Almost 80% of Australians own at least one smartphone, according to a Deloitte survey.

There are 15 million smartphones in use in the country, plus “millions” of devices shelved, binned or lost.

Deloitte forecasts 5 million smartphones will be bought in Australia over the next year. 

Technology, Media and Telco (TMT) Partner and report co-author Jeremy Drumm says Australians are embracing mobile digital lifestyles faster than the rest of the world.

The country exceeds the global average for penetration and adoption of smartphones (79% here against 78% worldwide) and tablets (59% against 54%).

“We are also significantly ahead of the UK, Canada, France and Germany when it comes to the use of social media to communicate,” Mr Drumm said.

TMT Leader Stuart Johnston says the smartphone has become “the personal remote for life”.

“The smartphone has now become our go-to device – whether it’s taking photos, checking weather, ordering groceries, transferring money, hailing a ride or video-calling,” he said.

The survey of 2000 Australians aged 18-75 found Wi-Fi remains Australian mobile consumers’ preferred way of connecting their smartphones (59%) and tablets (89%) to the internet, even though 53% believe their 4G connections are faster.

Deloitte says avoiding “bill shock” and managing monthly costs are the main reasons for preferring Wi-Fi.

Australians are loyal when it comes to smartphones. Among the 5 million phones that will be bought over the next year, Deloitte expects 46% of consumers will stick to their current brand.

Brand loyalty is even higher among Apple iPhone owners (61%) and Samsung users (47%).

Although Australians are “app savvy” and tend to be early adopters of new technology and online commerce trends, most do not use their smartphones to make payments in-store.

Only 24% of respondents would do so, the main reasons against being perceived lack of security (43%) and the lack of benefits (41%).