Flagship Phones

[Derewd]

Why is it that all the newest flagship phones start out at a minimum of a 5.0 screen? When in the world did "Phablets" suddenly become so popular? Everyone I talk to hates big phones, and I even know a few people who switched away from the iPhone to Android just so they could stay with a smaller form factor after the 6 and 6+ released.
Trying to find any phone now between a 4.0-4.7 screen is darn near impossible without sacrificing nice features. All the smaller phones have low res screens, bad camera, lack nfc, etc..

People always say "more people are buying big phones so thats why manufactures make them bigger", when in reality I feel like people are being forced into buying big phones because they want a nice phone and there are no other alternatives.

 

[LeoRex]

There is a 'chicken and the egg' aspect to this. But I am firmly in the camp that OEMs are making larger phones because people are demanding them. Look no further than Apple. This is a company that famously pooped on larger screened phones for years and what do they do? Bump the screen size up and release two models, including a large 'phablet' sized one. That was a move squarely made in reaction to an increasingly unsatisfied fan base.

There just isn't a big market for small phones now. If there was, you could be rest assured that we'd have a bunch of models to choose from. Once content moved from text-based content to visual/graphic/video based, the small screen was doomed. The market willlingly will sacrificed a bit of the inconvenience that a larger screen phone presents because it is more than made up for it when they fire up the latest episode of Game of Thrones on their Nexus 6.

 

[Derewd]

......because it is more than made up for it when they fire up the latest episode of Game of Thrones on their Nexus 6.

LOL! This is soo true. I cannot believe how many people find it pleasurable to watch tv/movies on their phones. After the loads of awful "free-to-play" games flooding the app stores, watching TV on a phone has got to be the second most undesirable thing in my opinion.

But back to my main point. I'm just surprised people don't gripe more when jogging with a phablet, trying to stick a phablet in your pocket, holding a phablet up to your head to make a phone call, not being able to "one-hand" a phablet, and the kicker for me..... would be the awful battery life of your phablet because of your battey trying to power your giant hi-res screen. The only reason the battery is bigger in a phone is to compensate for the more power the bigger screen needs. But because of how marketing works, people think the bigger battery is to benefit them.

 

[LeoRex]

I don't know... When held at my usual distance, my nexus 6 is about as big as a 48 inch TV 8 or so feet away. What's wrong with that?

And as far as battery performance goes, I can get a good 5 1/2 hours of screen time over the course of a full day... But I'm not on my phone that much, so I easily get by on just a single charge a day.

Of course, I have huge hands, so I don't have any trouble with the size.

 

[Ry]

The OEMs have data that says that people want their next phone to be bigger.

Posted via Android Central App (Moto X)

 

[anon(9072051)]

Once content moved from text-based content to visual/graphic/video based, the small screen was doomed.

Amen. Add to that the fact that a lot of people have had years of experience with a variety of form factors beyond flip-phones and handhelds with tiny physical keyboards simply because of the presence of tablets, and it's small wonder that OEMs are looking for a "sweet spot" between 5" and 5.5" for flagships and mid-range phones alike.

And all due respect to Game of Thrones, but don't overlook the power of Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, Instagram, Vine, TapTalk, Hinge, Tinder, Grindr, and God knows how many social media apps that don't even have vowels in their name!

 

[LeoRex]

And all due respect to Game of Thrones, but don't overlook the power of Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, Instagram, Vine, TapTalk, Hinge, Tinder, Grindr, and God knows how many social media apps that don't even have vowels in their name!

Pretty much.

Though I will say this... I picked up a 1st gen Moto G from Best Buy for $20 last week (because $20). It has a 4.5 screen, but it looks and feels so much smaller. As a phone... not a smart phone or a mobile entertainment device... but just as a phone that I'd put in my pocket and just use to make phone calls, I have to admit that it would be much easier to carry around the Moto G than my Nexus 6. But I couldn't deal with the wee screen.

Maybe I'll keep the Nexus 6 in my pocket, tether it with the Moto G and use the Hangouts Dialer.

 

[Tsepz_GP]

LOL! This is soo true. I cannot believe how many people find it pleasurable to watch tv/movies on their phones. After the loads of awful "free-to-play" games flooding the app stores, watching TV on a phone has got to be the second most undesirable thing in my opinion.

But back to my main point. I'm just surprised people don't gripe more when jogging with a phablet, trying to stick a phablet in your pocket, holding a phablet up to your head to make a phone call, not being able to "one-hand" a phablet, and the kicker for me..... would be the awful battery life of your phablet because of your battey trying to power your giant hi-res screen. The only reason the battery is bigger in a phone is to compensate for the more power the bigger screen needs. But because of how marketing works, people think the bigger battery is to benefit them.

Have you owned a phablet?
I can tell you now my Note 4 outlasts my S4 and friend's S6 Edge in terms of battery, due to it being larger. The res maybe high but the panel is more power efficient than earlier generations.

