Designing for PC Only? In 2020?

So, the provider of this very blog I am writing on, Squarespace, hates mobile. Not just that they are responsive, no ability to be adaptive. And are pretty bad at any code efficiency; the 50+

No, I mean, you go to edit your blog on the phone because you are on the go and forgot something and:

Nope. No way. Don’t @ me to say “get the app.” Screw that. It’s a web tool. I am doing this ad hoc. I don’t want another damned app. Etc.

Let’s take a moment to review how dumb it is to lock out access to any part of your product on mobile, in 2020. “Go to your computer” you say? What’s that mean?

2.71 billion smartphones in use

1.3 billion personal computers.

That’s… a lot of mobiles.

PCs include the category, not those used by individuals. Many are used as low-end servers, as POS terminals, or otherwise for work where no one browses the internet, etc. So, less than this.

Smartphones on the other hand, are essentially always used by people for general purpose work. Even those issued by workplaces are used for lots of tasks, so it is fair to assume they are personal devices, to act like smartphones.

(On the other hand, tablets — a very small market, not included above — are often used for work, as one-off terminals, even embedded in appliances, etc. Hard to count their usage and true penetration.)

PC sales are falling. Falling in absolute figures, for installed base (forget sales! People are going out of business that’s so bad). But as the population grows, internet spreads to new markets, etc. as a fraction of use, PC use is precipitously falling.

There are even more internet connected handsets than this. Many featurephones (OEM-specific, closed OS) have big screens, good browsers, touch even. Around half the world has a featurephone. It is hard to get a handle on how many of these are used as connected devices. but since it’s /billions/ of them, ignore at your peril. Add in iPod Touch style wifi-only “handsets” as well. My guesstimate is another 500 million connected "not-smartphone" mobile devices.

Note that essentially no one has a “dumbphone,” without internet et al. If you call not-smartphones “dumbphones,” you are wrong, and missing a big market.

So anywhere upwards of 3x as many people using handsets as PCs for internet connected data sessions every day.

But sure, you design a feature for ONLY desktops in 2020. You be you.