UK to hit "peak smartphone" as market saturates, but replacement market will thrive

The UK is set to hit "peak smartphone" as the market reaches saturation point and people stop buying new smartphones.

As reported by the BBC, a survey conducted by Deloitte revealed that smartphone user growth has slowed to 7% in the year to June 2016, down from 9% in previous 12 months.

Four out of five of respondents already had a smartphone, and one in five feature phone users said they would not be looking to upgrade.

According to Deloitte Head of technology, media and telecommunications Paul Lee said this research shows the UK is hitting the age of "peak smartphone".

However, the replacement market will continue to thrive as existing smartphone users look to upgrade or replace their current device.

Addicts

Other findings in Deloitte's survey point to the UK being "addicted" to their phones.

A third of respondents said that they use their phones while with friends or watching TV, while a tenth of respondents claimed to use their phones while eating.

It also found that one in three UK adults check their phones in the middle of the night, and one tenth of smartphone owners check their phone as soon as they wake up.

How much of this time was spent playing games was not questioned in the survey.