More Than Half of Mobile Subscribers Over 55 Now Own a Smartphone

Smartphones aren’t just for kids (and geeks) anymore.

A new Nielsen study found that more than half of U.S. mobile subscribers over the age of 55 now own smartphones, marking the first time a majority of subscribers of all age groups have these devices.

Smartphones are growing more ubiquitous by the minute: Seven out of 10 mobile subscribers in the U.S. now own one of these devices, Nielsen found. And the vast majority of consumers shopping to replace their mobile phones — 85 percent, to be precise — are choosing smartphones over other, less sexy handsets.

Nielsen’s study also found the usual results on market share: Most smartphones in the U.S. run on Google’s Android software, with more than half of these made by Samsung. Apple remains the largest individual smartphone manufacturer, with its devices used by 42 percent of American smartphone owners.

In the battle for a third ecosystem, Nokia’s market share doubled in the past year, to two percent of the market — roughly equal to that of beleaguered BlackBerry, according to Nielsen. Windows Phone, though, has taken a narrow lead over BlackBerry.

Correction: This post has been modified to note that half of mobile subscribers over the age of 55, but not the entire U.S. population, now own smartphones — marking the first time smartphone penetration has exceeded 50 percent for subscribers of all age groups. Nielsen has issued a correction, saying that it failed to specify that its data pertained only to U.S. mobile subscribers, not all Americans.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple reasons that we can't rely only on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on.

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. We can’t do that if we have a paywall.

That’s why we also turn to you, our readers, to help us keep Vox free. If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via