Usage of laptops and smartphones is outpacing that of set-top boxes (STBs) and smart TVs in the connected living rooms of today, according to new global research from Irdeto.
The research reinforces a growing consumer trend of multi-screen usage and second screen devices becoming "first screens," with smartphones being the most used devices in living rooms in Singapore (56%), followed by PCs or laptops (39%) STBs (28%), tablets (27%) and smart TVs (26%).
In contrast, PCs or laptops are the most used devices in living rooms in Australia (43%), followed by smartphones (30%), tablets (24%), smart TVs (23%) and STBs (18%).
In Singapore, smartphones are the devices people are most likely to purchase in the next five years (49%). This is followed by PCs or laptops (40%), smart TVs (40%) and tablets (34%).
In Australia, PCs or laptops are the devices people are most likely to purchase in the next five years (36%). This is followed by smartphones (33%), smart TVs (28%) and tablets (28%).
Conducted online by YouGov with over 5,000 adults from the United Kingdom, United States, Singapore and Australia, the study found the following trends.
First, security and user experience are the key demands. In the current climate, the security of devices is the most important consideration for consumers, with the security of payment details stored on devices (88% in Singapore, 87% in Australia) and the security of personal information (90% in Singapore, 88% in Australia) as either very or fairly important.
Second, US millennials prefer streaming devices and dongles to STBs. Consumers aged 18-24 in the US already have the lowest STB ownership levels of any age group (16% compared to the national average of 38%) and this downward trend is set to continue.
And third, smartphones infiltrate the living room in Singapore. While smartphone penetration and usage is high in all markets surveyed, they are the most used living room devices in Singapore (56%) and the most likely device purchase in the next five years (49%).