The global number of smartphone users in was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 1.8 billion users (+42.62 percent). After the fifteenth consecutive increasing year, the smartphone user base is estimated to reach 6.1 billion users and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the number of smartphone users of was continuously increasing over the past years.Smartphone users here are limited to internet users of any age using a smartphone. The shown figures have been derived from survey data that has been processed to estimate missing demographics.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the number of smartphone users in countries like the Americas and Asia.

In 2022, the average data used per smartphone per month worldwide amounted to 15 gigabytes (GB). The source forecasts that this will increase almost four times reaching 46 GB per smartphone per month globally in 2028.

The number of smartphone users in the United States was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 17.4 million users (+5.61 percent). After the fifteenth consecutive increasing year, the smartphone user base is estimated to reach 327.54 million users and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the number of smartphone users of was continuously increasing over the past years.Smartphone users here are limited to internet users of any age using a smartphone. The shown figures have been derived from survey data that has been processed to estimate missing demographics.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the number of smartphone users in countries like Mexico and Canada.

Percentage of smartphone users by selected smartphone use habits in a typical day.

The statistic shows the share of the population in the United States that uses a smartphone in the United States from 2018 to 2025. In 2025, 87.08 percent of the population in the United States is forecast to use a smartphone.

Smartphone user penetration - additional information
A smartphone can be defined as a mobile device that uses an identifiable operating system and has a more advanced technological capability than a basic mobile phone. The number of U.S mobile users who have a smartphone is set to more than triple between 2011 and 2017 to almost 80 percent of all mobile users. This means that the number of overall smartphone users is forecast to top 200 million by 2017.

The smartphone penetration rate of mobile users is similarly high in the United Kingdom, with over 80 percent expected to own a smart device by 2017. However the smartphone market is set to grow at a slower rate in China with just under half of mobile users forecast to own a smartphone in 2017. The percentage is even lower in India where 32 percent of mobile phone users are predicted to use a smartphone by 2017.

Android phones and iPhones remain the most popular choice for smartphones with the two respective Operating Systems holding of 90 percent of the market sales in the U.S. in 2013. This trend looks set to continue with two new competing smartphones on the market, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (Android) and the iPhone 6 (iOS), both unveiled in 2014.

This statistic shows the smartphone penetration as share of the population in the United States from 2010 to 2021. In 2018, 69.6 percent of the U.S. population used a smartphone.

Smartphone penetration in the U.S. - additional information
Almost two-thirds of Americans are predicted to own a smartphone by 2017, more than a threefold increase since 2010. A smartphone is a mobile phone that uses an identifiable open Operating System (OS) and has more advanced computing capability and connectivity than a basic phone. The OS is supported by third party applications (commonly known as apps) written by the developer community.

The operating system must be able to support a multitasking environment and user interface that can handle multiple applications at the same time. Two of the most popular operating systems on the market are made by Google (Android) and Apple (iOS) who had a combined stake of over 90 percent of the smartphone market share worldwide at the end of 2016.

The popularity of the smartphone has risen immensely since Apple introduced its first iPhone in 2007, with 43.5 percent of all Americans forecast to own an iPhone by 2016. The first iPhone was notably different from other smartphones at the time because it used a large touchscreen for direct finger input, rather than the need for a stylus, keypad, or keyboard.

The first smartphone to use the Android OS was the HTC Dream released in 2008. Although numbers of people using this OS were low at first, it has since grown to be the most used operating system, with an estimated 107.7 million Americans projected to own an Android phone by 2016.

Smartphone usage in the United Kingdom has increased across all age ranges since 2012, most noticeably among those aged 55-64 years of age. Whereas just nine percent of mobile phone users aged 55 to 64 years used a smartphone in 2012, this number rose to over 90 percent by 2023 and reached 93 percent in 2024. Smartphones are becoming more accessibleAs well as becoming more ubiquitous, smartphones are also becoming more accessible. In terms of price, the global average selling price of smartphones has fallen from 336.8 U.S. dollars in 2010, to 276.20 U.S. dollars in 2015. However, estimates available from 2019 predicted that the average selling price of smartphones worldwide will increase again and reach 317 U.S. dollars by 2021. The average selling price for smartphones in Europe was at around 373 euros in 2019. Smartphone usage in the UK    Smartphones are the Swiss army knife of digital devices, with their capabilities limited by the creativity of developers as much as it is the technology contained in the phone. In 2017, communications were the most popular ways to use a phone, however, 87 percent of users report using camera apps frequently, 85 percent report frequent use of browser apps, and 68 percent report frequent use of navigation apps.

