20 Vital Smartphone Usage Statistics [2023]: Facts, Data, and Trends On Mobile Use In The U.S. - Zippia (2024)

Research Summary. Each and 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 unsurprising that cell phone usage has only grown over time.

To find out more about smartphone users in U.S., we’ve gathered all of the most interesting statistics. According to our extensive research:

• 81.6% of Americans, totaling 270 million people, own a smartphone as of 2023.

• The average American spends 5 hours and 24 minutes on their mobile device each day.

• Americans check their phones on average 96 times per day, or once every ten minutes.

• There are roughly 6.92 billion smartphone users across the world. That’s 86.29% of the global population, as of 2023.

• 59.16% of website traffic comes from mobile devices, as of 2022.

For further analysis, we broke down the data in the following ways:
Reliance and Addictiveness | Mobile Commerce | Trends and Projections

General Smartphone Usage Statistics

Given that 81.6% of Americans own a smartphone, it’s not surprising that they play a pivotal role in everyday life. From briefly checking the weather to perusing Facebook for two hours, our research shows that:

• As of 2021, 90% of mobile time is spent using apps.

  That’s up by at least 25% when compared to 2019 numbers. In fact, smartphone users spent a record 3.8 trillion hours using apps in 2021.

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

  In fact, in the first quarter of 2015, the mobile share of internet usage was only a third of computers and other devices (31.16%). While, as of the start of 2022, the majority of internet usage 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 more archaic mobile devices. Of course, this number is skewed toward particular demographics, with 25% of those making less than $30,000 a year owning a feature phone and 40% of those aged 65 and older owning one.

• Smartphones account for 70% of U.S. digital media time.

  Some of the forms of digital media that are mostly consumed on smartphones include Games (94% of digital time), Social Media (92%), and Entertainment (83%). Meanwhile, the only two forms of digital media still reliant on desktops are Education (77% share) and Government (72%).

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

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



• College graduates are 20% more likely to have a smartphone than those who didn’t graduate High School.

  Overall, 93% of college graduates have a smartphone, compared to only 75% of individuals with some High School experience. It’s also worth noting that the number jumps up to 89% for those who have some college experience.

Smartphone Use Statistics by Reliance and Addictiveness

Of course, the integration of smartphones in our everyday lives does come with some negative side effects. Today, we are more reliant on and addicted to mobile devices than ever before. Here are the facts:

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

  For heavy users, that number can reach over 5,000. Sounds crazy, but it also counts all those times you’ve fumbled around your pockets in a panic because you thought you lost your phone. Overall, the average smartphone owner will unlock their phone at least 150 times a day.

• The average American will check their phone once every ten to 12 minutes.

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  That means the average American checks their phone at least 96 times per day. Though, 66% of Americans actually check their phones 160 times every day.

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

  While this is by far the largest demographic, wealthier Americans are also beginning to rely on their phones for the internet as well. 11% of those making between $30,000 and $99,999 are smartphone-reliant for internet access, while only 6% of those making $100,000+ are.



• 28% of those between the ages of 18-29 do not have broadband but do have a smartphone.

  That’s a stark contrast compared to every other generation, who overwhelmingly have broadband. Only 11% of those between 30-49 have a smartphone and no broadband, while that percentage is 13% for those between 50-64 and 12% for those 65+.

Smartphone Usage Statistics and Mobile Commerce

No doubt, the growth of smartphones has had a positive effect on mobile commerce. Especially in the U.S., the mobile commerce industry continues to boom year after year. According to our research:

• As of 2021, the m-commerce market comprises nearly 73% of total e-commerce.

  What’s more, this is a 39.1% increase from 2016, when m-commerce was only 52.4% of the e-commerce market. In all likelihood, the increased reliance on mobile devices will only see this percentage increase further over time.



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

  Plus, when considering the fact that the average mobile phone purchase is $94.85, it’s unsurprising to see so many companies focus on apps and other forms of m-commerce advertising.

• U.S. m-commerce is expected to experience a massive CAGR of 34.9% between 2020–2026.

  This is unsurprising, given the growth of smartphone users within the past five years and the fact that a growing minority of Americans rely on their phones for internet access.

• As of 2020, U.S. m-commerce annual revenue reached $339.03 billion.

  That means that the U.S. market is responsible for around 11-12% of the world’s total m-commerce revenues.

Smartphone Usage Statistics: Trends and Projections

While it might seem obvious that smartphone usage will continue to increase, there are multiple important factors to consider. When it comes to smartphone usage trends and predictions, here’s what we found:

• Year-over-Year (YoY) growth for cell phone usage is expected to be at a stable 2-3% by 2025.

  While this might not seem like a lot, it equates to just under a billion new users. For instance, as of 2023, there are 6.92 billion smartphone users globally, and that number is expected to reach 7.34 billion by 2025.

• The amount of time spent using smartphone apps in the U.S. 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 seeing the highest increases.

• By 2025, an estimated 72.6% of global smartphone owners will access the internet solely using their smartphones.

  That means that by 2025 there will be over 1.3 billion people who will rely on their smartphones to access the internet worldwide.

• There are roughly 10.37 billion mobile connections worldwide.

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

• There are projected to be 7.52 billion smartphone users by 2026.

  That’s 12% more users than there are currently, which is healthy growth, considering the fact that 86% of the global 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 the time. However, as of 2022, the number of smartphone users around the globe is now 86% of the total population.

Cell Phone Usage Statistics FAQ

1. What is the average cell 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 between five to six hours on their phones per day, while a further 22% spend three to four hours on average on their phone daily. Believe it or not, less than 5% of Americans spend less than an hour on their phone per day.

2. What percentage of the world has a cell phone in 2022?

   A considerable 86% of the global population has a smartphone in 2022. That’s a huge percentage, considering the fact that in 2016 the number of global smartphone users was only 3.67 billion, or 45% of the total population at the time.

   Further, the prevalence of cell phones is still expected to become more pronounced, projected to be 7.52 billion smartphone users by 2026. That’s 12% more than the current 6.92 billion.

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

   The average American checks their phone 96 times per day, or once every ten to 12 minutes. Though, we actually touch our phones up to 2,617 times per day and unlock our phones 150 times on average. That’s a lot.

4. How many smartphones are sold each year?

   Over 1.5 billion smartphones are sold around the world each year. The current global leader is Samsung, which sold 272 million smartphones in 2021 alone. Other top players include Apple, Xiaomi, OPPO^, and Vivo which all reached their highest-ever annual shipments in the same year.

5. How many Americans have smartphones?

   81.6% of Americans own smartphones, which is equivalent to over 270 million people. This percentage will likely continue to increase, as 53% of American children now have a smartphone before age 11.

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

   47% of people believe they’re addicted to our phones. Several symptoms of this addiction include the fact that 74% of Americans feel uneasy when they leave their home without their phone, 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.

   All together, these trends show that people rely on their phones a great deal, and are often unable to spend time apart from their devices.

Conclusion

It seems like everyone and their mother has a smartphone nowadays, and that’s because almost everyone does. In fact, 81.6% of Americans own smartphones, and 86.29% of the global population does.

And we rely on these devices too, checking them every ten to 12 minutes and spending over five hours using them on average. Believe it or not, over a quarter of those who make $30,000 or less and the same percentage of those between the ages of 18-29 rely on their smartphones for internet access.

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

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

Sources:

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