Penetration of desktops, laptops, and tablets declined. Between H1 2020 and H1 2021, penetration of desktops, laptops, and tablets fell in virtually every market. Admittedly, several countries in Asia-Pacific—including China, Japan, and Thailand—saw modest gains for both devices. PC ownership also rose in India, UAE, and Vietnam.

In H1 2021, more than 97% of survey respondents in Portugal owned a smartphone, and 85.4% owned a desktop or laptop. Some 48.1% of internet users were tablet owners. Time spent with both mobile and nonmobile devices rocketed, at least partly because of the pandemic. Internet users spent an average of 3:30 per day with their mobile phones in H1 2021, up from 3:12 last year.

In H1 2021, respondents spent an average 4 hours, 10 minutes (4:10) daily with desktops, laptops, and tablets, and 3:33 with mobile devices. Smartphone penetration had declined slightly since 2020, but advanced handsets remain the crucial digital device for most internet users; 95.6% of respondents owned one in H1 2021. Only 3.6% had a feature phone.

Ownership of desktop and laptop computers slipped to 87.1% of internet users ages 16 to 64 in H1 2021, a decline of about 2 percentage points since H1 2020. Only one demographic group—internet users ages 55 to 64—still registered ownership above 90%. Tablet ownership, which has fallen in many countries, rose marginally to 55.8% in H1 2021.

As of H1 2021, 73.8% of internet users owned a desktop or laptop, while 33.5% owned a tablet. Ownership of both devices had slipped from the year prior. That said, time spent with PCs and tablets rocketed during the year, from 4:07 daily to 4:56. Much of internet users’ total media time is devoted to social networking.

Usage was greatest (over 93%) in the 16-to-24 cohort; SVOD also reached more than 90% of internet users in high-income households. Adoption of smart TVs may be slowing, but smartwatches and smart wristbands finally achieved takeoff. Smart TV ownership passed the halfway mark in 2019 and stood at 53.4% in H1 2021. Penetration was greatest in high-income households, at 60.2%.

Usage was greatest among 16- to 24-year-olds, affluents, and respondents living in cities.

As in numerous other countries, the share of internet users who owned a desktop or laptop declined for the second year in a row, from 76.6% to 71.6% in H1 2021. Predictably, older respondents were most likely to own a PC; 77.0% of 55- to 64-year-olds had a desktop or laptop, for example, but that share had also dropped by more than 5 percentage points year over year (YoY).

Penetration ranged from 99.2% among internet users ages 16 to 24, to 84.0% among those 55 to 64; in the latter group, usage had climbed almost 9 percentage points year over year (YoY).

Usage declined in almost all cohorts but still correlated with rising age; penetration among those ages 55 to 64 was just 47.1% in H1 2021. The broadcast radio audience shrank slightly in Q1, to 78.4% of web users. Print media readership held up relatively well, though. Nearly 58% of internet users polled had read a print newspaper in the month prior, and 52.7% had read a print magazine.

Traditional media still enjoy wide reach, but many younger web users are gradually shifting to digital alternatives. Most of the online population still tuned in to live radio and read print publications. In total, 74.8% of internet users ages 16 to 64 had listened to live radio during the prior month in Q1 2021.

The share of internet users who owned a desktop or laptop fell slightly year over year (YoY) but was still high by global standards, at 83.5% in H1 2021. Penetration correlated directly with age; in the oldest cohort, 88.5% of respondents owned a PC. More than half (54.3%) of internet users owned a tablet—a small increase from 2020.

Usage was at least 10 percentage points greater among respondents ages 45 to 64, and 88.1% in higher-income households, though. PCs and tablets claim more time each day than mobile devices. Some 75.7% of internet users in Denmark owned a desktop or laptop in H1 2021.

Desktops, laptops, and tablets accounted for almost an hour more of daily media time than mobile phones. In H1 2021, 94.6% of internet users owned a smartphone—a share essentially unchanged since H1 2019. By contrast, PC and tablet penetration both appear to have peaked. The share of respondents who owned a desktop or laptop slipped by more than 4 percentage points year over year, to 78.6%.

Time spent each day with mobile devices surpassed time spent with desktops, laptops, and tablets by half an hour in H1 2021. On average, internet users spent 4 hours, 27 minutes (4:27) daily with mobile phones, compared with 3:57 on larger-screen devices. Both mobile and PC time rose year over year (YoY); PCs recorded the larger gain, though.

In that cohort, usage approached 61% in H1 2021. Overall, takeup of numerous viewing options and services boosted VOD penetration to 92.5%—confirmation that digital video viewing is now substantially more common among internet users than live TV viewing. On average, respondents devoted 1:22 daily to streaming video content.

Some gender-related differences also persisted: Males were more likely than females to own a desktop or laptop, but the opposite was true for tablets. Traditional media are increasingly eclipsed by digital alternatives, though live TV still enjoys substantial reach.

Desktops, laptops, and tablets claimed 50 minutes more, at 4:17 daily. Time with mobile and nonmobile devices had risen since H1 2020. Since 2018, social networking has engaged more internet users than broadcast TV. In H1 2021, 94.4% of those polled had used social media in the month prior to polling, compared with 79.5% who had watched live TV.

Digital audio usage was higher, at 74.6%, and claimed more time as well, at 1:34 daily. Just more than half (50.6%) of internet users polled in Malaysia in Q1 of this year had read a print newspaper in the prior month, while 42.4% had read a print magazine. Time devoted to print publications continued to lag time spent with online press, at 36 minutes and 52 minutes daily, respectively.

Respondents ages 16 to 34 and those in high-income households recorded above-average usage.

Usage was substantially greater among respondents ages 16 to 24 and those in higher-income homes.

Time spent each day with desktops, laptops, and tablets remained considerably higher than time spent with mobile devices, averaging 3:25 and 2:19, respectively. Daily PC time grew more than mobile time year over year; the opposite was true in 2020.

In H1 2021, 95.9% of internet users in Ireland ages 16 to 64 owned a smartphone, while 80.1% owned a desktop or laptop. Those shares had hardly altered from H1 2020. Tablet penetration recorded a marginal YoY decline from 51.6% to 49.0%.

Almost 96% of internet users in Sweden owned a smartphone in H1 2021—a share unchanged since 2020—while 76.9% owned a desktop or laptop, and 50.9% owned a tablet. Both PCs and tablets saw a drop in ownership. But respondents averaged 3 hours, 37 minutes (3:37) each day with PCs and tablets, versus 2:55 with mobile phones. Both values rose by more than 15 minutes year over year.

Meanwhile, desktops, laptops, and tablets claimed 3:58. Both figures rose by a few minutes from H1 2020. Many digital devices held little appeal for local web users, or at least were not a priority purchase. Smartwatches were an exception to some extent, though penetration was barely into double digits, at 11.3% in H1 2021.