Today, 68 percent of U.S. adults have a smartphone, up from 35 percent in 2011, and tablet computer ownership has edged up to 45 percent among adults, according to newly released survey data from the Pew Research Center.
According to the research, smartphone ownership is nearing the saturation point with some groups: 86 percent of those ages 18 to 29 have a smartphone, as do 83 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 87 percent of those living in households earning $75,000 and up annually.
At the same time, the surveys suggest the adoption of some digital devices has slowed and even declined in recent years.
For example, e-reader device ownership has fallen. Today, about one-in-five adults (19 percent) report owning an e-reader, while in early 2014 that share was a third (32 percent). Ownership of MP3 players has not had a notable decline, but the percentage of adults who own one has hovered around the 40 percent mark since 2008. And computer ownership levels have stayed roughly where they were a decade ago.
These changes are all taking place in a world where smartphones are transforming into all-purpose devices that can take the place of specialized technology, such as music players, e-book readers and gaming devices. Some of the changes in device ownership patterns are particularly evident for young adults. Among those ages 18 to 29, ownership of MP3 players and computers has declined by double digits in the past five years. In 2010, three-quarters of 18- to 29-year-olds owned an MP3 player; by 2015, only half (51 percent) had one.
There is a similar pattern with computer ownership. Today, 78 percent of adults under 30 own a laptop or desktop computer, compared with 88 percent who did so in 2010. Smartphone ownership, on the other hand, has surpassed both of these devices, with 86 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds owning one in 2015. In other words, as smartphones came to prominence several years ago, younger owners perhaps did not feel as much of a need as their older peers to have other kinds of devices.
Cellphones continue to top of the list. Roughly nine-in-10 American adults (92 percent) own a mobile phone of some kind. Although these mobile devices are ubiquitous today, the share of adults who own one has risen substantially since 2004, when Pew Research conducted its first poll on cell ownership. At that time, 65 percent of Americans owned a cellphone.
Some of the other findings:
- Computers are the next-most popular device among those measured. Some 73 percent of U.S. adults own a desktop or laptop computer, a figure that is similar to the 71 percent of those who owned a computer or laptop in 2004 and down somewhat from a high of 80 percent in 2012.
- Some 40 percent of adults report having a game console, a number that has not budged in five years.
- Four-in-10 Americans (40 percent) own MP3 players, down from the high mark of 47 percent in 2010.
- About a fifth (19 percent) have e-book readers, a drop from 32 perecent who said they owned one in early 2014.
- Some 14 percent of adults own a portable gaming device, such as a PlayStation Portable (PSP).