Try a Galaxy Note 4, Huawei Mate 7 or iPhone 6 Plus vs. Their smaller counterparts, 1st thing you will notice is the incredible battery life they can achieve.
2. You will find that one-hand usage is not impossible, I'm typing one-handed on my Note 4 right now with no issue.
3. Consuming content on these beasts is awesome with their dense displays.

 

[eshropshire]

From everything I have seen in the past is that smaller Flagship phones do not sell all that well. Moto tried it with the original Moto X with a 4.7 inch screen. Sales were so poor that Google gave up on Moto. Moto also decided to build the next Moto X with 5 inc+ screen.

I also am confused by your comment about iPhone users switching because of screen size. The iPhone 6 has a 4.7 inch screen, are there any high end Android phones smaller than 5 inches? Also, if the 4.7 inch iPhone 6 was too big they could easily stay with the smaller and powerful iPhone 5s. I can understand why someone might want to move to Android from iOS for various reasons, but to get a smaller screen seems strange - what phone did they buy?

From what I can see there are a few good sub 5 inch phones, but none are flagship quality and I would not expect them to be flagship quality. Sony makes from what I have read one of the best higher end smaller Android phones. My wife choose an HTC model on Verizon that she likes. Maybe Samsung will release a baby S6, but I think that will only happen if S6 sales increase.

I do think some phones are just too big for my personal taste. I find the Nexus 6 just past too big for me to find comfortable. I don't mind the Note 4, but that is about as big as I would want to go. Grant you I am 6'3" so I tend to like things a little bigger. I hear rumors that the Note 5 will have a six inch screen, will be interesting to see if this helps or hurts sales.

 

[Tsepz_GP]

From everything I have seen in the past is that smaller Flagship phones do not sell all that well. Moto tried it with the original Moto X with a 4.7 inch screen. Sales were so poor that Google gave up on Moto. Moto also decided to build the next Moto X with 5 inc+ screen.

I also am confused by your comment about iPhone users switching because of screen size. The iPhone 6 has a 4.7 inch screen, are there any high end Android phones smaller than 5 inches? Also, if the 4.7 inch iPhone 6 was too big they could easily stay with the smaller and powerful iPhone 5s. I can understand why someone might want to move to Android from iOS for various reasons, but to get a smaller screen seems strange - what phone did they buy?

From what I can see there are a few good sub 5 inch phones, but none are flagship quality and I would not expect them to be flagship quality. Sony makes from what I have read one of the best higher end smaller Android phones. My wife choose an HTC model on Verizon that she likes. Maybe Samsung will release a baby S6, but I think that will only happen if S6 sales increase.

I do think some phones are just too big for my personal taste. I find the Nexus 6 just past too big for me to find comfortable. I don't mind the Note 4, but that is about as big as I would want to go. Grant you I am 6'3" so I tend to like things a little bigger. I hear rumors that the Note 5 will have a six inch screen, will be interesting to see if this helps or hurts sales.

The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact and Samsung Galaxy Alpha are the only 2 sub 5inch phones that I can think of that are of 'flagship quality', tbh, and it doesn't seem like either have sold in great numbers, the Alpha has disappeared overnight in terms of promotion push from Samsung.

 

[gfederline9]

Why is it that all the newest flagship phones start out at a minimum of a 5.0 screen? When in the world did "Phablets" suddenly become so popular? Everyone I talk to hates big phones, and I even know a few people who switched away from the iPhone to Android just so they could stay with a smaller form factor after the 6 and 6+ released.
Trying to find any phone now between a 4.0-4.7 screen is darn near impossible without sacrificing nice features. All the smaller phones have low res screens, bad camera, lack nfc, etc..

People always say "more people are buying big phones so thats why manufactures make them bigger", when in reality I feel like people are being forced into buying big phones because they want a nice phone and there are no other alternatives.

i love big screen , i hope iPhone make a xperia ultra z , fonepad 6 .5 inch iPhone in the future

i guess we all love big screen , those who love small screen ...

 

[andersh]

The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact and Samsung Galaxy Alpha are the only 2 sub 5inch phones that I can think of that are of 'flagship quality', tbh, and it doesn't seem like either have sold in great numbers, the Alpha has disappeared overnight in terms of promotion push from Samsung.

Those phones were close to flagship, but with 720p screens they didn't feel like an upgrade from say an HTC M7. Last year I upgraded my M7 to a Samsung Galaxy S5 and I am not loving the larger size. I now find myself wondering what to buy next. As far as I can see, the iPhone 6 is the only game in town at that size, and that seems to be selling rather well I think we can all agree. Are there any top line 4.7" Android devices on the horizon?

 

[garrettvp9]

I love phablets, I think its just that people aren't open to change. Also, in my opinion, a 5 inch screen is not that big.

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