Award Banner
Award Banner

Decade in Review: What the smartphone has wrought

Decade in Review: What the smartphone has wrought

When the first Apple iPhone hit the market in 2007, not everyone was convinced it would supplant the flip-phone.

When Google's Android software system arrived a year later, Blackberry still seemed to have a bright future.

But with the iPhone 4 in 2010, featuring a high-resolution display, sleek design and front-facing camera, our collective fate was sealed.

Here are 10 ways the smartphone has made its mark over the decade.

PHOTO: Reuters

Access everywhere

Today some 5 billion smartphones are in use around the world, according to Canalys Research. The total number of internet subscriptions has soared to 7.2 billion globally from 1.3 billion in 2010, the vast majority of the mobile subscriptions, International Telecommunications Union data shows.

The explosion in connectivity has been especially dramatic in the developing world, where there are now more mobile connections than people.

PHOTO: Reuters

Tech uber alles

Apple Inc, once a niche computer company, is now one of the world's most valuable companies thanks to the iPhone.

The five largest Fortune 500 technology companies — Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Facebook - currently boast a market cap of US$4.7 trillion (S$6.4 trillion), compared with about US$800 billion for the top five in 2010.

Not all of that is due to the smartphone, of course, but the mobile-related technologies and services accounted for nearly US$4 trillion in economic activity in 2018, according to trade group GSMA.

There's an app for that

Whether we're hailing a cab, ordering food, playing a game, finding a date, listening to music or shopping for just about anything, there's a good chance we'll be doing it with a smartphone app that didn't exist in 2010.

Many of most popular apps are free, but consumers are still expected to spend more than US$120 billion in app stores during 2019, according to App Annie, a mobile apps analytics firm.

Feed me

The endless scroll on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media apps now consumes 34 minutes of every US adult's day, according to Nielsen.

Fewer people are sitting on the sofa to watch live TV at set times, and advertisers are following. Mobile ad spending surpassed TV for the first time in 2018 in terms of percentage share of the US market, according to research firm eMarketer. We can also thank the smartphone for Instagram influencers, "sextortion," and fake news.

Smile for the (smartphone) camera

Global shipments of digital cameras dropped from their 2010 peak of 121 million to just 19 million units in 2018, according to the Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA). Meantime the latest phones pack as many four camera lenses and cutting edge software that makes it easier than ever to get that perfect shot. The front-facing camera might be the busiest: Google reports that its Android devices take 93 million selfies every day.

PHOTO: Reuters

Where am I?

The satellite tracking technology known as GPS, combined with information from cell towers and Wi-Fi networks, has made the smartphones incredibly powerful tracking devices. Google maps and its poorer cousins enable even the most directionally impaired find their way around unfamiliar locales with ease.

For the privacy-minded, though, it's a disaster: Phone companies and app makers routinely record the movements of subscribers and sell that data to advertisers, a US$20 billion-a-year business.

The data is "anonymized," but as numerous studies and a recent New York Times investigation have revealed it is often a simple matter to identify who is behind the dot on the map. Nearly 50 per cent of companies surveyed by Verizon this year used or planned to soon use smartphone management tools to track their employees.

You can look it up

The 2010 edition of the venerable Encyclopedia Britannica, all 32 volumes and 129 pounds of it, turned out to be the last. But untold barroom arguments or dining room debates can now be settled on the spot: Wikipedia is consulted more than 240 million times daily.

Distracting ourselves to death

In 2018 alone in the United States, 2,628 fatal crashes involved a distracted driver, and of those deadly crashes, about 13 per cent involved mobile phone use, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Forget your wallet

Apple Pay and Google Pay are still afterthoughts for most US consumers, but China may be a harbinger. Alipay and WeChat pay, China's two big smartphone payment services, have reached a combined adoption rate of over 80 per cent since they were launched around the beginning of the decade, according to a study by Bain.

The QR code now peppers storefront windows. Even streetside beggars have adapted, sometimes rejecting cash and asking that payments be made via WeChat Pay or Alipay.

Say what?

Among the major casualties of the smartphone era is the conventional phone call itself: ubiquitous messaging apps have helped make video calls, GIFs, emojis and audio messaging preferred modes of communication.

In the UK, for example, the total number of minutes spent on voice calls fell from 254 billion in 2013 to 206 billion in 2018, and the number of text messages dropped from 129 billion to 74 billion over the same period, according to Ofcom.

Mobile data usage, meanwhile, jumped almost nine-fold between 2013 and 2018. The number of available emojis has nearly tripled to almost 3,000 since 2010.

homepage

trending

trending
    I visit GastroBeats again, here's whether it's still worth the hype
    Grab exclusive Dylan Wang merchandise with Chagee's upcoming Longjing Milk Tea series
    Zheng Geping gets surprise birthday celebration on drama set
    Poly grad hopes to solve food delivery spillage problem with innovative GRIPBox
    Jiro Wang at Merlion Park and Mandai Rainforest Resort after Lady Gaga's Singapore concert
    CCTV footage of man stealing standee of Aespa's Karina in Malaysia tickles netizens
    'It feels like a gut punch': Yale-NUS students asked to destroy DVDs prior to campus closure
    Secondary school dropout, 36, graduates top of his cohort at Republic Polytechnic
    Francis Ng's son claps back at negativity about his appearance: 'Don't waste your words'
    Porridge, pancakes and more: Popeyes enters Singapore's fast-food breakfast game
    'We are just the middlemen': How property agents grapple with landlords' discriminatory preferences
    'I'm gaming the system': Singaporean moves to Thailand, flies back weekly for work to save costs

