Over the coming months we'll be releasing additional survey analysis on usage patterns.

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  • Virtual Reality: Adoption remains niche

    VR may need to go through various iterations before it is able to attain mass market usage.

    Read more
  • Gold finger: Fingerprints lead biometric authentication

    The convenience of fingerprint authentication versus entering a six digit or longer password is likely to become increasingly beneficial.

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  • Hi ho silver swiper

    Smartphone adoption among 55-75 year olds has peaked and this age group is likely to grow in commercial importance over the coming years.

    Read more
  • The smartphone: A blessing or curse?

    With every year the smartphone is becoming ever easier and more enticing to use.

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  • Enterprise and the smartphone: On the cusp of a lucrative relationship

    The UK workforce could benefit significantly by making relevant business processes available via a smartphone.

    Read more
  • Machine learning: Making smartphones smarter

    Machine learning is likely to play an increasingly important role in the evolution of smartphone application and handset design.

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  • Smartphones: The short form video star

    The proportion of UK adults watching video on their smartphones has risen five fold over the last five years.

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  • The mobile operator store: More for more

    Given the UK public’s tendency towards buying online, is there still a need for nearly 2,000 mobile operator stores?

    Read more
  • Smartphone adoption: Stable and strengthening

    Smartphone adoption among UK adults continues to rise and is the most popular consumer electronics device.

    Read more

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Explore the data in more detail

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    The interval between checking a phone for the last time before going to sleep (all age groups vs 16-24 year olds)

    44% 44% of 16-24 years olds check their phone within 5 minutes of preparing to sleep.

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    The steps taken to limit smartphone usage

    The most popular approaches to reducing phone usage are by making the phone, or its functions (connectivity, apps) disappear

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    Frequency of usage, by device

    91% of surveyed 16-75 year olds used their smartphone in the last day, but some devices such as VR headsets have never even been used.

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    Device penetration among UK adults between 2012-17

    Smartphone penetration has increased by 33 percentage points over the last 5 years, while laptop penetration has remained flat.

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    Usage frequency of financial and shopping-related services/apps

    Among all shopping related activities, browsing a shopping website/app is the most popular on a smartphone.

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    Smartphone penetration by age group (2012 vs 2017)

    Smartphone ownership increased from 52% in 2012 to 85% in 2017.

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    Proportion of respondents who think they use their smartphone too much and when

    56% of 16-24 year olds believe they use their smartphone too much, compared to only 12% of 65-75 age group.

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    Perception of extent of others’ smartphone usage

    41% of respondents in a relationship think their partner uses their phone too much

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    Usage frequency of content-related activities (Top 6)

    17% of people watch short-form videos on social networks or YouTube at least once a week

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    Usage of voice assistants

    54% of 16-75 year olds who use a virtual assistant do so to search for general information

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    Awareness and usage of voice- and location-based machine learning functions

    29% of respondents are aware of route based suggestions and 16% use these services.

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    The interval between checking phones for the first time after waking and for the last time before going to sleep

    55% look at their phone within 15 minutes of waking. For most smartphone owners, checking their phones is among the first and last things they do in a day.

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    Usage of smartphones for work related activities (2016-17)

    Just over half of all respondents used their smartphones for at least one work related business activity.

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    Internet of Things (IoT) devices penetration (Top 10)

    Respondents owning a type of connected device has jumped from 52% in 2016 to 73% in 2017.

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    Awareness and usage of applications featuring machine learning among respondents aged 16-75 (Top 5)

    81% of smartphone owners were aware of at least one application that incorporates machine learning; 65% use at least one

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    Outcome for previous smartphone subsequent to buying or receiving the current one

    22% of smartphones with an ‘after life’ are either sold or traded, but 37% chose to keep old phones as spares

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    Type of video viewed on mobile at least once a week

    Video viewing on smartphones has increased in 2017 across all video formats.

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    Short-form vs Long-form weekly video viewing, by age group

    Among all age groups short-form video is the most commonly watched.

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    Weekly video consumption, by format, by age group

    47% of 16-17 year olds surveyed stream films and/or a TV series compared to 2% of 65-75 year olds

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    Last visit to an operator store by type of reason

    41% of all smartphone owners surveyed have never gone into a physical store to get information about their contract or to query their bill

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    Last visit to an operator store

    More than 50% of smartphone users visited a physical mobile operator store in the last year

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    Personal phone usage during working hours and business usage during non-working hours

    19% of respondents use their phone often for business purposes outside of working hours.

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    Smartphone purchasing channels 2017

    40% of smartphones were purchased online, compared to 34% in store

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    Data communication methods used weekly, by different age groups

    Whilst 87% of 16-24 year olds use social networks on a weekly basis, while only 39% of 65-75 year olds do so.

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    Weekly usage of data communication services (2012-17)

    Communication over instant messaging has increased by 40 percentage points over the last five years.

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    Activities done when people check their phone in the middle of the night (all age groups vs 16-24 year olds)

    21% 16-24 year old smartphone owners check for messages in the middle of the night; most of these respond to messages.

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    Mobile money transfer services used

    72% of survey respondents aged 16-75 have used an online banking app to transfer money.

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    Methods of authentications used among 18-75 year olds in 2016-17

    Fingerprint recognition as a method of authentication has increased by 7% over the last year.

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    Smartphone and tablet penetration among 55-75 year olds (2012 vs 2017)

    Smartphone penetration among 55-75 year olds has increased by 42 percentage points over the last five years.

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    Applications/services used on a weekly basis among 55-75 year olds, 2012 vs 2017

    In the last five years, use of instant messaging applications/services among 55-75 year olds has increased by 29 percentage points.

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    Type of VR headset owned, by price range

    29% of respondents own or have access to a high end VR headset costing over £100

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