A report from CyberMedia Research (CMR) released on Monday stated that 68 per cent of consumers prioritised AI features and 82 per cent said transparent data practices and trust are key drivers of smartphone purchases. The report noted 61 per cent of consumers believed on-device AI processing improved responsiveness and privacy. AI is now a core purchase driver, with consumers preferring performance (78 per cent), camera quality including AI enhancements (70 per cent), and strong AI features (59 per cent) as the top three attributes. When choosing between similarly-priced smartphones, 60 per cent of consumers wanted a balance of AI and strong hardware, while 25 per cent are outright AI-first buyers and 15 per cent remained hardware traditionalists. Around 57 per cent of consumers clearly understand and actively use AI features, while 43 per cent engage only partially. Among active users, 49 per cent are heavy users engaging with five or more AI features regularly, 41 per cent are moderate users, and 10 per cent used AI only when prompted. Around 77 per cent of consumers actively use AI imaging features, and 71 per cent used generative AI features multiple times per week.