In brief: Smartphones have increasingly become the most popular way of accessing the web over the last 15 years. Now, the percentage of web traffic that comes from mobile devices has reached an all-time high of 64%, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of growth in this area.
Since 2015, the amount of web traffic to come from smartphones has more than doubled from 31.16% to 64%. There have been quarters during the decade when the figure fell, but there's been a constant upward trajectory since the middle of 2023, with each new quarter bringing a record-breaking high.
One of the main factors behind this recent surge has been users in Asia. A report by Techgaged, which uses data from Statcounter, shows that mobile devices accounted for 71.3% of total web traffic in Asia, 7% higher than the global average. In comparison, mobile devices account for around 50% of web traffic in Europe and the Americas.
In terms of operating systems, Android completely dominates. Google's OS has a 72.72% share of all mobile traffic, while iOS has 26.92%.
Android, of course, is always going to be ahead here as it runs on over 70% of all smartphones worldwide and is dominant in countries such as India and China. With mid-range and even budget Android phones offering the likes of 4G/5G connectivity and data-saving modes in developing nations, more people are going online with Android devices all the time.
In the US, iOS is slightly more popular than Android, thanks to factors such as brand perception, carrier and retail support, and higher income levels.
Beyond Google and Apple, Samsung (Tizen) ranked third with just 0.2%, followed by Firefox-based KaiOS (0.02%), and Linux (0.01%).
The global spread of smartphones has led to an increase in overall internet traffic. Cloudflare's fifth annual year in review noted a 17.2 percent increase in global Internet traffic in 2024, with more than two-thirds of mobile traffic originating from Android devices.
Cloudflare's report also highlighted that Android had a share of more than 90% of mobile traffic in more than 25 regions and countries. Elsewhere, it found that more than 40% of global internet traffic originates from mobile devices.