July 3, 2018
Progress in telecommunications technology has been significant in recent years. These advancements have led to an unprecedented level of connectivity. The number of smartphone users in the US has steadily climbed over the last several years, and it is predicted that smartphone penetration in North America will also continue to increase. The United States is a leader in the world with respect to the adoption of smartphone technology.
The first smartphones made their debut in the early 1990s. At first, a smartphone was classified by its capabilities of offering features like email, internet access, QUERTY keyboards, personal digital assistant functions, and sometimes a built-in camera. Today, smartphones have advanced and are classified as having a high-definition touchscreen, countless apps from which to choose, navigation tools, and high-speed broadband for use on-the-go.
This statistic below shows the number of smartphone users in the U.S. from 2010 to 2022. For 2017, the number of smartphone users in the United States was estimated to reach 224.3 million, with the number of smartphone users worldwide forecasted to exceed 2 billion users by that time. By 2022, the number of smartphone users in the U.S. is estimated to reach over 270 million.
Source: “Digital Market Outlook”
This statistic shows the smartphone penetration as a share of the population in the United States from 2010 to 2021. In 2017, 67.3 percent of the U.S. population used a smartphone. In 2016, a total of 1.5 billion smartphones were sold worldwide. By 2021, it is estimated that the U.S. will have a 72.7 percent smartphone penetration rate.
Source: “Denmark has ‘highest smartphone penetration rate in the world'”
The statistic below shows the percentage of mobile phone users who use a smartphone in the United States from 2010 to 2020. In 2014, 67.6 percent of U.S. mobile phone users owned and used a smartphone. By 2020, it is estimated that 92.8 percent of U.S. mobile phone users will own and use a smartphone.
Source: “Digital Market Outlook”
This statistic shows the household penetration of smartphones in the United States from 2013 to 2016. In 2014, 61 percent of the households in the United States owned a smartphone.
Source: “State of the U.S. Consumer Technology Industry”