Did Android flagship phone makers (except Samsung) lose the plot on size?

[theeedude]

Seems like new flagships (except S6) are 5.5" and up. Is that crazy or what?
Are they not aware that iPhone6 handily outsells iPhone 6+?

Or do they think Android users are giants? I mean Android got it right first, when Apple was doing 4" iPhone, Android was doing 4.7", which is the sweet spot. Now Apple has gotten with the program and is making a 4.7" iPhone, but Android makers are now making 5.5" flagship phones, or in case of Moto X, 5.7".
Look at all the great flagships ruined by being too big. LG G4, Moto X, OP2, Nexus 6.
What are they thinking, and when are they going to come to their senses?

 

[Graze]

I see the Nexus line as catering for the development community. If the trend is heading in the bigger phone directions then it made perfect sense to Google to release the Nexus 6 so that Android developers have a reference phone to develop for.
I don't see the Nexus line sticking to one thing. It would always move in the direction Android hardware markers are heading. You don't like it...oh well.

Yes it does suck to some degree that all phones are becoming bigger and bigger. I have huge hands but my pockets aren't huge!

 

[core2slow]

Seriously, you guys always make the same dumb argument that mfgrs should produce more smaller phones.

There's that whole higher profit margin for larger phones, too, McFly.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I don't doubt manufacturers would do well with a 2 sized approach. If Samsung went with a 5" phone and a 5.7" phone, I think they'd be doing well like Apple. However the S6 isn't all that big anyway, so they may have chosen the right size point.

I often also hear the argument that "well consumers keep buying bigger phones" but the truth is its often either you accept the bigger phone or you buy a shit 4.3" phone.

For example, I think there are definitely more than a few people disappointed with the Moto X Pure's size. 5.7" is borderline too big IMO. They would've been better off sticking to 5.2" or going 2 sizes here.

Remember at one point how laptops were just getting bigger and bigger in screen size? And then people realized that there's no point in carrying a damn 17" screen around. Then the netbooks and Macbook Air took off, and now it's all about ultrabooks. There will be a time when people recognize portability/ergonomics matter again after this screen craze.

 

[poofyhairguy]

What are they thinking

Here we are years after that first Galaxy Tab and we still don't have a real robust tablet market in Android. Even in iOS-land tablet sales are dropping off. Many people are going to one device rules their life. The concept that the limitations are hand sizes or pocket sizes is folly when over half the market puts their phone in a purse.

I agree that personally around 5 inches is great, but the market has kinda spoken.

 

[kpkp]

Here we are years after that first Galaxy Tab and we still don't have a real robust tablet market in Android. Even in iOS-land tablet sales are dropping off. Many people are going to one device rules their life. The concept that the limitations are hand sizes or pocket sizes is folly when over half the market puts their phone in a purse.

New IDC report on the tablet sales.
Worldwide tablet market declined -7.0% year over year in 2Q15 with shipments totaling 44.7 million units.
Tablet trends: top 2 vendors losing share to the next three competitors, and top 5 vendors losing share to smaller competitors.
Apple is actually loosing the most (-17.9%).

I agree that personally around 5 inches is great, but the market has kinda spoken.

Has the market actually spoken? I saw the offering reflect that, but didn't see any sales data to back it up.

 

[soulcougher73]

I agree phones are getting too big. 4.7 to 5.2 is sweet

 

[poofyhairguy]

Has the market actually spoken? I saw the offering reflect that, but didn't see any sales data to back it up.

I think you have it the other way around. Unless the sales data showed the benefit of selling big phones they wouldn't do it. Just because we don't have that data doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

The Galaxy Note was a larger than expected hit, and this is the world we live in because of it.

 

[Oyeve]

I think the Note 4 is the largest I want to go. Its actually smaller than the iphone 6+ yet it has a larger screen. Anything bigger IMO is too big. A friend has the samsung mega and that sucker is 6" of low def hell.

 

[ThisIsChrisKim]

I think on iPhone--cost is the biggest issue. Many people already find 16gb to be cramped, so you move up one storage option (+$100), then try to move up to the 6+ ($+100), instead of a $650 device you're looking at a $850 device. That's a big step up.

Also, the iPhone tends to be cheap in the US (relative to converted dollars). In many other territories, the 6 (regular) already starts at over $800 once converted to US currency. Imagine paying over $1000 for a 64gb iPhone 6+.

If the price difference were less (let's say... S6 vs Note 4) where there's an $70 difference, you see a more even, perhaps even split.

 

[kpkp]

I think you have it the other way around. Unless the sales data showed the benefit of selling big phones they wouldn't do it. Just because we don't have that data doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

The Galaxy Note was a larger than expected hit, and this is the world we live in because of it.

The data might have showed bigger in the past, but there is a limit, it can't be bigger for ever.
Note was more an expansion of a market not a shift, the shift was happening with the growth of the S series. Samsung kept selling more S series phones.

A good data point will be the S6+ against the S6.

 

[gorcorps]

Did you ever stop to consider that the iphone 6+ is more expensive? You're not exactly comparing apples to oranges here

 

[Commodus]

A lot of it likely stems from the reasons why vendors got into the screen size race in the first place.

That initial rush to boost sizes was triggered by marketing, not a sincere interest in improving the user experience -- it was about making that demo video look better in the carrier store. Larger displays really helped for a while, but many of these companies didn't (and to some degree, still don't) take time to understand what the optimal size is for most users.

LG and Motorola are doing good jobs of minimizing the impact of big screens, but I think they and a few other vendors are making a bad assumption that larger displays will automatically lead to more sales. Yes, a lot of people are consolidating a lot of their computing into their phone, but that doesn't mean that most people want a borderline tablet in their pocket.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I think you have it the other way around. Unless the sales data showed the benefit of selling big phones they wouldn't do it. Just because we don't have that data doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

The Galaxy Note was a larger than expected hit, and this is the world we live in because of it.

