Pew has been tracking ownership of technology devices since 2004, with the unsurprising long-term trend being the exploding popularity of mobile devices. But this year's report marks a distinctive point in that trend, with smartphones overtaking computers in popularity with millennials. It also marks a major shift in Latinos' long-held rank as top trendsetters in the mobile space.

A First: Smartphones Overtake Computers for Millennials

Pew Research's 2015 Technology Device Ownership report, released on Thursday, shows that smartphone ownership among U.S. adults aged 19 to 29 years old has reached the point where it has overtaken computers, a device category that has trended downward in ownership over the past decade.

Pew found that for 2015, 78 percent of millennials own a computer, which is down from 88 percent in 2010. Meanwhile, 86 percent of millennials own a smartphone, a staggering explosion of popularity from the 52 percent ownership level in 2011, the first time Pew measured that category.

Interestingly, e-book devices have declined in the past year, as have MP3 players in the last five years, while tablet computers have gained steadily in the same amount of time.

The shifting popularity of stand-alone, single purpose, devices clearly mirrors the emergence of do-anything touchscreen, whether in tablet or smartphone form. "These changes are all taking place in a world where smartphones are transforming into all-purpose devices that can take the place of specialized technology, such as music players, e-book readers and gaming devices," wrote Pew researcher Monica Anderson in the report's release. "Some of the changes in device ownership patterns are particularly evident for young adults."

Only half of millennials own MP3 players in 2015, and only 18 percent own an e-book reader. Gaming consoles have declined from a high mark in 2013 of 71 percent ownership among millennials to just over 50 percent now. Meanwhile, tablets have grown over the past five years with millennials from a measly 5 percent to 50 percent ownership today.

Overall, 68 percent of U.S. adults owned a smartphone, with cellphone ownership reaching peak saturation at 92 percent. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the popularity of computers has stayed relatively constant, with around 73 percent ownership among all U.S. adults throughout the last decade.

Leveling Off: Latinos' Lose 'Trendsetter' Status

Pew Research breaks down its technology ownership research by race/ethnicity, and this year marked the biggest change in Latino tech trends, as U.S. Hispanics no longer outpace other demographics or the general public in mobile technology ownership.

Pew found that among U.S. adult Hispanics, 64 percent owned a smartphone, compared to 66 percent of whites, 68 percent of Black Americans, and the 68 percent of all U.S. adults. Previously, Latinos outpaced the U.S. consumer average by close to 10 percent, peaking at 72 percent smartphone ownership in Nielsen's 2014 study, which called Latinos "ahead of the digital curve."

According to Pew in 2013, Latinos (60 percent) still outpaced the national average of smartphone ownership by 4 percent. But though Pew's numbers show a more consistent upward trend, this year it's clear that Latinos have lost their trendsetting status on mobile.

That shouldn't come as too much of a surprise though. As LatinPost recently reported, Horowitz Research found this year that the gap between Latinos and other trendsetting minority consumers and the general public -- this time measured in consumers' use of streaming services and Internet TV -- was getting narrower.

It tends to happen every time technology services and devices, once seen as techy or niche, begin receiving more acceptance and popularity with the mainstream. "While [trendsetting minority] audiences are still ahead, the gaps are closing," noted Horowitz Research's Adriana Waterston.

But that phenomenon actually doesn't mean Latinos won't regain the tech trendsetter status again. It just means that certain technology categories, like online video streaming services and now according to Pew, smartphones, are reaching a point of market saturation.

New technologies like smartwatches and virtual reality are still in nascent phases, but there's a good likelihood that Latinos will once again lead the charge in some of those categories.

"There isn't data on this yet but it will be interesting to see how things like 4K, the Internet of Things, virtual reality and other technologies play out. If history does repeat itself as it has for the last two decades, than these groups will be on the leading edge of those technologies as well," remarked Waterston in our report on Latinos and streaming services.

"Technology companies who are developing those products will have to learn what the multichannel industry has already learned, namely that these groups will be their first and best customers."