Four fifths of US smartphone users stream video

Some 81% of all US smartphone users now stream video on their devices, according to research firm NPD.

The company’s Connected Intelligence Smartphone and Tablet Usage Report claims that streaming video use is being driven primarily by users who are 25 and younger.

People in this age-group spend twice as much time watching video content on the YouTube and Netflix mobile apps compared to users who are over the age of 25, said the report.

 “Users are spending more time watching videos on their smartphones than ever before, as the adoption of smartphones that boast larger displays increases,” said NPD Connected Intelligence Mobility practice research director, Brad Akyuz.

“This mobile streaming behaviour is further bolstered by the new offerings of wireless operators, such as T-Mobile’s Binge On and Verizon Wireless’ Go90, which run on free sponsored data.”

NPD said that people aged under 25 use an average of  6.2 GB of WiFi and mobile data for video streaming each month, compared to 4.9 GB for older smartphone users.

Overall, the average US smartphone owner uses close to 3 GB of cellular data per month, with video streaming the top application driving that data use, according to the study.