Two Thirds Of Us Couldn’t Live Without Our Smartphone
Two thirds of Irish people could not live without their smartphone. That’s according to new research by Carphone Warehouse.
The study of 1,000 Irish people was carried out by Coyne Research on behalf of Carphone Warehouse to celebrate the arrival of the highly-anticipated iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus in Carphone Warehouse stores nationwide.
The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are predicted to be huge hits among Apple fans and a must-have Christmas gift. Available from today, the iPhone 8 retails from €99 on bill pay and the iPhone 8 Plus retails from €199 on bill pay.
The Carphone Warehouse research reveals that as a nation we love smart technology with 81% of Irish people claiming to own a smartphone and 42% intend to buy a new smartphone in the next year. 3 in 4 use their phone daily to message friends while 84% say they check their emails on a daily basis on their device. Almost half (41%) listen to music daily on their phone and over 1 in 4 (26%) use it to watch TV every day. Given the rise in popularity of health and fitness, it’s no surprise that 23% use their phone to track daily exercise.
The arrival of the first iPhone back in 2007 not only changed the mobile phone market forever, but it also heralded the introduction of the app. The first app store launched in 2008 with 500 apps available to download and 10 years later there are over 2.2 million apps in the app store. Unsurprisingly social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are our favourite apps with 78% of those polled saying these are the first apps they turn to on their phone. Half (51%) use news apps regularly and 41% use banking apps to keep track of their finances on an ongoing basis.
So enamoured are we with our smartphones that taking a break from it can be an issue. Two thirds (67%) claim that they only disconnect during meal times and half (49%) put their phone away at family events. However, aside from meal times and family functions, only 6% put devices away during the weekend and a mere 2% of those polled leave their phones outside of the bedroom. We are so connected that two thirds of respondents said they would fail a 24-hour digital detox.
Commenting Peter Gallogly, marketing director, Dixons Carphone said: “Our research shows that as nation we are smartphone crazy and this is clear from the buzz we have seen around latest iPhone 8. We would expect this device to be a popular gift this festive season.
“Not only do we offer the best range of devices at Carphone Warehouse, but we are also the only place that compares all the networks, all the phones and all the plans providing customers with the best choice in the market.”
