20 Essential Smartphone Usage Statistics [2023]: Facts, Data & Trends About US Mobile Usage - Zippia (2024)

Research summary.Every day, most of us rely on our phones to communicate, research, and entertain ourselves. We even need our phones to navigate in the car or on foot. With that in mind, it's not surprising that cell phone use has only increased over time.

To find out more about smartphone users in the US, we've collected the most interesting statistics. According to our extensive research:

• 81.6% of Americans,By 2023, a total of 270 million people will own a smartphone.

• The average American spends5 hours and 24 minutesevery day on their mobile device.

• On average, Americans check their phones96 times a day, or once every ten minutes.

• There are about6,92 mlnsmartphone users worldwide. It is86,29 %of the world population from 2023.

• 59.16% of website trafficcoming from mobile devices from 2022.

For further analysis, we split the data in the following ways:
Trust and dependence|Mobile commerce|Trends and projections

General statistics about smartphone use

Considering that 81.6% of Americans own a smartphone, it's no surprise that they play a central role in everyday life. From checking the weather forecast to surfing Facebook for two hours, our research shows that:

• From 2021, 90% of mobile time will be spent on apps.

  This is an increase of at least 25% compared to 2019 figures. In fact, in 2021, smartphone users spent a record 3.8 trillion hours using apps.

• Over the past five years (2017-2022), the mobile share of internet use has increased from 51.1% to 59.1%.

  In fact, mobile's share of internet use in the first quarter of 2015 was only a third of that of computers and other devices (31.16%). While at the beginning of 2022, the majority of internet use now comes from mobile devices (59.1%).

• 17% of Americans still use feature phones.

  Remember blackberries and flip phones? Well, it turns out that 17% of Americans still use archaic mobile devices. Naturally, this figure is skewed towards certain demographics: 25% of those earning less than $30,000 per year own a feature phone, and 40% of those over 65 own one.

• Smartphones account for 70% of digital media time in the US.

  The types of digital media most consumed on smartphones include gaming (94% of digital time), social media (92%) and entertainment (83%). Meanwhile, the only two forms of digital media still dependent on desktops are education (77% share) and government (72%).

• The average American spends at least five hours a day on their phone.

  More specifically, just under half of all Americans spend five to six hours on their phones per day, while another 22% spend an average of three to four hours on their phones every day. Believe it or not, less than 5% of Americans spend less than an hour a day on their phone.



• College graduates are 20% more likely to own a smartphone than those who did not complete high school.

  Overall, 93% of college graduates own a smartphone, compared to just 75% of those with some high school experience. It is also worth noting that this number rises to 89% for those with some university experience.

Smartphone usage statistics by addiction and addiction

Of course, the integration of smartphones into our daily lives brings some negative side effects. Today we are more dependent and reliant on mobile devices than ever before. Here are the facts:

• The average American touches their phone 2,617 times a day.

  For heavy users, that number can rise to more than 5,000. It sounds crazy, but it also counts all the times you frantically fumbled through your pockets because you thought you lost your phone. In short, the average smartphoneownerunlock their phone at least 150 times a day.

• The average American checks their phone every 10 to 12 minutes.

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  That means the average American checks their phone at least 96 times a day. Even though 66% of Americans check their phone 160 times a day.

• 27% of Americans living in households earning less than $30,000 per year rely on their smartphones for internet access.

  Although this is by far the largest demographic group, wealthier Americans have also come to rely on their phones for internet access. 11% of those earning between $30,000 and $99,999 rely on their smartphone for internet access, while only 6% of those earning $100,000+ do.



• 28% of 18-29 year olds do not have broadband, but do have a smartphone.

  This is in stark contrast to every other generation, which is predominantly broadband. Only 11% of 30-49 year olds have a smartphone and no broadband, while that percentage is 13% for 50-64 year olds and 12% for those over 65.

Statistics on smartphone usage and mobile commerce

The growth of smartphones has undoubtedly had a positive impact on mobile commerce. Especially in the US, mobile commerce continues to grow year after year. According to our research:

• From 2021, the m-commerce market will account for almost 73% of total e-commerce.

  Moreover, that is an increase of 39.1% compared to 2016, when m-commerce represented only 52.4% of the e-commerce market. In all likelihood, increased dependence on mobile devices will only increase this percentage over time.



• As of 2021, 79% of smartphone users have used their mobile devices to make a purchase.

  And when you consider that the average purchase of a mobile phone is $94.85, it's not surprising that so many companies are turning to apps and other forms of m-commerce advertising.

