Device fragmentation
Higher mobile network speeds and access to cheaper smartphones have hugely increased use of the web on mobile devices. Users can choose from an endless range of devices to browse, shop, or access news and social media.
Businesses must have an excellent understanding of traffic so that they can optimize for all devices and boost conversion rates on mobile. Detailed knowledge of device characteristics is also required for web analytics to build a comprehensive picture of all visitors and prospects.
Device fragmentation at a glance
Although you may think device diversity is slowing down, the opposite is true as the number of connected devices grew rapidly over the last decade. DeviceAtlas reported over 2,000 unique device models actively used for web browsing in one quarter in 2016 in the USA alone. These devices were made by 243 device makers, had 79 screen sizes, 24 OSes, and 23 mobile browsers.
Given that global mobile 4G connections will grow from 2.1 billion in 2016 to 6.1 billion by 2021 (Cisco), accessing online content on all connected devices is becoming more convenient and cheaper in every corner of the globe.
Mobile screen sizes and screen resolutions
DeviceAtlas shows that the world of screen sizes and screen resolutions is one of the most diverse aspects of the landscape today. These characteristics have a great impact on the way content should be served in order to work and look great for all users.
DeviceAtlas listed five different smartphone screen size categories, from 4-inch all the way to 5.7-inch, which are all getting a two-digit share of web traffic. The spectrum of the most used screen resolutions is broad as well, ranging from 640x1136 to 1440x2560 which are all popular getting between 10-30% market share.
Diagonal screen sizes are related to user preferences and the context in which the device is typically used. Owners of the 9.4-inch iPad use it in a different way than people who choose a 5.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S8, not to mention users of the 4-inch iPhone SE.
Learn more about the most popular screen sizesLearn more about the most popular screen resolutions
Why device fragmentation matters
Web analytics
Web analytics help businesses better understand how online content contributes to conversions and other user engagement. These insights are affected by device fragmentation which must be addressed by using a sophisticated device detection solution. Learn more
Mobile commerce
Mobile commerce is now at least 1/3 of all e-commerce sales (Internet Retailer). Device fragmentation strongly affects how brands fare in terms of making it possible to buy directly from the phone. Learn more
Mobile web performance
The lack of fine grained mobile optimization is what’s making the mobile web particularly slow. The average load time on mobile for news websites is 10.5 s, with the slowest sites reaching 19-22 s. (source) Learn more
Ad targeting
With more than a half of digital ad budgets now spent on mobile, getting targeting and campaign reporting right is essential. Businesses can’t make assumptions on what devices their customers may use to access their online content. Learn more
Why is the mobile world so fragmented?
Due to the open-source nature of Android, the world's most used OS, any company can release a smartphone. Android devices vary in terms of hardware, screen sizes, resolutions, prices, and the OS update cycle.
While high-end Android phones get updated quickly, cheaper phones often stay on older OSes. There are at least five Android versions with a significant share of web traffic. Even Android 4.3 released in 2012 still gets a lot of usage.
Apple's iOS is not uniform either. iPhones are now available in three screen sizes, all of which have a very long lifespan. DeviceAtlas reported that even the first gen iPhone generated web traffic in 2016.
Learn more about iPhone usage statisticsPopular myths
Myth 1: Everyone uses an iPhone or the latest Galaxy S
iOS held 14.7% of sales in Q1 2017 while for Android it was a massive 85% globally which is over 292m devices sold in one quarter alone. If you think that Android is leading only in emerging markets, you may be wrong as well. Android dominates in Spain (74%), Germany (65%), and France (57%), just to mention a few.
Myth 2: All smartphones have massive screens today
Smaller screen sizes are a strong niche that is not going away. 4-inch iPhones accounted for 16% of all iPhone sales in 2016 (33.9m units). For comparison, sales of Huawei P9 and P9 Plus were at 10m units in 2016. 4-inch is among the top three sizes in most countries, reaching over 25% in Australia, France, and the UK.
Myth 3: High-end devices always deliver a great performance
Even premium devices need decent connectivity to handle web browsing and this is not always available. 2G technology remains dominant worldwide (41% in 2016 - Cisco), while 4G accessibility is far from ideal at up to 60% in France, Germany, and Italy (OpenSignal). In the USA 4G is accessible but the avg. speed is only at 14.99 Mb/s.
Myth 4: Low-end smartphones are quickly catching up
The gap between low-end and high-end devices is actually widening rather than diminishing. While high-end smartphones are getting more capable, the low-end category is being stretched by super cheap devices intended to satisfy the needs of the most cost-conscious audience.
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