Over half of U.S. cellphone owners now own smartphones, according to new data from the Pew Internet and American Life Project. 53% of U.S. cellphone owners are now of the smart variety and 46% of American’s overall own a smartphone. This is a significant inflection point in the mobile revolution, marking a significant trend in how the average person interacts with information.
About 88% of U.S. citizens are cellphone users. Smartphone adoption spiked in almost every demographic category since Pew’s last study on the subject in May 2011. 71% of people aged 25-34 are now smartphone owners as are 66% of young adults age 18-29. The industry has moved way past the early adopter and explosive growth stages. Smartphones are now a basic part of the fabric of U.S. society.
Pew’s data says that 20% of smartphone owners describe their device as an Android while 19% said theirs was an iPhone. 6% of owners described their device as a BlackBerry, down 10% from May 2011. Windows (2%) and Palm (1%) were unchanged.
49% of all U.S. men are smartphone owners compared to 44% of women. Like last year, black and Hispanic demographics have higher adoption rates but the growth was not as significant as the non-Hispanic white category, which grew from 30% to 45%. See the chart below.
If we take all the data together, we see that the typical smartphone user is young, has college experience or a degree and makes more than $30,000 a year. On a base level, that is relatively unchanged from studies we have seen throughout 2011. Where it does change though is that adoption is spread out among all age groups (except the elderly), education levels and ethnic demographics.
Cellphone owners are also become savvier in identifying their brands. Last year, 14% of cellphone owners were not sure if their phone was smart or not. This year, only 8% were not sure. 4% of cell owners do not know what kind of device they own (like a feature phone or an Android etc.), down from 13% last year.
