Basic Cell Phones on the Way Out- Smartphones now the Majority

It’s no longer something to boast about if you’ve got the latest smartphone. Instead, you’re choice to be on the cutting edge of mobile technology puts you amongst the majority of cellphone users.

In fact, 46% of adults in the U.S. now report being the proud owner of a smartphone. That number comes from a recent study performed by the Pew Internet & American Life Project—the same study which found that just 41% of adults are still toting around a basic mobile phone… The study polled almost 2,300 people over the age of 18, and the figure of 47% smartphone ownership shows an 11% increase over May of last year.

When you break down the demographics of the report, it’s clear that every group is adopting smartphones at a higher rate than ever, while college-age adults are the most-likely to claim a smartphone as their device of choice… On the other end of the spectrum, seniors 65-years-old and above are still considered a long-shot for owning a smartphone, as just 13% reported kicking the basic phone habit and listening to their grandkids when they told them how cool iPhone/Android/whatever was (it’s not just your parents that won’t get with the program).

File this one from Pew under “predictable.” It doesn’t take an official research group to observe the dramatic shift that’s taken place over the last few years, as a walk down any street in the U.S. reveals how smartphones are not a novelty anymore. We have to expect that the gap between smartphone/basic phone users will have widened next year when it comes time for Pew to refresh these figures—the question is, by how much?

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Devin Wieland

 

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