If there is a smartphone in your home, then it seems you are part of the 80-percent of homes in the US, that smartphones are now found in. This is based on the latest data from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), and part of its 19th Annual Consumer Technology Ownership and Market Potential Study. Which not only looks to confirm that 80-percent of US households now have at least one smartphone, but overall, 27 million more smartphones are now owned by consumers in the US, compared to the year before.
According to the report, this marks a record for smartphone penetration and represents a six-percent increase, compared to the year before. Likewise, with 27 million more smartphones now owned by US consumers, the overall number of owned smartphones has also hit a record high, up 13-percent to 238 million. However, while smartphones seem to be on an upwards trajectory, they do only represent the second most frequently owned tech product in the US, and by a significant margin. As smartphones still do not seem quite as prevalent as TVs.
The data found that TVs are still the most readily encountered device in US homes, with the CTA noting that as much as 96-percent of homes now have at least one TV. Although, it is worth noting that the TV category in itself dropped ‘very slightly’ year-over-year. So while there are technically less TVs per household (compared to last year), the overall number still dwarfs that of smartphones, 308 million compared to the 238 million noted for smartphones. So it does seem as though smartphones still has some way to go before it can claim to be the most frequently owned tech device in US homes. While TVs have been the dominant product category for years, CTA President and CEO, Gary Shapiro, sees smartphones as a product category that will remain high on the list for years to come. With Shapiro noting “smartphones will continue to be one of the most pervasive technologies owned in homes throughout the U.S.” Drawing on the fact that smartphone rates are also being fueled by their ability to act as “our personal hubs” for other devices. Speaking of which, the data also highlights that the number of tech devices overall are increasing, as the report found that there was an influx in the number of connected devices owned by US consumers, including smart home devices, wearables, wireless speakers, and so on.