Skip to content
Stark Insider
  • Culture
  • Filmmaking/Tech
  • Atelier Stark Films
News Tech

Trendspotting: Internet user growth slows, smartphone shipments decline + other trends (Mary Meeker Report)

BY Clinton Stark — 06.11.2019

Global Internet User Growth: Report and trends by Mary Meeker
Global Internet User Growth

Global internet user growth is still growing, but slower than before. Per Bond Capital partner Mary Meeker, year-over-year growth slowed to +6% versus +7% the year earlier.

In addition, another — not so surprising headline — is also the slowing of smartphone shipments. Android and iOS handsets both saw y/y declines across the board. We’ve seen this coming for a while. Apple is struggling to move $1,000 iPhones, for example, and has started to emphasize value models in addition to trade-in programs (Google too).

Global Internet User Growth: Report and trends by Mary Meeker
Global Internet User Growth

China, India and the United States remain the top three countries for internet users in 2018.

The “Queen of the Internet” delivered her much lauded annual update this morning at the Recode conference in Arizona. Once again Meeker’s presentation was accompanied by a comprehensive PowerPoint slide-deck (view here on Scribd).

Other key and/or interesting takeaways:

  • Top 10 tech companies by market cap: Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Alphabet (Google), Facebook, Alibaba, Tencent, Netflix, Adobe and PayPal
  • E-commerce growth is “solid” at +12.4% y/y
  • Internet ad spending “accelerated” +22% y/y (Google and Facebook lead)
  • The average adult user spends 6.3 hours daily with digital media
  • Amazon Echo growth is a rocket ship
  • Stories are increasingly told using edited images and videos
  • Freemium remains an important business model
  • Online platforms: YouTube and Instagram gaining the most

In addition the report dives deep into concerns around the internet including privacy and the impact of bad actors. Healthcare innovation, the economy, online learning, the cloud and larger players such as China and the U.S. also receive attention in the 2019 Internet Trends report.

Tech companies getting significant mentions this year include Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, WeChat, WhatsApp, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, Dropbox, Uber, Twitch, Fortnite, Google and Apple among many others.

You can read (and download) the Internet Trends 2019 report on Scribd.

Internet Trends 2019

Mary Meeker

Internet Trends 2019 by on Scribd

Tags:Amazon Apple Facebook Google Microsoft Netflix

Related Stories

The Third Mind AI Summit returns to Sonoma wine country June 30 to July 2, 2026. Three days exploring how humans and AI agents collaborate as equals.

Save the Date: The Third Mind AI Summit 2026 Heads to Sonoma

News
MacBook Pro running Claude Code in Visual Studio Code with an autonomous coding prompt, demonstrating how to unlock long multi-hour runs from an AI coding agent

Quick Tip: How to Get Claude Code to Run Autonomously for Hours

News
Which Molty blind LLM study: a four-week single-blind crossover experiment testing whether users can detect the language model powering an always-on AI agent when the memory system stays constant. Results show no statistically significant difference across MiniMax M2.7, Kimi K2.5, GLM-5, and Gemma 4 31B.

Which Molty? Our Blind LLM Study Says Memory Beats Model

News
2026 Artificial Intelligence Index Report from Stanford HAI

Stanford's 2026 AI Index: Where AI Actually Stands (report)

News

More in News →

Clinton Stark

Filmmaker and editor at Stark Insider, covering arts, AI & tech, and indie film. Inspired by Bergman, slow cinema and Chipotle. Often found behind the camera or in the edit bay. Peloton: ClintTheMint.

Short Films
Loni Stark - A West Coast Adventure - A Lifetime in the Making - Stark Insider

Stark Insider
  • CULTURE
  • BEST OF AI
  • FILMMAKING/TECH
  • ATELIER STARK FILMS
  • HUMANxAI SYMBIOSIS
THE STARK COLLECTIVE
  • THE STARK CO
  • STARK INSIDER
  • STARKMIND
  • ATELIER STARK
© Copyright 2005-2026 BLG Media LLC. v2.19.0
  • Review Policy and Shipping
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • About