The Smartphone: What’s next for this must-have device?​

Having remained stagnant for the last three years, smartphone access has plateaued to 95%, down 1% from last year. The smartphone is the device we truly cannot live without. Access to the smartphone far outreaches access to the “old reliables” such as the laptop at 81% and tablet at 61%. It also has consistently high penetration across all ages, unlike other devices which can vary widely.

The smartphone continues to be the preferred device for banking, online search, browsing, playing games and shopping, while TV remains the preferred for long-form content, such as movies. Yet, despite this, recent smartphone innovations seem to have failed to excite the market, appearing more incremental than revolutionary.

How we use our smartphone has been evolving over the last number of years, as technology advances and the digitalisation of our daily lives continues. The sheer fact that 95% of people have one means that our dependence has increased beyond the traditional calls, messaging and emails. 47% of respondents now use it to pay for goods and services in-store through digital wallets (up from 36% in 2023), hold tickets or boarding passes while travelling, and accessing online accounts through multi-factor authentication. However, Irish adults do not seem to be clamouring to digital identity solutions; 34% would like smartphone passport integration and 32% to be able to give the details of their driving licence, moving only marginally since 2023.

The Deloitte TMT Predictions 2025 report expects that “On-device Generative AI could make smartphones more exciting”. GenAI may provide a way for smartphones to become more personalised, more aware of user interactions and intentions, and become more intimate through conversational interfaces.

John Kehoe, Partner in Audit & Assurance, shares some key stats that point to consumers being addicted to their phones:

John Kehoe shares some insight into how consumers are replacing their wallets with smartphones:

Is our usage concerning?

We continue to use our smartphones a lot, with 99% using them every day, up 1 percentage point in 2023. This is broadly consistent across gender and age group. ​

74% of respondents agree that they use their smartphone as soon as they wake up, consistent with the prior year; 65% do so within the first 15 minutes of waking up (2023: 65%) and 47% of respondents use it during mealtime (2023: 43%). Similarly, over half of respondents tend to stay awake later than planned because they are using devices into the night, rising to 73% (2023: 69%) for those between 18-24 years old. ​

34% of respondents check their phone at least 50 times a day, with 15% checking it at least 100 times a day, marginally down from the prior year. The smartphone is well ingrained in our daily lives but may be impacting our social interactions and sleep.

70% of respondents (2023: 67%) wish they spent less time on devices, rising to 74% for women compared to 66% for men. Those aged 18 to 44 years continue to express the most concern.