The average time spent daily on a phone, not counting talking on the phone, has increased in recent years, reaching a total of 4 hours and 30 minutes as of April 2022. This figure is expected to reach around 4 hours and 39 minutes by 2024.

The global smartphone penetration rate was estimated at 71 percent in 2024, up from 2023. This is based on an estimated 6.7 billion smartphone subscriptions worldwide and a global population of around 7.4 billion. Regional differences in smartphone penetration Throughout the world, the smartphone penetration rate in the general population varies greatly. For example, in North America and Europe, the smartphone adoption rate stands at roughly 86 and 82 percent, respectively. Whereas in Sub-Saharan Africa, the same rate only stands at 55 percent as of late 2023, showing a roughly 30 percent difference in adoption rates between the highest and lowest ranked regions. Global smartphone shipments The number of global smartphone shipments saw a drop in recent years. However, the number of shipments is expected to recover to previous levels in the upcoming years. Most recently, Samsung and Apple have been leading the share of smartphone shipments worldwide, with other competitors such as Xiaomi and Oppo are catching up. Most of the top contributors to the smartphone market are concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region, which is also the region is the one with the most smartphone sales to end users as a whole.

According to a survey conducted among teens and preteens in the United States, approximately 16 percent of teens and preteens used their smartphones between three and four hours daily as of November 2022. Around 15 percent of respondents reported using their mobile devices between four and five hours daily, while nine percent reported engaging with their devices for more than 10 hours per day.

This statistic shows the number of smartphone users in the U.S. from 2009 to 2040. For 2022, the number of smartphone users in the United States is estimated to reach 307 million.

Smartphone users - additional information

Advances in telecommunication technology have been significant in recent years. These advances have led to a level of connectivity never seen before. The number of smartphone users in the US has risen steadily over the last several years and forecasts estimate that smartphone penetration in North America will also continue to rise steadily into the future. The United States is one of the leading countries in the world with respect to adoption of smartphone technology.

In America the most popular smartphone brands are Samsung and Apple, while the most popular smartphone operating systems / platforms with respect to market share are none other than Google Android and Apple’s own operating system, iOS. Other operating systems, such as Symbian, Blackberry OS, Bada and Windows have struggled to maintain a foothold in the market as iOS and Android clearly dominate the field.

The first official smartphones came onto the market in the early 1990s. Initially a smartphone was classified by its ability to offer features like e-mail capability, internet access, QUERTY keyboards, personal digital assistant functions and perhaps a built-in camera. As of today, smartphones have progressed even more and we typically classify smartphones as having a high definition touchscreen, various apps, navigation tools and high-speed internet on the go. More recently sales of smartphones have even exceeded that of traditional feature phones as smartphone usage has continued to rise.

The proportion of smartphone users out of those using a mobile phone in the United Kingdom (UK) increased notably from 2011 to 2024, from less than half in 2011 with 44 percent to 93 percent of mobile phone users using a smartphone in 2024.

In the second quarter of 2021, around 92.7 percent of mobile phone users in Mexico used a smartphone. This share increased by about 11 percentage points compared to the smartphone usage penetration reported in the second quarter of 2016. In the second quarter of 2021, Mexico was home to almost 128 million mobile phone lines.

In 2022, the number of smartphone users in China amounted to almost 1.04 billion. According to the forecast, the user number was expected to increase to around 1.18 billion by 2026. With around 6.6 billion people who use smartphones around the world, China accounts for over 15 percent of total users.

From copycats to global players

Over the past decade, Chinese smartphone manufacturers evolved from cheap alternatives to established, global brands. At the beginning of the 2010s, the market was still dominated by traditional cell phone vendors like Nokia and Sony. Halfway through the decade, Chinese manufacturers like Huawei, Xiaomi, and OPPO entered the market. Aided by the popularity among domestic consumers, these brands became integral parts of the global industry.

Like a Swiss army knife

Along with user base growth, the significance of the smartphone in Chinese every day life increased as well. Today, Chinese citizens use the smartphone for everything. From paying for groceries using mobile payment services, ordering take out, to finding a taxi, all require smartphone. Furthermore, during the pandemic, the Chinese government introduced digital health codes to monitor the citizen’s risk status.

