How Many People Use Smartphones in the World in 2023? An In-Depth Look at the Ubiquitous Mobile Device

Have you ever realized how reliant you are on your smartphone? These pocket-sized devices have become such an integral part of our lives. From the moment we wake up to the second we go to sleep, smartphones are in our hands helping us communicate, work, shop, relax and survive the modern world.

Let‘s take an in-depth look at the latest data on global smartphone users and usage trends. You‘ll be amazed to learn just how pervasive these devices are today, and the sheer amount of time spent glued to phone screens!

Smartphones Are Practically Universal, with 6.9 Billion Users Globally

Here‘s an astonishing number for you – there are now over 6.9 billion smartphone users worldwide! That‘s about 91.5% of the global population. Back in 2016, there were just 3.6 billion smartphone users, so adoption has grown tremendously.

By 2025, it‘s forecast that 7.33 billion people will use a smartphone. Developing countries are driving most of this growth, as rising incomes and improving mobile networks expand access.

What‘s made smartphones so universally appealing? Their versatility and capabilities. Having the power of a computer in your pocket, with internet access anywhere, is game-changing.

You can message friends, shop online, manage finances, navigate places, listen to music and much more. Smartphones enable us to be constantly connected in our digital-focused world. For many, forgoing their device causes anxiety now!

The Evolution of Smartphones

It‘s easy to forget that the first iPhone launched just 15 years ago, in 2007. While we can barely function without them now, early smartphone models were fairly basic.

The very first smartphone was IBM‘s Simon Personal Communicator in 1994, featuring email, calculator, calendar, notepad and other apps. Nokia released its Communicator line of smartphones with QWERTY keyboards in 1996.

BlackBerry gained popularity in the early 2000s for mobile email on its keyboards devices. But it was the first iPhone that really catalyzed the smartphone revolution.

With its capacitive touchscreen, web browsing, App Store and slick design, the iPhone changed what users expected from mobile devices. Apple sold over 6 million first-generation iPhones, and the rest is history!

Today‘s top-of-the-line smartphones have:

• Huge, high-def OLED displays with nearly bezel-less designs
• Advanced processors enabling lightning-fast speeds
• Brilliant cameras with portrait, night modes and powerful photo/video capabilities
• Facial recognition and fingerprint unlocking
• Expandable storage up to 1TB
• 5G connectivity for lag-free streaming and downloads
• AR apps and features
• And so much more!

We‘ve come a long way from early smartphones, and the pace of innovation only seems to quicken.

Smartphones Are Used for Just About Everything

You name it, there‘s probably an app for it on your phone! Today‘s smartphones dominate much of our digital lives. Just look at the staggering amount of time spent on phones daily.

Surveys report the average person spends 4.8 to 6 hours on their smartphone every day. All that screen time adds up to a whopping one month per year glued to our devices!

We chat with friends, stream movies, play games, shop online, manage finances, read news, stay fit and productive, and much more:

• Social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok are enormously popular for connecting and sharing content.
• Communication apps like WhatsApp, Messenger and WeChat are used relentlessly for messaging and calls.
• Entertainment like Youtube, Netflix, Hulu and music services provides endless video and audio streaming.
• Gaming apps generate billions from in-app purchases and ad revenues as users battle, build and more.
• Productivity apps help us schedule meetings and stay organized.
• Online shopping reaches new heights via mobile apps and browsers.
• Banking and finance apps enable monitoring accounts, making payments and transferring funds on the go.
• Travel apps allow easy bookings for flights, rides, hotels and restaurants.
• Health and fitness apps track our steps, exercise and diets.

Work is often left behind once employees leave the office. Surveys show the vast majority of smartphone usage is for personal, not professional, needs.

Smartphone Apps Are Big Business

To fuel all these hours of tapping, swiping and scrolling on our smartphones, tens of billions of apps get downloaded each year from the major app stores.

In 2021, a record 230 billion apps got downloaded – a 5% jump from 2020. That‘s nearly 2 million app downloads per minute globally!

All those downloads generate big revenues too. Consumer spending in mobile apps hit $167 billion in 2021. While most apps are free to download, premium versions or in-app purchases unlock additional features. Mobile apps now significantly out earn other digital formats.

