U.K. web users now see their smartphone as the most important device for getting online, overtaking the previous most popular device, the laptop, according to a study of Brits’ digital habits.
The study found that a third (33 percent) of U.K. Internet users now view their smartphones as an important device for going online, compared to 30 percent who are still sticking with their laptops. The finding comes from U.K. telco regulator Ofcom’s 2015 Communications Market Report — a serious stat-fest for those wanting to understand Brits’ digital habits.
Ofcom says the smartphone preference represents a “clear shift” on last year’s report when the proportion turning to their phones first was closer to a fifth (22 percent), and a full 40 percent still preferred their laptops.
Two-thirds (66 percent) of people in the U.K. now own a smartphone, with Brits’ using their mobiles for nearly two hours per day.
Ofcom attributes the rise of ‘smartphone-first’ web use to increasing uptake of faster (4G/LTE) mobile networks — noting that 4G subscriptions leapt up last year from a base of 2.7 million to 23.6 million by the end of the year.
EE was the first U.K. carrier to launch LTE, back in October 2012, with the other three main carriers, O2, Vodafone and Three, getting into the game over the course of 2013. The U.K.’s carrier market has since seen some changes, with EE acquired by former mobile network operator BT, and a spot of carrier consolidation as Three bought O2.
A few other interesting observations from the report…
You can view Ofcom’s full 2015 report here (pdf).
