbers really aren't surprising. As you add more services and features you should expect higher than normal data usage. More and more people are using their phones to record high-definition video and images adding to higher upload volumes. While more and more of us are using our phones to browse the Internet and play music and videos adding to higher download numbers. The downside is the burden on carrier demand as well as the need for higher capacity data plans. User that use to get by with a basic limited plan may now exceed those limits or face the need for a much higher priced plan.

Update: Here is the full report