In the half-dozen years since they became mainstream, smartphones have become the world's most ubiquitous and used consumer electronic device.
According to Deloitte's 2019 global mobile consumer survey, in most developed markets, about 90% of adults own a smartphone, with around 95% of those smartphones used daily. But the smartphone market has reached maturity, with adoption levels nearing their natural plateau in most developed markets.
The survey, which polled 44,150 respondents in 28 countries on six continents, also found consumer spending on smartphone apps and accessories is taking off. Together, sales of smartphones, apps and accessories are expected to total nearly US$1 trillion in 2020.
How are consumers using all those smartphones, apps and accessories? The survey focused on five key themes:
1. The smartphone has become integral to many people's lives, not just because of the applications on the phones themselves, but also because of the growing array of devices that smartphones enable.
Smartphones are used to configure smart speakers, display data collected by fitness trackers, relay images from security cameras, process data shown on smartwatches, store music and configure smart lights. The more such ancillary devices a consumer acquires, the more vital the smartphone becomes.
The vastness of the market -- about 1.4 billion smartphones will be shipped in 2019 alone -- means that investments in new processors, machine learning, computational photography, display technology and connectivity are likely to focus more on smartphones than on any other type of device.
Even if smartphone sales are levelling off, the broader smartphone economy -- sales of hardware, content and services for this ubiquitous device -- is booming. We expect that "smartphone multiplier" sales will drive $459 billion in revenue in 2020 alone, 15% higher than this year.
With smartphone unit sales expected to generate $484 billion in revenue in 2020, the entire smartphone ecosystem -- smartphones plus multipliers -- will be worth more than $900 billion.
The smartphone multiplier's aggregate value should grow in the medium term, as two of its major product categories -- wireless headphones and wireless charging -- remain in their relative infancy.
2. Users don't seem worried about controlling their smartphone use. A great deal of research is now available on how, when, and why people use smartphones. Survey results reveal most consumers reach for their phones within half an hour of waking, while younger people admit to overusing their phones at night, after lights out.
Given this, it's not surprising a large proportion of our survey respondents perceive they overuse their smartphones. In developed markets, 48% of smartphone users say they overuse their phones, although this figure is the same as in 2018 and 2017.
What's more, overusers appear to be apathetic about better controlling their smartphone use, despite the growing range of tools available to manage excessive usage. Only 6% of users, for instance, use screen time trackers. It may be that worries about overexposure to smartphones, or even screens in general, have been overblown.
3. Smartphones are great for playing games. Mobile phones and games have always made a compelling pair. Even in the era of "candy bar" GSM phones, with their monochrome screens and numeric keyboards, a preloaded game became a differentiator. Games mattered then, and they continue to matter today.
Smartphone owners play mobile games at all times of the day. In this year's survey, of the individuals who said they play games on their smartphones, 15% said they play as soon as they wake up; a quarter play while commuting; and 65% play while relaxing at home. Among UK respondents, men and women play video games on their smartphones in equal numbers, but the genre of the game varies by gender.
Women are much more likely than men to prefer casual games such as Candy Crush. On the other hand, 18% of male gamers enjoy sports titles, as opposed to 3% of game-playing women. Car racing games such as Asphalt 9 are played by 16% of game-playing men versus 4% of game-playing women.
4. Consumers are sharing a lot of data, sometimes without being aware of the terms and conditions. The past year has seen an increase in the number and gravity of negative stories regarding data privacy. European countries have also completed their first year under the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), and one of its main purposes is to make it easier for citizens to understand how their data is used.
Despite these developments, consumer behaviour appears little changed. In the last 12 months, the volume and range of the data that consumers share has grown in most countries.
This may be partly because the number of connected devices each individual owns is growing, and the vast majority of these devices share data with third parties. However, consumers' scrutiny of the terms and conditions associated with apps or devices remains scant: about 80% of adults rarely, if ever, read them.
5. Social network usage has also held steady or gone up marginally. Our survey found the majority of people who said they never share their names online use at least one social network. Similarly, most of those who said they never share their phone numbers online use at least one instant messaging site.
A rise in data sharing is not necessarily negative. News coverage tends to focus primarily on the downsides of data sharing rather than the benefits.
Any application can be benign, malign, or anything in between. A smartwatch that relays health data to medical staff in case of a heart attack can help save a life; a hijacked smartphone or PC camera can cause harm.
Bottom line: The future trajectory for the smartphone is changing, but it remains positive. The revolution is far from complete -- the smartphone economy is just getting started.