According to a May 2023 survey of internet users in the United States, 83 percent of respondents used security features on their smartphones. Furthermore, the survey found that younger individuals were more likely to secure their smartphone devices, as nine in 10 respondents between 18 and 29 said they used a security feature. On the contrary, 72 percent of those 65 and older stated the same.

The percentage of U.S. adults who own a smartphone has more than doubled since 2011. Only 35 percent of all U.S. adults owned a smartphone in 2011, compared to 90 percent of adults who owned a smartphone, as of May 2023. The share of U.S. adults owning a smartphone increased by 55 percentage points the highlighted period. 

Higher smartphone usage with males and higher-income groups    

As smartphone penetration overall has increased over time in the United States, this trend can be observed in the split by gender as well. The penetration rate is not equally high though for both male and female users, as the usage amongst males is around five percent higher than amongst females in the United States.

The smartphone penetration rate in the United States correlates appears closely related to with household income in the United States. In households with an annual income of more than 50 thousand U.S. dollars the smartphone penetration rate is 90 percent or higher, while on the other hand smartphone ownership in households with an annual income below this threshold is below 80 percent.

Apple leader in U.S. smartphone market    

Apple is the leading vendor in the United States smartphone market with almost 50 percent of U.S. mobile phone subscribers using an Apple device. Although Apple is the leading vendor in the United States, the Apple iOS operating system has a lower market share than its main competitor Google Android. As the Android operating system is used by the vast majority of smartphone vendors other than Apple, it combines the share of popular brands such as Samsung, LG, and Lenovo/Motorola.

As of 2022, the penetration rate of smartphones in China reached almost 72 percent. According to the forecast, almost 83 percent of people in China are going to use a smartphone by 2027. The total number of smartphone users in 2022 exceeded one billion.

The master key

In Chinese everyday life, there is no way around not using a smartphone. Over the past decade, the smartphone has evolved from a communication device into not only a multi-tool but also the key to accessing everyday services. From paying for groceries and the restaurant bill to booking train tickets and managing personal finances. As more and more services are only available online, life without a smartphone has become increasingly difficult.

Technology exclusion and social isolation

Because of the growing significance of the smartphone, people without access to them or those unable to use them are at risk of being excluded from vital services and social interactions. These may include the elderly population, finding it difficult to adapt to the new technology. It could also be online applications without sufficient accessibility for persons with disability, and those who cannot afford to purchase a smartphone or live in regions without a comprehensive internet connection. Therefore, as the country moves online, inclusion must be a part of the development.

This statistic shows the amount of time was spent on daily smartphone usage in 2017. As of that time, almost half of the respondents spent five or more hours on their smartphones daily.

According to a survey of smartphone users conducted between July 2022 and June 2023 in selected countries worldwide, an average of 75 percent of smartphone users reported using their smartphone to chat and send messages, while around seven in 10 reported sending e-mails. Accessing their online banking was the third most popular activity on average for global respondents, while around 62 percent of respondents reported listening to music on their mobile devices. Watching videos was also among the most popular activities on the smartphone, with 61 percent of respondents reporting consuming video content using their mobile devices.

In 2022, China had more smartphone users than any country in the world at more than 974 million. India had the second most smartphone users, amounting to around 659. These two countries are expected to continue to lead the smartphone user ranking, as China and India also rank one and two in regards to the largest populations worldwide and still have strong growth potential due to a relatively low smartphone penetration rate.

Smartphone penetration as economic indicator
The smartphone penetration rate can be used as one indicator to measure how advanced the economy of a country is. A smartphone penetration rate above 70 percent, for example, is common in countries with advanced economies. Outside Western Europe and the United States, smartphone penetration was highest in South Korea, as more than 76 percent of the population is using a smartphone. Japan is a notable exception to the 70 percent line, with penetration rates just under 60 percent.

Smartphone growth opportunities
After annual smartphone sales more than tripled from 2009 to 2015, the market began to plateau around 1.5 million units per year. Growth for the smartphone market is, however, still possible in emerging economies in Africa with large populations, such as Egypt, Kenya, Ethiopia, Congo, Tanzania, and Nigeria, where mobile phone penetration is already high or picking up, but smartphones are not as pronounced yet.