The Growing Problem of Smartphone Display Size

A new report from Strategy Analytics may (finally) stem the growth of smartphone displays. Surprisingly, a survey of U.S. and U.K. consumers found that users prefer a 5.3 inch phone display over other sizes.

That may shock both consumers and developers. Smartphones have been steadily growing since their first introduction to the market. Seven years ago, that growth was necessary. We didn’t have the battery technology to power a 5-inch, high resolution touchscreen display for a full day. Consumers demanded bigger and brighter screens, and companies raced to deliver the first solutions. Fast forward to today, and some phones – like the 7-inch Huawei MediaPad X1 – can barely fit in our pockets.

Let’s look back at the confusing history of screen size. The most visible example of an ‘oversized’ display was Samsung’s original Galaxy Note, the first commercially successful 5.3” screen. The Note was deemed “too big” by tech critics when first introduced, spawning the hideous portmanteau “phablet”.

Then other phones caught up. A 5.3” phone is no longer a phablet; according to Strategy Analytics, it’s the preferred screen size. We mostly reserve the title ‘phablet’ for phones over 6”, and when phone shopping we expect at least 4”-5” displays. The most recent Note 5 display is 5.7”. Its screen is considered large, but by no means oversized.

Even Apple has waffled on screen size. The iPhone 6 had a 4.7” display, but its big brother, the iPhone 6 Plus, leapfrogged the 5.3” sweet spot to 5.5”. Now there are rumors that Apple will scale back the 6 display in its next iteration, possibly to an average 4 inches.

Phone developers are clearly still searching for the perfect screen size. Strategy Analytics claims that it’s 5.3”. But does their report capture a snapshot of our changing screen preference, or is user preference finally stabilizing? There are two possible answers: either 1) users have had their fill of larger screens and are now ready to scale back to a reasonable size; or 2) users are still in flux, and the 7” of today is the 5.3” of tomorrow.

I think it’s more likely that we’ll settle in the 5.0” to 5.5” phone range. Our hands aren’t getting any bigger, and larger tablets are more readily available than ever before. There will always be a market for the monster 7” displays, but the average user isn’t clamoring for bigger phones. We’re ready to take better bezels, increased battery life, smarter services, and higher resolutions. Hopefully developers will take note.

Phone size was once a point of pride for developers, but the smartphone market is maturing. We’ve tried the bigger options, and now it’s time to scale back to a more reasonable, comfortable size.