Smartphone growth will slow with the onset of the metaverse and virtual reality headsets becoming more common. However, streaming audio will continue to gain in popularity on mobile devices.
“While smartphones may not lose their importance, it’s possible that over the next five to 10 years, they will lose time spent to newly popular augmented reality (AR) and VR devices,” eMarketer’s Jessica Lis writes in a report on the future of connected devices.
According to the study, Mobile users will continue to spend more time on apps than on browsers. Digital audio remains the top mobile category and music streaming and podcast listening continues to gain in popularity. In 2019, time spent with audio on mobile apps was 45 minutes. By 2024 the amount of time with audio on mobile apps is predicted to be 58 minutes. A smaller increase will occur for time spent with audio on mobile web browsers, moving from 22 minutes to 27 minutes over the same time period.
Additionally, U.S. adults will spend 1:40 per day with digital audio in 2022 and 1:42 in 2023, according to the study. Approximately 80% of this time will be spent on mobile devices. Digital audio will make up 29.6% of all time spent on mobile. The share is expected to continue to grow as commuters return to the road.
In other findings, U.S. adults will spend 44% more time with mobile devices than TVs in 2022. In 2022, the average adult will spend 54.6% of their digital time and 34.1% of their media time on a mobile device. Daily smartphone time will grow by eight minutes this year and by seven minutes in 2023. The study also reveals that tablet usage growth peaked in 2020, while the mobile phone user base will continue to grow.