• US m-commerce is expected to experience a massive CAGR of 34.9% between 2020 and 2026.

  This is not surprising given the growth in the number of smartphone users over the past five years and the fact that a growing minority of Americans rely on their phones for internet access.

• As of 2020, annual US m-commerce revenue was $339.03 billion.

  This means that the US market is responsible for approximately 11-12% of the world's total m-commerce revenues.

Smartphone usage statistics: trends and projections

While it seems obvious that smartphone use will continue to increase, there are several important factors to consider. When it comes to smartphone usage trends and predictions, here's what we found:

• The year-on-year growth in mobile phone use is expected to be stable at 2-3% in 2025.

  While this may not seem like much, it amounts to just under a billion new users. For example, in 2023 there will be 6.92 billion smartphone users worldwide, and by 2025 that number is expected to rise to 7.34 billion.

• The amount of time spent on smartphone apps in the US has increased by 25% since 2019.

  Globally, that number is as high as 30%, with countries like India (80%), Russia (50%), Indonesia (45%) and Turkey (45%) all experiencing the highest increases.

• By 2025, an estimated 72.6% of smartphone owners worldwide will only access the Internet through their smartphones.

  This means that by 2025, more than 1.3 billion people worldwide will depend on their smartphones to access the internet.

• There are approximately 10.37 billion mobile connections worldwide.

  Believe it or not, that's 2.46 billion more mobile connections than there are people worldwide (or 24% more mobile connections in the world than there are people).

• It is expected that there will be 7.52 billion smartphone users by 2026.

  That's 12% more users than there are currently, which is healthy growth considering that 86% of the world's adult population already owns a phone.

• Since 2016, the number of smartphone users worldwide has grown by 50%.

  In 2016, the number of global smartphone users was only 3.67 billion, or 45% of the total population at that time. But as of 2022, the number of smartphone users around the world now amounts to 86% of the total population.

Frequently asked questions about cell phone usage statistics

1. What is the average mobile phone usage per day in 2022?

   The average American uses their phone for at least five hours and 24 minutes per day.More specifically, just under half of all Americans spend five to six hours on their phones per day, while another 22% spend an average of three to four hours on their phones every day. Believe it or not, less than 5% of Americans spend less than an hour a day on their phone.

2. What percentage of the world will have a mobile phone in 2022?

   By 2022, a significant 86% of the world's population will have a smartphone.That's a huge percentage when you consider that the number of global smartphone users in 2016 was only 3.67 billion, or 45% of the total population at the time.

   Furthermore, mobile phone penetration is expected to increase further; it is expected that there will be 7.52 billion smartphone users by 2026. That is 12% more than the current 6.92 billion.

3. How many times does someone check their phone per day in 2022?

   The average American checks their phone 96 times a day, or once every 10 to 12 minutes.Although we touch our phones an average of 2,617 times a day and unlock our phones an average of 150 times. That's a lot.

4. How many smartphones are sold annually?

   More than 1.5 billion smartphones are sold worldwide every year.From global huidigemanageris Samsung, which sold 272 million smartphones in 2021 alone. Other top players include Apple, Xiaomi, OPPO^ and Vivo, all of which reached their highest-ever annual shipments in the same year.

5. How many Americans have smartphones?

   81.6% of Americans own smartphones, which amounts to more than 270 million people.This percentage will likely continue to rise as 53% of American children now own a smartphone before the age of 11.

6. What percentage of people are addicted to their phones?

   47% of people think they are addicted to our phones.Several symptoms of this addiction include the fact that 74% of Americans feel uncomfortable leaving the house without their phone, while 71% check their phone within the first 10 minutes of waking up. and 70% check their phone within the first 5 minutes of receiving a notification.

   Overall, these trends show that people rely heavily on their phones and are often unable to spend time away from their devices.

Conclusion

It seems like everyone and their mother has a smartphone these days, and that's because almost everyone does. In fact, 81.6% of Americans own a smartphone, and so do 86.29% of the world's population.

And we are also dependent on these devices: we check them every 10 to 12 minutes and spend an average of more than five hours on them. Believe it or not, well over a quarter of those earning $30,000 or less, and the same percentage of those between the ages of 18 and 29, rely on their smartphones for internet access.

And this trend is only expected to continue, as the US e-commerce market is expected to experience a massive CAGR of 34.9% between 2020 and 2026. Not to mention the simple fact that the amount of time spent on smartphone apps in the US has increased by 25% since 2019.

All this combined with the prediction that the number of global smartphone users will grow by 12% through 2026, and it's not hard to see how dominant smartphones really are.

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