Singapore

Singapore
    • SAF has to come up with new ways to overcome challenges: Chan Chun Sing
    • 'I can peel 3 to 5 eggs in a minute': 12-year-old boy helps out at grandma's porridge stall in Holland Drive Food Centre
    • Applicant claims employer requested full-body photo for recruitment, calling the requirement 'relevant'
    • Woman accused of making fake ex-DBS CEO 'Piyush Gupta' LinkedIn post blames social media manager
    • Man to be charged for stealing KrisFlyer miles and using them for purchases
    • First tranche of GE2025 candidate expenses published, with highest spending being over $100,000
    • 10 months' jail for man who stole cash, credit card onboard Scoot flight
    • Resale flat prices may begin moderating from 2026 as new units reach MOP: Chee Hong Tat
    • Singaporean-Malaysian couple arrested in Melaka for allegedly distributing drug-laced vapes to students
    • More firms raise salaries in 2024 than in 2023

Entertainment

Entertainment
    • That Visa ad is real, Blackpink's really coming to Singapore
    • Ayden Sng becomes cafe owner in new China reality show uSweet
    • 'Regard me as your mother': Liu Lingling caring for late sister Angie Lau's children
    • The Untamed actor Wang Zhuocheng in Singapore, visits Merlion and Jewel Changi Airport
    • Ayumi Hamasaki, CL, Show Lo: Singapore concert calendar for 2025
    • Sean 'Diddy' Combs allegedly threatened to leak sex tapes of his ex
    • Ecstasy and bribery accusations in Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial bolster racketeering charge
    • Christopher McQuarrie has plot for Top Gun 3 'already in the bag'
    • Billie Eilish takes top prize at American Music Awards
    • Demi Lovato marries Jordan Lutes in romantic ceremony in California

Lifestyle

Lifestyle
    • Is Singapore's F&B industry struggling? Hawkers, entrepreneurs and insiders weigh in
    • Singapore Oceanarium, formerly S.E.A. Aquarium, to open on July 23 with expanded experiences and research centre
    • Supermarket meets kopitiam: New FairPrice Finest outlet featuring food hall opens in Sembawang
    • Bak kut teh or laksa? Uniqlo's latest drop features Singapore food-inspired collection
    • Special offers and wildlife experiences at Mandai attractions in celebration of SG60
    • Skyworth K review: A car that's as effective as a household appliance
    • Voraciously hungry? Check out these buffets to get the best bang for your buck
    • Singaporean chef Akmal Anuar's Malay restaurant in Dubai earns spot on Michelin Guide
    • Father's Day: What to get for the dad who says he wants nothing
    • Built different: 60 everyday street smarts that make Singaporeans… Singaporean

Digicult

Digicult
    • World's best Dota 2 teams to compete for $1m prize pool in Singapore in November
    • A $500 wake-up call: How the Samsung Galaxy Ring made me realise my stress
    • Monster Hunter Wilds producer explains how game has remained unique and fresh over 20 years
    • Under siege? Helldivers 2's latest city to be invaded by aliens could be spoof of Singapore
    • Honor 400 Series launches in Singapore with first free in-device AI image-to-video tool
    • Home Team humanoid robots to be deployed by mid-2027, $100m to be invested: Josephine Teo
    • Ado concert review: Singer without a face ignites fans while in cage with only silhouette visible
    • EU and US authorities take down malware network
    • Google Pixel 9a: The best AI-centric phone under $800 in 2025?
    • Western intelligence agencies warn spyware threat targeting Taiwan, Tibetan rights advocates

Money

Money
    • Wall Street equity indexes close higher after US-China tariff truce
    • Giant deal: Malaysian company to acquire Cold Storage and Giant supermarket chains in Singapore
    • Can you still own multiple properties in Singapore? Here's what you need to know in 2025
    • Selling your home for the first time? Here's a step-by-step timeline to follow in Singapore
    • Why some central 2-bedroom homeowners in Singapore are stuck
    • How the interest rate cycle works - and what it means for your home loan
    • Tampines, Sengkang and more towns set new 2-room all-time-high records - is this part of a broader trend?
    • More people rented in April 2025 despite higher prices, here's what drove it
    • Looking to buy Singapore property in 2025? Here's what's different (and what could catch you off guard)
    • 'Short-term, more conservative view': Local businesses struggle to come to terms with US tariffs

Latest

Latest
  • UK prosecutors authorise 21 criminal charges against Andrew and Tristan Tate
  • Manitoba urges thousands to evacuate as Canada wildfires spread
  • How Mexico's cartels recruit children and groom them into killers
  • Pope Leo appeals for Gaza ceasefire, laments deaths of children
  • Harvard to relinquish slave photos to resolve descendant's lawsuit
  • Israeli government hits back as international pressure over Gaza mounts
  • Residents fear for safety after deadly blast at China chemical plant
  • Mud and rock bury Swiss village after glacier collapse, 1 person missing
  • Deadly break-in at UN warehouse as aid trickles into Gaza

In Case You Missed It

In Case You Missed It
  • Pedestrian, 84, dies in accident involving minibus in Choa Chu Kang
  • NDP 2025 marks SG60 with expanded celebrations from Padang to Marina Bay
  • Obesity rates are rising in Singapore, but is overeating the only cause?
  • Trump administration blocks Harvard from enrolling foreign students, threatens broader crackdown 
  • 'We apologise for the operational lapse': NUS responds to backlash over disposal of Yale-NUS books
  • No joke: Bangkok condo resident releases snakes in corridor to protest neighbour's noisy dog
  • 'Only one chance at life': Chinese student, 18, misses exam to save classmate suffering heart attack
  • Baby suspected to have been eaten by monitor lizard in Thailand, only head found
  • 'Dog will return soon': GE2025 independent candidate Jeremy Tan wants to contest again
This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.