The objective of this study is twofold. First, it aims to investigate the various values users achieve with smartphones, which is a form of user‐empowering information technology (IT). The other objective is to introduce a means‐end chain approach into IT‐user studies. An important attraction of smartphones is their personalized environment, which is mainly provided by varied applications. The user personalization ability implies that users achieve diverse benefits with smartphones; that is, users decide what a smartphone is to them rather than adopt a given product. Thus, investigating what values users pursue with a smartphone (i.e. a value‐oriented approach) will give insights into understanding the users. To investigate user values in using smartphones, we conducted a laddering interview with 54 smartphone users and analyzed the data by using a means‐end chain approach to understand consumers' hierarchical value structure. This study contributes to value‐oriented research on user‐empowering IT by revelling how users benefit from smartphones. Furthermore, the study advances value‐oriented research by showing what users actually do with smartphones, from concrete activities to abstract values. In addition, a means‐end chain approach introduced in the study can be another angle for the investigation of user adoption of technology, in that it can describe IT use contexts and practices, which become an important object of analysis in the information systems research.