New predictions from technology research company Gartner have shown how we’re increasingly relying on mobile technology.
It’s forecasting that by 2018, more than 50% of users worldwide will go to a tablet or smartphone first for all their online activities.
A similar trend is anticipated in businesses: by 2018, 40% of enterprises are expected to specify WiFi as the default connection for non-mobile devices, including desktop computers, printers and desk phones.
Van Baker, research vice president at Gartner, said “The use pattern that has emerged for nearly all consumers, based on device accessibility, is the smartphone first as a device that is carried when mobile, followed by the tablet that is used for longer sessions, with the PC increasingly reserved for more-complex tasks. This behavior will adapt to incorporate wearables as they become widely available for users. As voice, gesture and other modalities grow in popularity with consumers, and as content consumption tasks outweigh content creation tasks, this will further move users away from the PC.”
Smartphones are also expected to drop in price as feature phone sales give way to better-specified devices in developing markets. By 2018, Gartner has calculated that more than three-quarters of all global smartphone sales will come from developing countries - and by 2020, 75% of smartphone buyers will be paying less than $100 (£64) for a device.
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