Calls and Texts Take a Back Seat for Young Phone Users, Survey Finds

Calls and texts are no longer the main reason many young Australians use their smartphones, according to research released by Samsung Australia on 21 October. The company says 22% of respondents aged 18–24 primarily use their phone for calls and texts, compared with almost 80% of those aged 55 and over.

What the Survey Does—and Does Not—Show

The release identifies PureProfile as the researcher, Samsung as the commissioning company and September 2026 as the fieldwork period, with 1,092 Australian respondents. It also promotes Samsung’s foldable range. Those commercial circumstances belong alongside the figures when interpreting the findings.

The published release does not provide the full questionnaire, raw responses or age-group sample counts. It is therefore not enough to independently assess every comparison or calculate the uncertainty around the younger group’s result. We are reporting Samsung’s findings as a commissioned survey, rather than claiming to have independently established national behaviour.

A useful reading of the headline is limited: people of different ages reported different primary uses. It would be a larger leap to say a particular age group needs a particular device, data allowance or price tier. The release does not settle an individual buying decision, and the product category promoted alongside it is not an automatic recommendation.

Start With What You Actually Need

ACMA’s consumer guidance recommends choosing a mobile plan around how you use the phone and what you want to pay. It also advises checking coverage and confirming that your device will work with the provider. Those practical checks remain useful regardless of which activity comes first in a survey.

Our suggestion is to make a short list of the jobs your current phone handles well and the ones that frustrate you. Be specific: reading documents while commuting, taking family photos, making work calls or keeping navigation visible. A named problem is easier to assess than a general feeling that a newer phone would be better.

Then separate the handset decision from the service decision. Ask whether you are trying to improve a device capability, change the network experience or simply reduce ongoing cost. The answer gives you a clearer brief for comparing options and helps keep an attractive feature from dominating an otherwise unsuitable purchase.

Use the Research as a Question

ACMA says a Critical Information Summary helps people compare features and prices and understand the arrangement they are buying. Keep that document next to your personal brief. For each attractive offer, ask which of your stated needs it meets and which points still require an answer from the provider.

For example, someone whose main frustration is reading long documents should ask to assess that task on a prospective device. Someone satisfied with their handset could focus the comparison on the service. These are illustrative decision paths, not tested buying recommendations or conclusions drawn from individual survey responses.

Samsung’s research is a timely reminder that a phone can have different roles for different people. The useful next step is to make those roles explicit in your own purchase decision, then check the proposed device and contract against them.

Sources and How This Was Checked

This article is based on the official pages below, read on 23 October 2026. Samsung’s release and methodology footnote were checked alongside ACMA’s consumer guidance. The underlying survey data and questionnaire were not supplied in the release; no handset or plan was tested. The practical recommendations are editorial guidance. No hands-on test was performed.