Device GlobalWebIndex’s flagship report on device ownership and usage FLAGSHIP REPORT 2019 www.globalwebindex.com Contents Introduction Key Insights 03 GlobalWebIndex Device Flagship places the spotlight on the latest ownership and usage trends across all major Device Ownership 04 device categories, including smartphones, PCs/laptops, smartwatches, smart homes and VR/AR. Device Usage Trends 17 Among others, this report covers the following topics in detail: The Mobile Marketplace 24 • Which devices are the most widely owned and used. Entertainment Devices 31 • How ownership of different devices varies across different Notes on Methodology 39 demographic groups. More from GlobalWebIndex 41 • How much time is being spent on mobiles and PCs/laptops and how this varies by age and region. • What behaviors are most likely to be taking place on mobile versus PC/laptop. • Current engagement with smart home devices and how this is set to grow. • Which brands are winning in the smartphone marketplace and what users need to upgrade their current handset. • What devices consumers use for gaming and what is the potential of AR and VR technology. Key Insights Mobile adoption has Smart home devices and The race between Samsung Console gaming is Virtual and augmented reached its saturation point, voice tech are seeing and Apple is very close, stabilizing and diversifying. reality can go mainstream. but bigger screens are still moderate growth. but Chinese brands are the Games consoles ownership So far these technologies relevant. ones to watch. Smart home entertainment has been showing a (especially VR) have been Today, 95% of internet users products have made inroads Samsung is still the most downward trend between primarily associated with have a smartphone, up by among a large and growing popular handset brand, 2015 and 2017, but it has gaming, and this category 14 percentage points since share of internet users, but but Apple has made some remained steady at 22% in does outstrip any other use 2015. But consumers don’t global adoption remains real headway here. While the past three years. Console of AR/VR, with other forms choose one device over relatively low at 12%. adoption of Samsung gaming is often assumed to of entertainment like films another – they’re multi-device However, 16-24s are most handsets outside China has be male-dominated, but with or documentaries lagging owners, having an average enthusiastic with this tech and been steady since 2015, 40% of users being female, behind. However, our data of 3.4 different devices. a third report having a smart ownership of Apple mobiles gaming consoles aren’t shows that there’s plenty of Moreover, looking at the home product. Voice search has risen by six percentage exclusively used by men. And scope for expansion beyond average time users spend on usage has been on the rise in points to 27% today. Chinese while we’re seeing a decline in entertainment, with education their devices every day, we the past two years, reaching brands like Huawei and male console gaming, female and tourism/travel proving can see that the gap between 42% of internet users globally Xiaomi are also racing ahead representation has been particularly fruitful routes. mobiles and bigger screens who say they have conducted and increasing their market growing since the beginning isn’t as wide as many might a voice search within the past share on a global scale. of 2018. Video games have presume. In 2019, online month on any device. This is Today, a full 14% of global traditionally been targeted adults report spending only a 31% increase since the first internet users own Huawei towards men, with women and around four minutes longer half of 2017 and sees greatest phones, with an additional ethnic minorities being largely on mobiles than computers. uptake in the Asia Pacific 24% considering buying one. under-represented in gaming. region. However, this approach is now outdated and targeting in this way is likely to mean gaming companies are missing out on great numbers of potential consumers. Device Device Ownership Flagship Report 2019 Device Ownership DEVICE OWNERSHIP 05 Device Ownership Over Time RESPONDENTS SEE THE FOLLOWING DEFINITIONS / ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES: % of internet users who own the following devices e-Reader: a digital reading device, e.g. Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Nook etc Smart TV: a television that can connect to the internet Smart Wristband: a digital wristband which typically tracks your health and fitness levels, e.g. Nike Fuelband, Jawbone Up, Adidas miCoach Smartphone: a smartphone allows you to connect to the internet and download apps, e.g. an iPhone or Android phone such as the Samsung Galaxy S10 Smartwatch: a watch which allows you to connect to the internet and use apps, e.g. Pebble, Samsung Galaxy Gear and the Apple Watch Tablet: Popular examples include an Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Microsoft Surface, Google Nexus tablet TV streaming device: a digital media device which streams web content to your TV set, e.g. Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Google Chromecast, Roku Streaming Player VR headset/device: A device that immerses users into simulated environments, e.g. PlayStation VR, Samsung Gear VR, Google Cardboard and Deepoon VR. Being virtually universally owned on a global scale, it’s well- Tablets have lost the momentum they’d enjoyed in the years after known that smartphones have transformed online behaviors. their launch. Adoption peaked in 2015 and has since inched Today, 95% of internet users have a smartphone, up by 14 lower year on year, reaching 37% in 2019. Games consoles have percentage points since 2015. also been showing a downward trend between 2015 and 2017, but they have remained steady at 22% in the past three years. Over the same time period, PC/laptop ownership has declined by The rising popularity of mobile gaming, the increasing cost of Question: Which of the following devices do you own? 18 percentage points. However, we’re not in a post-PC era yet – consoles and a longer upgrade cycle are all having an impact here. Source: GlobalWebIndex Q1 2015 − Q1 2019 7 in 10 global internet users own one in the beginning of 2019, However, consoles remain popular in North America and in some Base: 1,392,778 Internet Users ranging from 90% in Russia to 22% in Morocco. parts of Europe, where 4 in 10 respondents reported owning one. aged 16-64 Device Ownership DEVICE OWNERSHIP 06 Device Ownership % of internet users who own the following devices AVERAGE NUMBER OF DEVICES OWNED Consumers don’t choose one device All that said, digital consumers don’t over another – they’re multi-device necessarily choose one device over another. TOTAL 3.4 owners, having an average of 3.4 Rather, they have broad device portfolios, different devices. owning an average of 3.4 of the 11 16 to 24 3.2 devices listed in the chart on page 5. 25 to 34 3.5 Although owned by only 13% of online In the Markets Insights infographic at the users, smartwatch adoption has grown end of this chapter, we look at how the 35 to 44 3.5 the most since the first half of 2016. This ownership of PCs, smartphones, games consoles and smart home products varies by Question: Which of the 45 to 54 3.3 figure varies strongly by market though, market. following devices do you own? and it jumps to 19% in Hong Kong and 18% Source: GlobalWebIndex Q4 2018 − Q1 2019 55 to 64 3.1 in India. Base: 278,359 Internet Users aged 16-64 Smartphones vs PCs & Laptops DEVICE OWNERSHIP 07 Smartphones vs PC/Laptops | Region Smartphones vs PC/Laptops | Age % of internet users who own the following devices % of internet users who own the following devices Smartphones have reached a 25-point Meanwhile, PC ownership is ingrained lead over the bigger screens globally, but in regions characterized by developed it’s essential to take a regional perspective markets like Europe and North America, Today, smartphones here. The smartphone’s lead is particularly where internet users likely first came online have a lead over PCs pronounced in the Middle East and Africa via PCs and where online populations tend and laptops in all 45 where virtually everyone has a smartphone to skew older. Nevertheless, smartphones markets we track. and just over half have a computer. The are leading over PCs and laptops in all Question: Which of the centrality of the mobile here is mainly down to 45 markets we track today. following devices do you own? the important role the smartphone has played Source: GlobalWebIndex Q4 2018 − Q1 2019 in the development of the internet landscape. Base: 278,359 Internet Users aged 16-64 Smartwatches DEVICE OWNERSHIP 08 Profiling Smartwatch Owners % of smartwatch owners who are… The smartwatch market is still yet to fully They’re 52% more likely than the average 51% take off. They still come across as having internet user to fall into our cosmopolitan unjustified high price tags for the few attitudinal segment, meaning that they more likely to buy a product/service simply for apps and functionalities they offer that set are interested in other countries, like to the experience of being part of the community them apart from a smartphone. Globally, be surrounded by different cultures and just 13% of online adults say they have lifestyles and explore the world around 39% a smartwatch. The average smartwatch them. On top of that, they have an above- owners are most likely full-time working men average tendency to keep up with the latest more likely to keep up with the latest fashions in their early thirties with high income.