Report: Pandemic changing smart device usage
June 4, 2021
Cybersecurity and network intelligence solutions specialist CUJO AI has released its annual device intelligence report which explores Internet-connected device usage patterns and trends based on data from more than 1 billion devices in the Unites States and Canada.
The report analyses device usage data ranging from January 2020 until April 2021. Changing daily habits of consumers were clearly visible in the types of devices they bought and used throughout the year:
- Gaming consoles experienced two surges in popularity in the last 15 months. The PlayStation 4 is by far the most popular gaming console.
- E-readers went up 150 per cent once the quarantine started.
- Smart watches were one of the most popular purchases at the end of 2020, with 40 per cent rise in popularity.
- VR headsets are growing in popularity, and a major increase of VR headsets corresponded to the initial lockdown in 2020.
“The pandemic by far was one of the most important factors that triggered deviations from normal device usage patterns,” says Kimmo Kasslin, Head of Labs, CUJO AI. “We have seen that smartphones and tablets continue to replace desktops for many business tasks, giving easy access to business data.”
- Personal computers no longer make up the majority of consumer devices on the Internet. Smartphones are the most common connected devices, with a little over 38 per cent of all connected devices.
- iOS devices make up over two-thirds of the mobile device population in North America.
- Tablets and smart TVs seem to have reached points of saturation in their respective markets.
- Among thousands of models, no Android device has more than 3 per cent of the Android market. At the same time, there are 7,027 different Android device models in active use in North America, with no easy way to determine which ones are no longer supported by vendors, posing severe security threats.
According to the company, the report was made possible by the advancements of CUJO AI Labs, which has developed and deployed robust artificial intelligence algorithms that can classify device types and models with extreme precision.
“Precise device intelligence is an essential piece of the puzzle when it comes to preventative cybersecurity,” states Kasslin. “We identify a device and can wall it off from the rest of the network if it starts acting out of character, as it is a sign that the device is compromised by malware or hackers.”
The rapidly-changing device landscape poses significant challenges to network service providers that need to adapt their network management solutions and discover potential issues or even threats as quickly as possible.