It is a change that has not gone unnoticed, and marks a real evolution of society: this year, the average daily time spent by American adults in front of a smartphone screen has just exceeded the time they spent in front of a television screen, according to the market analysis company eMarketer.
For its part, the CES organizing company estimates that television is still the “most popular device in the United States,” with 96% of households having at least one TV set at home.
A screen between 4.7 and 5.7 inches?
Most studies and manufacturers’ estimates suggest that there will be more than 15 billion mobiles worldwide by 2022 and more of them will be used to access the Internet for personal or professional activities, watch videos, take photos and make videos, exchange content on social networks, listen to music, etc.
For all these diverse uses, users want a screen that is large enough, not too small – but just the right size. A survey conducted by Strategy Analysis revealed that the optimal screen size is between 4.7 and 5.7 inches (11.9 to 14.4 cm). For comparison, the screen of the latest Galaxy S10 is 6.1 inches, and the iPhone XS is 5.8 inches.
Finally, a study conducted by Yahoo shows quite clearly the most sensitive points among users who watch videos on their mobile phones. Screen size is far ahead for more than 2/3, while only half mention the limited battery time. The screen resolution is critical for only 18% of them.
Towards more mobile-friendly content?
5G alone will strengthen the infrastructures of operators who will be able to offer new services more efficiently and encourage the implementation of new business models that will popularize Internet access a little more through unlimited, low-cost data plans.
The arrival of new video services and on-demand games on the Internet expected by the end of the year in the United States and around the world will increase the use of mobile phones to play or watch video content. A forecast by Recode, an analysis company, states that mobile video data traffic will increase by 55% between now and 2021 and that by then it will represent more than 70% of all mobile data traffic.
Mobile usage is increasing
While the time spent per individual on a smartphone has since continued to grow, the time spent in front of their computer has remained stable and the time spent in front of the TV continues to fall.
These figures vary, of course, from one country to another, but also according to age groups: 18- to 35-year-olds naturally spend much more time on their mobile phones than older ones and even some categories of young people have completely turned away from the TV.
India, China and more generally emerging countries are experiencing much more intense use of smartphones, all categories of people combined.