Thursday, November 15, 2018

It’s no surprise. We're more in love with our smartphones than ever, with an estimated 270 million Americans viewing our mobile devices about 14 billion times per day. And according to Deloitte's U.S. edition of the "2018 Global Mobile Consumer Survey," smartphone penetration rose to 85 percent in 2018, up 3 percent from 2017, with the strongest growth among U.S. consumers aged 45 and over.

According to the survey, we’re looking at our phone an average of 52 times a day...even though 39 percent of us say we would like to cut back. But turns out what we’re most interested in are voice-assisted technologies, the next big movement in the world of human-computer interaction.

Here are some interesting findings to consider:

- Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of respondents have used the voice assistant on their smartphones, up 11 percent from last year.

- Nearly half (46 percent) have used the voice assistant within the last week, if not in the last day.

- Market penetration of voice-assisted speakers has nearly doubled over the past year (growing from 12 to 20 percent).

- Sixty-nine (69) percent of respondents who own voice-assisted speakers report using their voice-assistance capabilities weekly, and 47 percent do so daily.

Of course, as Americans demand and expect their mobile devices to do more, they’ll also want it done faster, so expect a rise in 5G-enabled devices. Consider the following survey results:

- Overall, 60 percent of respondents indicated that 5G is either "fairly" (34 percent) or "very" (26 percent) important to them now, compared with 55 percent who felt that way a year ago.

- That interest rose across all age groups over the past year—even among those aged 65 and over, who saw a 9 percent jump to 31 percent.

- The perceived importance of 5G is highest among the 25 - 34 age group (77 percent believe it's either fairly or very important).

- Interestingly, 29 percent of respondents said their current 4G/LTE network speed at home is either a little or much faster than their home WiFi, compared to 27 percent in 2017.

Of course, if you’re among that growing percentage trying to reduce smartphone usage, there are ways to make it happen! Try leaving your phone in the kitchen when you go to bed at night or scheduling a phone-free outing once a week. .

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