A new study by the Pew Research center has found that the number of US adults who own a smartphone has almost doubled in the last four years, from 35 percent to 68 percent. Tablet ownership has also grown to 45 percent among adults, up from 3 percent from 2010.
One area that Pew's survey shows has remained stagnant is desktop and laptop ownership. While the number of people who owned a PC/laptop was rising slightly up until 2012, where it reached a high of 80 percent, it has since dropped to 73 percent. Additionally, the number of adults who own a games console has remained at a steady 40 percent, a figure that hasn't moved in the last five years. Portable gaming devices have, however, dropped slightly from 18 percent ownership in 2009 to 14 percent today.
The number of US adults who own E-Book readers has dropped drastically in the last two years, down from 32 percent to 18 percent. The number of people who own MP3 players has also declined - by almost 10 percent in the last five years. The waning popularity of both these devices could be attributed to the rise of smartphone and tablet ownership.
While the figures may paint a slightly gloomy picture of the state of PC/laptop ownership, it's worth remembering that since the survey took place in March and April this year there have been several times when the market has received a boost; Windows 10's release, the launch of Microsoft's first ever laptop (the Surface Book), and the multi-company 'PC does what' promotional campaign are all likely to have helped increase PC and laptop sales recently.
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