Remember that 150x per Day Statistic? Now there is a survey of how many times we look at our phones (corrected)

Ah, I love statisics. Regular readers of this blog remember I was the first to break the 150x per day statistic we got from Nokia, and then that particularly even number came back again and again from different sources such as T-Mobile, AT&T and just a few weeks ago, from Australia's Telstra. Always the quoted number, very 'even' 150 times per day and never accompanied with any published survey info. The situation got so bad that I did my 'feasibility' analysis here, showing that yes, for all mobile phone users based on other published mobile phone user and usage data, that 150x per day was indeed plausible and in fact probably very close to the truth. And I kept begging the industry to go survey the actual users. There even was some controversy when Mary Meeker published the 150x number referencing me haha.

Well guess what? Now we do have a measured number. This time its not for all phone users (smartphone and dumbphone as the 150x number was). This is only for smartphone users (but now smartphones account for more than half of all new sales globally, so soon the world will have more smartphones in use than dumbphones so the smartphone-only stat is increasingly relevant. And while we are on that, I am projecting that roughly year 2019 the world will see the last dumbphone sold. The 'installed base' will then continue to have a dwindling number of dumbphones still used, in particular in Emerging World markets well into the next decade but the days of dumbphones are counted).

So what is our new number? Tecmark in the UK surveyed 2,000 smartphone users and found the average person looks at their smartphone 1,500 times per week. How does that compare per day? The study counted specifically the average at 221 times per day. This is not just an interesting headline-baiting 'gut feel' number, now its a real measured number. 221 times per day means that for every waking hour, we glance at our phone on average once every 4.3 minutes of every day. The same survey also found that the average UK smartphone user looks at their phone for 3 hours per day - thats 18.8% of total waking hours we now have our eyes on the small screen.

So this is massive news. Memorize the new number now, its 221 times per day. And for those who think that is preposterous, if you want to see how we get to such immense numbers, here is my blog from last year when I examined how can we get to 150x per day. That helps you understand what all kinds of things we were already doing.

(This article has been updated and corrected on 9 October 2014. An earlier version had the number as 214 times per day, when early reporting only gave the 1,500 number which I divided by 7. Now there is reporting on the actual daily number, 221 times, which the article now reports)

Comments

[Winter]

"The same survey also found that the average UK smartphone user looks at their phone for 3 hours per day - thats 18.8% of total waking hours we now have our eyes on the small screen."

Just look around you when riding public transport. Half the people are looking at their phones for the whole journey.

I saw the same in China four years ago. But then it was less than "half" then.

[Troed Sangberg]

Perfect. Updating a slide for tomorrow's talk referencing this statistic right now ;) Thanks Tomi.

[Andrew Brown]

I don't look at my phone 221 times a day. In fact I look at it less than one time a year! About three years ago I lost the charger to my phone. I still had a 'cigarette lighter' charger for my car which I would use to charge it. Then, in the middle of winter, I declined to head out in the cold and plug the damned thing in. A day led to a week which led to three years. I haven't touched a bloody cell phone for over three years now and I can promise you its the best development in my life that I could imagine. If people want to contact me they email me or call on my land line. I respond to everyone with alacrity - and I don't need the perverse accoutrement of a cell phone to do it.

I'm 47 and live in New Zealand. I bought my first cell phone at age 21. For the next 23 years I had a charged and ready phone in my pocket. What a stupid thing to do.

I value my time. I don't value a ringing phone. People can get hold of me when they need me and that is all that counts. The whole 'cell phone' culture of the western world is both ugly and perverse. I bet everyone has seen people at a nice restaurant - looking at their cell phones - texting or doing some other kind of rubbish rather than engaging with their companions.

Get rid of the damn thing - you won't regret it and you may wind up with a few extra shekels in your pocket as well.

[AppleTurfer]

I'm sure I'm among those looking 221 times a day, and if not, it's only because I am staring at my iPhone screen (reading a book, watching a show, twitter, web browsing, news app) for long periods of time.

As my phone is a work tool with corporate apps and email, as well as personal, I have to have a password. The TouchId on the iPhone has been a godsend. Just rest my thumb or finger on it for half a heart beat and I'm in. Securely and conveniently...221 times a day.

[John F.]

Dear Tomi,

A few days after Samsung announcing probably the biggest profit collapse we read nothing about it while 2 minutes after the Iflop was presented we had a complete analysis of why apple watch would flop

Samsung is of great interest to many of us here, business wise it represents for many the way we earn our bread and butter.

What is your take on four quarters of profit decline and how it will affect the mobile market?

You are good at predicting, illuminate us please.

thanks

JF

[Gonzo]

@john F

Do not expect a quick respose over samsung, it has been a pillar of a great example on how to excecute well and now that it's over it's hard to accept that market share has once again failed as an strategy. Remember compaq, nokia, etc?

This week samsung pulled out of Europe with their notebooks too... Luckily they sell tv sets, toasters and microwaves.

They never understood that copying apple hardware was not the key to long term success.

Some factors that will lead to irrelevance:

The absence of a software platform fully within its control
The absence of control over an ecosystem of content and apps
The absence of services
The lack of integration of software, services and hardware
The absence of differentiation vis-a-vis other vendors
The indefensibility of its low end offerings from low end disruptors
The pattern of commoditization in all its markets

Samsung now enters Tomi's famous bloodbath race to the bottom, it will take some time but it reached the point of no return

[abdul muis]

@John F

Actually Tomi already post about samsung, but in the post, not in the article. Here is the link
http://communities-dominate.blogs.com/brands/2014/09/time-for-some-told-ya-so-about-iphone-is-anyone-this-accurate/comments/page/6/#comments

(the first comment on page 6)

[rephair]

actually nice comments here all agree

[Paul Ionescu]

@TomiAhonen

Hei Tomi! Any thoughts about Apple's new SIM?

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2835452/apple-sim-has-great-potential-but-widespread-changes-will-take-time.html

[KPOM]

GOP wins 52 seats with 2 left to go. Tomi was wrong.

[abdul muis]

@Tomi

In both LG & Samsung MWC 2016 event, they both mention your 150x per day stats as the reason they made the new feature for their phone.