According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 35% of American adults own smartphones. The survey found that 83% of U.S. adults have a cell phone of some kind, and that 42% of them own a
smartphone. That translates into 35% of all adults.
The definition of a smartphone owner, for this report, includes anyone who falls into either of the following two categories:
- One-third of cell owners say that their phone is a smartphone
- Two-in-five cell owners say that their phone operates on a smartphone platform (these include iPhones and Blackberry
devices, as well as phones running the Android, Windows or Palm operating systems)
Several groups have higher than average levels of smartphone adoption, including:
- The
financially well-off and well-educated: 59% of adults living in a household earning income of $75,000 or more are smartphone owners; 48% of those with a college degree own smartphones
- Those
younger than age 45: 58% of Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 now own a smartphone as do 49% of those ages 18-24 and 44% of those ages 35-44. Even among those with a household income of $30,000
or less, smartphone ownership rates for those ages 18-29 are equal to the national average
- African-Americans and Latinos. 44% of blacks and Latinos are smartphone users
- Urban and
suburban residents are roughly twice as likely to own a smartphone as those living in rural areas, and employment status is also strongly correlated with smartphone ownership
87%
of smartphone owners access the Internet or email on their handheld, including 68% who do so on a typical day. When asked what device they normally use to access the internet, 25% of smartphone owners
say that they mostly go online using their phone, rather than with a computer. While many of these individuals have other sources of online access at home, roughly one third of these "cell
mostly" Internet users lack a high-speed home broadband connection.
Smartphone
Summary (Users 18 And Over) |
Smartphone Condition | % Smartphone
Owners | % All Cell Owners | % All Adults |
Own a smartphone | 100% | 42% | 35% |
Use Internet of email on smartphone | 87 | 36 | 30 |
Use smartphone to go online (typical day) | 68 | 28 | 23 |
Go online mostly using
smartphone | 25 | 10 | 8 |
Source: Pew Research Center, July 2011 |
Smartphone owners under the age of 30, non-white smartphone users and
smartphone owners with relatively low income and education levels are particularly likely to say that they mostly go online using their phones.
Phones operating on the Android platform are
currently the most prevalent type of smartphone, followed by iPhones and Blackberry devices.
Platform Differences (% of Segment Responses) |
Platform | Among All Cell Phone Owners | Among Smartphone Owners |
Android | 15% | 35% |
iPhone | 10 | 24 |
Blackberry | 10 | 24 |
Palm | 2 | 6 |
Windows | 2 | 4 |
Source: Pew Research Center, July 2011 |
Demographically, Android phones
are especially common among young adults and African-Americans, while iPhones and Blackberry devices are most prevalent among college graduates and the financially well-off.
For the full
report for an in-depth look at the demographics of smartphone owners and how they use their devices get more information from PEWresearch here.