Smartphones reach 80% of US homes
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Michelle Clancy
| 27 May 2017

Mobile video is on the rise, and no wonder: smartphones are now in 80% of US homes – a six percentage point increase in penetration year-on-year, according to the Consumer Technology Association (CTA).


US consumers now own 27 million more smartphones than they did last year (up 13%). While televisions remain the most popular technology device, as they have for decades (almost every household, 96%, owns at least one TV), smartphones have reached a record level of household penetration.

The research*also found that mobiles have jumped solidly into second place among the country’s most frequently owned tech products; the total number of smartphones now stands at 238 million.

Additionally, from 2016 to 2017, the US market saw an increase in the overall installed base of connected devices including smart home devices, smart TVs, wearables and wireless speakers, according to the CTA.

“Connectivity – the any time/anywhere access to information and entertainment we now expect – is a driving trend of our time, supported by the continued growth we’ve seen in smartphone ownership,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CTA. “Smartphones are our personal hubs for innovative technologies like smart homes, connected cars and voice-recognition services. And, as more of us recognise the ability of technology to change our lives for the better, smartphones will continue to be one of the most pervasive technologies owned in homes throughout the US.”

After ranking second on this list for several years, household ownership levels for DVD/Blu-ray players has dropped seven percentage points year-on-year (70%), and unit ownership fell 14 percentage points to 142 million. And when it comes to notebooks, laptops or netbooks, household ownership increased slightly (69%, up 1%), the category fell one spot in the rankings despite a 12% year-on-year jump in unit ownership.

Smart home devices, smart TVs,*smart watches, wearable activity trackers and wireless speakers each saw an increase in household ownership of 4% year-on-year.

“Three of the top five most frequently owned technology devices are products with screens – televisions, smartphones and laptops – and those numbers will continue to grow as one-third of consumers tell us they’ll buy at least one smartphone in 2017, and one-fifth say they plan to buy a television or laptop in the coming year,” said Steve Koenig, senior director of market research, CTA. “US consumers are quickly embracing the rapid rise of today’s ‘screen culture,’ demonstrating their appetite for connected devices that enable easy and accessible consumption of content of all types.”

For TVs, meanwhile, the total number of units owned (308 million) decreased by 3% year-on-year.