App usage on mobile phones, tablet devices and laptops in the UK has doubled since 2014
The British home of 2015 is well on its way to becoming ‘smart’, with the number of devices owned by UK households increasing rapidly. The home is now a hub of personal culture, where we work, study and consume an ever expanding array of entertainment, according to Samsung’s annual Techonomic Index 2015.
App usage on mobile phones, tablet devices, and laptops and PCs in the UK has doubled since 2014, from 23% to 54% today, the research shows.
The past 12 months has seen a significant increase in the take up of 4G mobile technology, and an increase in internet-connected hardware, such as smart TVs and tablets. Half of Brits (46%) stream TV, movie or video content at least once a week, with over a third admitting to streaming this content for at least an hour a day.
The UK is taking the lead on music consumption in Europe with the average Brit spending £144 per year on music streaming and download services. With music services such as Deezer and Spotify increasing in popularity and upcoming artists now turning to streaming as a way to release content to fans, the trend looks set to continue.
Technology is enabling the UK to broaden their education scope with one in three people paying for educational content; 10% more than in 2014. Households are spending more per month on educational materials (£18) than they do on mobile games (£13) and entertainment materials such as books (£12), downloading films (£12) and downloading or streaming music (£12). On a typical day, 31% of adults studying spend at least an hour devoted to consuming education material.
Yet TV is definitely not dead. In fact, it is once again the preferred choice to watch content from home. For families in the UK, watching TVs while tweeting and downloading content on a mobile or tablet has become the new normal.
Almost nine out of ten UK households (89%) do not go a day without watching TV, compared with 83% in 2014. Brits are spending almost an extra half an hour watching TV a day (29 minutes) compared to last year. Also, one in five people (21%) now use their mobile, tablet, PC or laptop to catch up on TV programmes while on the move.
Stephen Taylor, Samsung Europe CMO, said: “Today, our homes are the centre of our personal cultural universe. The exponential growth of digital media, more quality content and a greater number of devices holds so much possibility. The increased level of global connectivity means that we are currently experiencing a period of unprecedented changes. We are able to explore the world, educate ourselves and enrich our life-experiences, all from within our own homes.”
