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54% of e-book buyers are reading on their smartphones

By
Benjamin Snyder
Benjamin Snyder
Managing Editor
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August 12, 2015, 5:04 PM ET
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Woman reading book on iPad with iPhone next to herPhotograph by Marilyn Root — Getty Images

The number of people reading on their phones is a trend that’s on the rise.

While tablets, such as the Kindle and iPad, are still the most popular electronic way to read digital books, they may be pushed aside by smartphones in coming years, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The publication reported on a Nielsen survey taken this past December that found 54% of e-book buyers read on their smartphones. In 2012, that number was just 24%.

Meanwhile, the number of people who read digital books via tablets is 41% for the first three months in 2015, which is up from 30% in 2012, according to the newspaper, citing Nielsen data.

Per the article:

The number of people who read primarily on phones has risen to 14% in the first quarter of 2015 from 9% in 2012.

Meanwhile, those reading mainly on e-readers, such as Kindles and Nooks, dropped over the same period to 32% from 50%. Even tablet reading has declined recently to 41% in the first quarter this year from 44% in 2014.

Reasons people are turning to smartphones? Convenience, of course, as well as ramped up technology that makes reading on mobile phones a more pleasant experience. Smartphone screen sizes, too, are getting larger.

 

About the Author
By Benjamin SnyderManaging Editor
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Benjamin Snyder is Fortune's managing editor, leading operations for the newsroom.

Prior to rejoining Fortune, he was a managing editor at Business Insider and has worked as an editor for Bloomberg, LinkedIn and CNBC, covering leadership stories, sports business, careers and business news. He started his career as a breaking news reporter at Fortune in 2014.

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