New Delhi, Feb 27 (IANS): A study highlighting the role of smartphones in people's lives in Asia has found that 60 percent people use them to primarily communicate with one another, 24 percent consider them as companions, while the age group of 20 and under use their devices for music and entertainment the most.

The survey, conducted by leading Chinese language internet search provider Baidu, also showed that almost 50 percent of Asians get worried when their smartphones run out of battery, which is quite high compared to people from other demographics.

According to Baidu's "Global Smartphone Usage and Trends-2015" survey report, 36 percent people across the world update their smartphones once a year. 

"If we compare results from different regions we see that three out of 10 people in Asia update their smartphones once a year which is consistent amongst all the age groups but again the age group of 20 to 29 leads it with 38 percent," it said.

So far as charging frequency is concerned, almost half the user base of smartphones in the world charge their devices just once in a day, according to the survey. But it also found that 35 percent people charge their smartphones multiple times a day, "which speaks about the heavy usage of battery due to the apps on their smartphones".

Nearly 40 percent of all users surveyed installed between 21-50 apps on their phone. However, Asians tend to keep their apps below 20, Baidu reported.

Battery-related overheating issues were particularly found prominent among users in Asia. 

"Overall, the most common problem faced across the globe due to excessive smartphone usage is the 'phone overheats' issue which is a whopping 44 percent, 'trash size' and 'slow online' speed come second and third in the list with 38 percent and 32 percent respectively," the survey said. 

It was also found that Asians are more dependent on their smartphones than the users in the West. 

Forty-seven percent of North American users waited for their phones to run out completely. But users in Asia preferred to use a power bank or a battery-saving app when running out of power.