Anyone who’s ever checked their work email before their morning coffee or used their phone to set up six streaming services on their smart TV knows how intertwined modern life is to the technology we use, but a new report puts some perspective on the depth of that connection.
The 2026 Global Connected Consumer Trends Report, released this week by Assurant Inc., found that 80% of the world’s consumers feel connected technology has made life better; that number is up 19 percentage points from five years ago. But respondents also feel tech should offer improved reliability, simplicity and support even as adoption continues to surge.
Those attitudes have been reshaped by several shifting factors, the report found. Among them are local relevance, accepting that tech is essential infrastructure and the fact that one-size-fits-all protection is no longer viable.
Therefore, the authors said, brands that will come out ahead in the coming years will find the best combination of cost efficiency, reliability, time savings and experience quality to maximize users’ happiness.
“As technology becomes more powerful, it is also becoming more essential – and less forgiving when it fails,” said Biju Nair, executive vice president and president of global connected living at Assurant. “Our research shows that consumers now expect the same consistency and dependability from their devices that they expect from other forms of essential infrastructure. Protection is no longer optional; it’s foundational.”
That foundation is laid in almost every aspect of users’ lives. Users can use a device to order a breakfast sandwich on the way to work, take part in a video call, track their steps taken during a lunch break, generate an AI summary of an afternoon meeting and check their bank balance before ordering ride-sharing service once happy hour ends.
Such dependency creates challenges:
- AI use seemingly increases weekly even though most users can’t actually describe how it works. Trust in AI is up 5% from the last report, but there’s still a lot of perceived risk that makes users cautious, creating an increase in the number of consumers who would buy protection for AI-enabled devices.
- Protection attitudes have shifted from peace of mind to continuity and cost control, the authors found. That’s why 85% of users said they’re more likely to buy a device when it comes with a customizable protection plan.
- End-to-end support, even with seemingly simple tasks like connecting to Wi-Fi or increasing storage capacity, creates more content customers who are more likely to be repeat buyers. But without continuous support available through products’ life cycles, users are forced to turn to AI, online videos and other suboptimal means of problem solving.
Attitudes overall remain consistent across countries, with some slight cultural differences. Americans for example, are optimistic digital adopters who remain skeptical of privacy and transparency issues. Canadians value clarity and reliability, the report found, while Europeans tend to be more cautious and seek predictable costs.
“Across all markets, the message is clear: Innovation succeeds when confidence is built in,” Nair said. “Protection, service, personalization and support are now central to how consumers evaluate and use technology.”
The report incorporates responses from more than 11,000 smartphone users across 10 nations who took part in an online survey.
