Feb 13, 2019

Smartphone ownership is rising around the world

Dave Lawler, author of World

Here's a quick look at smartphone ownership in selected countries, according to Pew:

  • Advanced economies: South Korea (95%), Israel (88%), U.S. (81%), France (75%), Japan (66%), Canada (66%), Russia (59%).
  • Emerging economies: South Africa (60%), Brazil (60%), Mexico (52%), Tunisia (45%), Nigeria (39%), India (24%).
  • The age gap: In Indonesia, 66% of 18-35 year olds own cell phones, compared to just 13% of those 50+. The gap is also huge in developed countries like Poland (93% vs. 35%). In the U.S. it's 95% vs. 67%.

The trend: Across the emerging economies, smartphone ownership has jumped from 18% to 47% over the past five years, while mobile phone ownership has virtually held steady at 80%.

Go deeper

Marisa Fernandez
45 mins ago - Health

NYC's coronavirus positivity rate spikes to highest since June

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio. Photo: Noam Galai/Getty Images

New York City's coronavirus positivity rate has ticked up to 3.25%, its highest since June, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Why it matters: The jump — from 1.93% on Monday — came on the first day that public elementary classrooms reopened in the city after months of closures, but guidelines state that all public schools will have to shut if the citywide seven-day positivity rate stays above 3%.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 11:30 a.m. ET: 33,423,249 — Total deaths: 1,003,008 — Total recoveries: 23,199,564 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 11:30 a.m. ET: 7,152,221 — Total deaths: 205,268 — Total recoveries: 2,794,608 — Total tests: 102,342,416 — Map.
  3. Health: Americans won't take Trump's word on the vaccine, Axios-Ipsos poll finds.
  4. Media: Fauci: Some of what Fox News reports about COVID-19 is "outlandish"
  5. States: Cuomo extends New York moratorium on evictions until 2021.
  6. World: More than 1 million people have now died from coronavirus — India the second country after U.S. to hit 6 million cases.
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata
1 hour ago - Economy & Business

AppHarvest is going public

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

AppHarvest, a Morehead, Ky.-based developer of large-scale tomato greenhouses, is going public via a reverse merger with a SPAC called Novus Capital (Nasdaq: NOVSU). The company would have an initial market value of around $1 billion.

Why it's a BFD: This is about to be a "unicorn" based in one of America's poorest congressional districts. AppHarvest CEO Jonathan Webb tells Axios that the company will employ around 350 people in Morehead by year-end, and that its location allows its product to reach 75% of the continental U.S. within a one-day drive.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow