Smartphone adoption: Stable and strengthening

Smartphone adoption among UK adults rose to 85 per cent as of mid-2017. Five years ago, adoption was at 52 per cent. 

We predict smartphone adoption will rise by between 1-3 percentage points over the coming year which would mean up to 88 per cent of UK adults would have one by mid-2018. Among younger age groups (18-45 year olds) smartphone adoption has been over 90 per cent for several years. 

The smartphone has now established a clear lead as the most popular consumer electronics device, with a seven percentage point lead over the laptop, and 17 percentage points over the tablet. 

Among UK adults, the smartphone is, by a fair distance, the most intensively used device. Just over 77 per cent of all adults aged 18-75 now use a smartphone daily. In second place is the laptop, used by just over half of adults daily (78 per cent have one, 68 per cent are used on a daily basis). 

What does this mean for the smartphone’s usability?

The smartphone’s clear gap over other devices should lead to more content, content creation tools and processes being designed for them, leading to yet greater usage of and reliance on these devices. 

In turn this should spur continued investment in enhancing smartphone capability and underlying networks. 

What’s next for the smartphone?

We expect that with every year, a greater proportion of smartphone owners will use their devices on a daily basis. By mid-2018, we expect about 80 per cent of UK adults to be using a smartphone daily, and for the proportion to be between 88 and 90 per cent by 2022.

Utility is likely to increase as each core smartphone application becomes more sophisticated. Consider, for example, how music as a smartphone application has evolved over the past decade, and may change over the medium term.