The categories generating the most revenues are mobile games, social media, entertainment and shopping apps. Hyper-casual games like Candy Crush are cash cows. And social media apps like TikTok are gaining ground fast.

For companies like Apple, Google, Tencent, Facebook and others, smartphone apps are hugely profitable. The average smartphone user has over 100 apps installed, but only regularly uses around 30. That‘s still a lot of potential revenue!

As smartphones get more advanced technically, app capabilities will expand even further as well. Which no doubt means our 6+ average daily hours in apps is unlikely to decrease any time soon!

Leading Smartphone Brands Worldwide

Driving much of the hardware innovation are the smartphone market leaders pushing out new models yearly. Let‘s look at which brands shipped the most units globally in 2021.

Samsung maintained its comfortable lead, shipping an estimated 272 million smartphones for 19.8% market share. Apple came in second, shipping 238 million iPhones globally for a 15.9% share.

Other Top Global Smartphone Brands:

• Xiaomi – 190 million units shipped
• OPPO – 122 million units
• Vivo – 120 million units

In the critical Q4 period covering holiday sales, Apple overtook Samsung for the #1 spot by shipping over 80 million iPhones vs 69 million Samsung devices.

But over the full year, Samsung still came out ahead. With Apple‘s iPhone 14 lineup now out, it will be interesting to see if they can close the gap in 2022!

Smartphone Hotspots: Which Countries Have the Most Users

Not surprisingly, larger countries in terms of population have the highest total smartphone user numbers.

• China: over 1.6 billion users
• India: around 750 million users
• United States: over 280 million users

But smaller wealthy nations dominate the top spots for smartphone penetration percentage relative to population size:

• South Korea – 96%
• U.S. – 81.6%
• Australia – 80%
• Spain – 80%
• Norway – 79%

Developing countries like India, Indonesia and Brazil have massive growth potential still, with current penetration rates below 50%. As mobile networks improve and costs keep falling, their user bases are set to rise rapidly.

Government initiatives are also expanding access to help bridge digital divides. For example, India‘s ‘Digital India‘ program aims to empower every citizen through digital access. Smartphone adoption is a key pillar, given their ability to connect Indians to the internet.

Who‘s Using Smartphones in the United States?

Pew Research surveyed U.S. smartphone ownership across age groups and genders. Usage rates are remarkably high across the board:

• 97% of 18-29 year olds
• 94% of 30-49 year olds
• 79% of 50-64 year olds
• 61% for those aged 65+

And very similar percentages of 85% men and 84% of women are smartphone owners. Given these high rates, smartphones are practically an extension of most Americans today!

The Original iPhone Changed Everything

When Steve Jobs revealed that first iPhone to the world in 2007, it kickstarted the smartphone revolution. Apple sold an incredible 1.4 million units in 2007, and an even more astonishing 11.6 million the next year.

That original iPhone combined and enhanced what other phones offered at the time – internet, email, music, maps, etc. The multi-touch screen with scrolling and pinch-zooming blew other devices away.

But perhaps the biggest innovation was the App Store launched in 2008. Overnight, the possibilities for smartphones were endless as developers rushed to build clever apps.

Since then, the iPhone has added loads more innovations – 3G networks, then 4G LTE speeds, HD displays, advanced cameras, mobile payments, fingerprint unlocking, facial recognition, augmented reality, and dual-lens rear cameras.

Not only did Apple revolutionize the smartphone, it has mastered building an ecosystem to keep users loyalty high. For many, it‘s now Apple or nothing!

The Bottom Line

As this deep analysis shows, smartphones are deeply embedded in our daily routines at this point. Just look around…people are glued to phone screens everywhere – on the bus, in line getting coffee, walking dogs – you name it.

We spend nearly a full month on our smartphones per year on average. Smartphones help us communicate, shop, navigate, stay entertained and get work done on the go. And their capabilities only continue to grow.

With 6.9 billion global smartphone users now, and emerging markets expanding access, these devices will remain integral for the foreseeable future.

So next time you catch yourself reaching for your phone for the 100th time in a day, you‘ll realize you‘re far from alone! Smartphones are here to stay as an ubiquitous – and sticky – technology.