RESTON, Va., Feb. 25, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ScientiaMobile released its latest report detailing statistics for mobile device usage around the world. The latest Mobile Overview Report (MOVR) for 2018 Q4 shows users predominately view video content with their smartphone or tablet in portrait orientation when on video sites, there is a general increase in Near Field Communication (NFC) support over three years, there is a competitive market for SmartTVs, newer iPhone sales are sluggish in most continents, and the most recent Android operating system trends.
Portrait Orientation is Most Common when Viewing Video Content on Video Sites
Overall, when watching video content on a video site, mobile users hold their devices in portrait orientation. For smartphone users, 82.5 percent of users hold their phone in portrait orientation. For tablet users, the average portrait use was 55.6 percent. Also, there is a direct relationship with the size of device and landscape orientation. For example, for devices with displays of 11 diagonal inches or more, 93.9 percent watch videos in landscape orientation. In contrast, viewers with 8 to 9 diagonal display inches watched in portrait orientation 57.5 percent of the time.
NFC Support is Generally Growing
In the last three years, smartphones that supported NFC have grown by 19 percent, from 54 percent in 2015 Q4 to 73 percent in 2018 Q4. The majority of this change is derived from Apple’s iPhone, all of which have NFC support since the iPhone 6. In 2015 Q4, 36 percent of iOS devices supported NFC while 96 percent do in 2018. Android OS has remained the same, with 61 percent NFC support since 2015 Q4.
On every continent, the majority of smartphones in use now support NFC, but that wasn’t the case three years ago. For example, North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and Africa all had a majority (more than 50 percent) NFC support for smartphones in 2015, but South America did not, with 46 percent support. ScientiaMobile MOVR reveals that the continents with the highest amount of NFC support also have the largest amount of iPhone usage (Oceania and North America lead with over 80 percent NFC support).
Samsung is the Leading Manufacturer of Connected and SmartTVs
ScientiaMobile found that the leading manufacturer of SmartTVs, including connected devices, in 2018 Q4 was Samsung with 13.94 percent of the market. Of the Connected and SmartTV devices, ScientiaMobile found that 65 percent of use is from SmartTV browsing, 19 percent is from a streaming box, and 16 percent is from other devices.
Global Apple iPhone use from October to December 2018
Throughout the last quarter, the Apple iPhone 7 remained the most used smartphone in the world ending with 4.69 percent share. By the end of 2018, the Apple iPhone XR Max was the most popular iPhone model released in 2018 with 0.99 percent share. The Apple iPhone 8 Plus and Apple iPhone X were the second and third most used iPhones with 3.18 percent and 3.02 percent share respectively by the end of 2018.
Android OS Trend for App Developers
When looking at the performance of solely Android operating systems (OS) in 2018 Q4, Android 8.0 remains the top OS version with 27.35 percent share and beating out Android 8.1 by 14.92 percent. Android released 9.0 last quarter and has gained 1.35 percent share, while versions 8.x account for 39.78 percent of Android OS. Releases 7.x accounts for 17.53 percent of Android traffic. Releases 6.x and prior account for 21.34 percent excluding Legacy. Android has always struggled to upgrade users, but there is some hope with the majority of users shifting to Android 8.0 from the previously popular Android 7.0 version.
Methodology: Reports are based on actual browser visits. The web traffic is sourced from a global network of partner websites using ScientiaMobile for web performance, user experience optimization.
To download the report click here.
About the Mobile Overview Report
ScientiaMobile's Mobile Overview Report (MOVR) has been featured in The New York Times and it provides timely data about device usage trends – focusing on smartphone, tablet, and feature phone usage – drawn from a sample of ScientiaMobile's internal data sources, averaging over 1 billion hits per month.
About ScientiaMobile
ScientiaMobile’s customers, including Google and Oracle, use WURFL device intelligence solutions to deliver great web experiences, faster image downloads, and improve sales conversions from mobile customers. ScientiaMobile leads the industry in terms of accuracy, speed, and innovation. ScientiaMobile’s suite of server-side detection products (WURFL OnSite, WURFL InFuze, WURFL Microservice, WURFL.js, ImageEngine and WURFL InSight) helps Fortune 500 enterprises effectively design and analyze web experiences for an ever-growing range of smartphones, tablets, smartTVs, IOT devices, and game consoles.
Contact Information:
Bethany Libus
bethany@scientiamobile.com
Direct: 703-310-6650 Ext. 118
ScientiaMobile HQ
11180 Sunrise Valley Drive
Suite 220
Reston, VA 20191