It doesn't sound like the sales data is showing it. No offense, but it sounds like you're using the growth of smartphones and increasing sales in general to support the argument that customers prefer a large screen device. I think it's not truly analyzing the data properly by just saying that because the OEMs sell big screen phones that people want bigger and bigger phones with no end in sight.

The iPhone case perfectly illustrates when you have two devices with very similar specs, both flagships, that the 6 outsells the 6 Plus. The problem as we have seen over and over again on the Android side is that the OEMs keep going to a bigger phone. So you either continue using an old phone or you pick a shitty phone. Of course consumers are just going to take what's being released.

So why are OEMs going to bigger and bigger screens? I think some of it is like megapixel wars. Big screen = visually WOW and therefore people grab at it immediately. Ergonomics and what not are typically secondary concerns, and if you can grab someone's attention with a big screen or one up Apple who has small screens, then that's enough to sell a phone. There may be other reasons but I do suspect this is a big one. OEMs aren't exactly out there to sell you the product that you need or the best product for you. They're out there to make money.

 

[poofyhairguy]

A lot of it likely stems from the reasons why vendors got into the screen size race in the first place.

That initial rush to boost sizes was triggered by marketing, not a sincere interest in improving the user experience -- it was about making that demo video look better in the carrier store. Larger displays really helped for a while, but many of these companies didn't (and to some degree, still don't) take time to understand what the optimal size is for most users.

LG and Motorola are doing good jobs of minimizing the impact of big screens, but I think they and a few other vendors are making a bad assumption that larger displays will automatically lead to more sales. Yes, a lot of people are consolidating a lot of their computing into their phone, but that doesn't mean that most people want a borderline tablet in their pocket.

That is a good point. Big phones sell well but is it because of the big screen or just because its something different? I think the surprising sales of the S6 Edge (and crappy sales of the regular S6) shows that people are tiring of 5 inch slabs. The form factor for phones is now holding back the category. After the 6s even Apple will have trouble convincing people to upgrade, and it might take a whole new market (like VR) to get another tech boom going.

 

[AHamick]

Count me into the crowd who is unhappy with phone sizes. When I switched from a 5.0 droid maxx to the 5.5 lg g3 i felt like i had just crossed my personal threshold on screen size.

I had hoped Moto would make a 5.2 phone this year so I could return to a more comfortble size phone but now it appears I might have to look into getting a Samsung or hope the lg nexus is not a flop.

 

[s44]

Maybe they figure anyone who wants a <5.5" flagship will buy Samsung (or Apple) anyway?

I really don't know. I think the Nexus 6 release last year was the unplanned and unfortunate result of internal/OEM politics forcing them to get *something* out the door. With any luck the new Nexus 5 will be a return to sanity.

 

[magomago]

Hmm I'm surprised - almost everyone I see has a Iphone 6+. I only know of two people who have iphone6es, and only one of them got it because they thought the 6+ was too big (the other did it on price).
Goes to show that anecdotal experiences are simply...anecdotal

 

[J Rock]

There is a size queen issue about phones that IMO comes from Asia, where bigger screens are implicitly superior. I am sick of it too, there should be a few android flagships that aren't boats. S6 has awful battery life though.

I blame Qualcomm for their poopy S810 SoC

 

[Raduque]

There is a size queen issue about phones that IMO comes from Asia, where bigger screens are implicitly superior. I am sick of it too, there should be a few android flagships that aren't boats. S6 has awful battery life though.

I blame Qualcomm for their poopy S810 SoC

The S6 uses an Exynos 7420 octo not a Qualcomm soc.

Battery life is pretty bad, though.

 

[shabby]

There is a size queen issue about phones that IMO comes from Asia, where bigger screens are implicitly superior.

They must be compensating for something...

 

[poofyhairguy]

Maybe they figure anyone who wants a <5.5" flagship will buy Samsung (or Apple) anyway?

I really don't know. I think the Nexus 6 release last year was the unplanned and unfortunate result of internal/OEM politics forcing them to get *something* out the door.

Great point. The Nexus 6 seems like a last minute deal. Android Silver failing forced them to pull a phone out of Moto's pipeline.

 

[Red Storm]

Count me among those who enjoy larger screens. As my smartphone increasingly becomes my number one computer, it needs to have a nice big screen. The only thing a small screen is good for is fitting into small pockets, and I don't have those. Nearly every other activity is better with a bigger screen.

 

[PlanetJosh]

The Galaxy S6 is bigger which I'm not crazy about but the 4k videos make a big impression. A Cricket employee showed off videos on his S6 for me. So maybe it would be worth it after seeing it. Besides banking and stuff like that, I use my S4 (on Sprint) for hd movies, some are streaming, and some are stored on the phone in 900+ res up to some in 1080.

So maybe I'll get a S6 as they add more 4k content. And the 4k demo videos out already.. amazing. And Netflix and some others have some 4k content with still a ways to go.

 

[Eug]

I often also hear the argument that "well consumers keep buying bigger phones" but the truth is its often either you accept the bigger phone or you buy a shit 4.3" phone.

Yeah I agree. I want a new iPhone, but I don't really want a 4.7" iPhone. I had a 4.7" Android phone, and wasn't enamoured with the size. I think 4.3" would be the sweet spot for me, even if 4.7" is tolerable. 5.5" is just a joke though for my usage.

Might be OK for my wife though, since she throws her phone in her purse and always uses two hands anyway. Also might save me from having to buy her an iPad mini 4 too. In my case, for an iPad I find the iPad mini too small, so that's not a consideration anyway. I use a 9.7" iPad Air 2 along side my 4.0" iPhone 5s.