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For Millennials, mobile devices are an integral part of daily life. Research shows that the average Millennial checks their phone 150 times per day and that 79% of Millennials keep their phone next to them while they sleep. Additionally, over half wake up in the middle of the night to check their phones for new messages and updates on social media.

Mobile Millennials: “Digital Natives” or “Digital Nomads?

According to many psychologists, these are classic symptoms of addiction, but the vast majority (91%) of Millennials insist that they have a healthy relationship with tech. Regardless, it ‘s an indisputable fact that mobile device usage will continue to define how younger generations communicate, interact, and receive new information.

Mobile Usage Statistics

Mobile phone usage among young adults in the U.S. has been steadily increasing since the devices were made readily available to consumers in the early 1980s. Statistics from Pew Research show that nearly all (99%) of Americans aged 18-29 own a cellphone, with 96% owning a smartphone in particular. An increasing number of young Americans also use their smartphone as their primary method of accessing the internet, while roughly 1 out 5 of Americans are “smartphone-only” internet users.

This trend is even more prevalent in developing nations, as younger populations in Asia and Africa primarily depend on a mobile device. In contrast with the United States, smartphone-only internet usage makes up two-thirds of all internet traffic. This information is especially relevant for global companies when considering that Asia and Africa are expected to make up 79% of the world ‘s total population by 2030.

In fact, Internet access from a mobile device has become so widespread in recent years that Google has changed their ranking algorithms to prioritize mobile-optimized sites on their search engine results pages (SERP). In 2018, approximately 58% of all website visits were made on a mobile device, making smartphones and tablets the most popular way to access the internet. Currently, the average daily time spent accessing online content from a mobile device is currently at 185 minutes among Millennials, 110 minutes for Generation X and 43 daily minutes for Boomers.

Next year, there are expected to be 3 billion smartphone users, meaning that leaders in the EdTech industry will have to flesh out their mobile offerings, should they wish to succeed in the future.

Educational Mobile Apps on iOS and Android

Statistics for ownership of Apple and Android devices vary greatly on the global level. While U.S. mobile users are split 50/50 between Apple and Android, 74% of global mobile devices are powered by Android, 23% by iOS, and the remaining 3% by other operating systems like BlackBerry and Linux. On both Android and iOS, Educational apps represent the second and third most popular categories, respectively. Approximately 500,000 educational apps can be found across Google Play and the App Store, making up nearly 8% of all mobile apps.

As we mentioned in an earlier article, Asian companies led the pack in regards to EdTech investments in 2018. The largest VC round raised last year ($540M) went to Byju, an India-based EdTech company that makes English-language educational apps. The second largest VC round of $500M went to VIPKID, a Chinese service that hires native speakers to teach English to Chinese students.

Asia is not only leading the pack in terms of mobile EdTech investment but also in the total amount of smartphone users. In Byju ‘s home country of India, there are 400M smartphone users. In China, however, there are nearly double that amount: 775M smartphone users with 600M using an Android-powered device. In terms of numbers alone, the United States mobile market pales in comparison, with just200M smartphone users, half of which either uses iOS or Android.

In both the Asian and U.S. markets, however, the leading categories in Educational apps remain largely the same. Language learning, tutoring, test prep, and other STEM-focused apps dominate iOS and Android. But, the main difference between the Asian and U.S. markets can be found in the language learning sector. In Asian markets, like India and China, English learning apps rank as both the most popular and highest grossing. For the United States, diversified language-learning apps like DuoLingo top the charts.

Conclusion

In both developed countries like the U.S. and developing nations such as China and India, using mobile devices is the preferred method of accessing the internet and engaging with information. Across virtually all operating systems and geographical locations, educational apps—and language-learning apps in particular—are among the most popular and highest grossing applications on mobile. The adoption and use of mobile devices also continue to grow drastically, as younger generations in all parts of the world prefer to use the computer in their pocket than the one at home. These statistics should serve as a lesson to the EdTech innovators of the future. To transform the educational landscape, one must first meet learners where they are: on their mobile device.