Nice to see Apple are introducing a feature which has been available on Android for quite some time. Just a quick call screening/assistant feature before deciding on answering a call. Mostly aimed at cold callers or spam.

In fact, these days, I receive quite low a number. Certainly, it did commence on Android as a hotfix to the voice spam.

But here is our topic for a minute we might be able to analyze it a little bit further.

Have you failed to answer a call and get any voicemail from the caller lately? This happens to many of us today and it is not because of bad manners, but it is a symptom of a phenomenon.

In last 20 years, our behavior in regard to missed calls has changed a great deal. While Boomers still give voicemails with call purpose, younger generations are finding dropping voicemails too much and instead opt for shorter, simpler means.

Those that belong to Boomers (born ~1946–1964) times were those when only one phone function existed which was voicemail. So it comes as no surprise that most of them still rely on it.

Generation X (1965–1980) are more of a mixed bunch, some of them will only text, but in important cases, they will probably leave a voicemail as well.

After that, Millennials (1981–1996) and Gen Z (1997–2012) came on the scene, the mobile-first communication era. In their case, a missed call will in most cases prompt them to send a message rather than a voicemail.

Actually, majority of Millennials never listen to their voicemails, while a quarter of Gen Z has never answered the phone to an unknown number.

On the other side, voice is also a good communication tool for younger generations, but they innovate and find new ways of using the old one.

The use of voice messages through platforms as WhatsApp puts an end to one of the biggest sources of anxiety with voicemail: it is no longer a situation where you need to be quick and good, and if you haven’t got it quite right, you can still fix it and skip it if it is not important to you.

A recent breakdown shows the stark contrast:

Boomers are still the most likely to leave voicemails.

Gen X toggles between old and new habits.

Millennials overwhelmingly prefer SMS or chat.

Gen Z opts for voice notes over voicemails, or skips voice entirely.

Do you still wonder why people no longer leave voicemails?

#sales #voicemail #apple #b2b #android