---
title: "Smartphone Ownership Update: September 2012"
description: "66% of those ages 18-29 own smartphones; 68% of those living in households earning $75,000 also own them"
date: "2012-09-11"
authors:
  - name: "Lee Rainie"
    job_title: "Former Director, Internet and Technology Research"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/lee-rainie/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2012/09/11/smartphone-ownership-update-september-2012/"
categories:
  - "Digital Divide"
  - "Mobile"
  - "Smartphones"
  - "Teens & Tech"
  - "Teens & Youth"
datasets:
  - name: "Aug. 7-Sept. 6, 2012 – Health"
    url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/dataset/september-2012-health-tracking-prelim/"
---

# Smartphone Ownership Update: September 2012

### Two-thirds of young adults and those with higher income are smartphone owners

On the eve of Apple’s unveiling of the iPhone 5, 45% of American adults own smartphones. They are particularly popular with young adults and those living in relatively higher income households.

![Who owns smartphones](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/media/84B2A762B0154194BC4A8995034F2789.jpg)

These findings come from a survey of 3,014 adults by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project between August 7-September 6, 2012.

More American adults own smartphones than own feature cell phones—that is, the phones that can be used as a phone and for texting, but do not have a smartphone operating system such as Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android. Some 34% of adults have a feature phone; 5% of adults say they do not know if they have a smartphone or not; and 15% of American adults have no cell phone at all.

These latest figures show that smartphone ownership has increased from 35% in May of 2011 to 45%, though there has been no change in smartphone ownership from figures that the Pew Internet Project found in a [survey at the beginning of the year](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/Reports/2012/Smartphone-Update-2012.aspx).

Survey questions are available for download [here](~/media/E1D3E258940F4BAA99FACA94E1790524.pdf).