Working wide

[ubizmo]

What Android phone has the widest screen, in portrait mode? That's what I'd like to know.

I'm a former BlackBerry Passport user, and although I struggled with the app situation, I truly did enjoy the wide screen. Currently I'm using an LG G6, which is okay, but I'm thinking I'd like to find the Android device with the widest screen, unless I'd be giving up a lot of other things in the process.

It's not so easy to answer this question. A Google search on "widest screen Android phones" gives results about largest screens, in terms of diagonals, which is not what I'm after. I've done a bit of trial-and-error checking, and so far the widest screen I've found is the Elephone S8, at 80mm. I'd like to know if anything wider than that is out there.

Any ideas?

 

[Itsa_Me_Mario]

The Elephone S8 is a 16:9 6" device. Going wider would mean going larger than 6.00" with the same aspect ratio, or if you were wanting a 18:9 aspect ratio like the newest phones, it'd be a device with a 7.05" display. That'd be considerably larger than the Note 8, as an example. The largest mainstream phones, in terms of width, are currently the BlackBerry KEYone (71 mm wide), Note 8 (only 70 mm wide), iPhone 8+ (68.5 mm wide) (also the same size as the Nexus 6P, etc) and Pixel 2 XL (68.2 mm wide). All of those are wider than your G6, though not by a lot - the G6 is about 64.7 mm wide.

 

[ubizmo]

I'm using this site, https://www.devicespecifications.com/en/model/e7104535, to check screen widths. It's not quite right, since these dimensions are overall phone dimensions, not just screen dimensions, but it's close enough, especially for devices like the Elephone S8 with minimal bezels. It has the Note 8 at 74.8 mm, again with minimal bezels. The Keyone is 72.5 mm. So far, the Elephone S8 is the widest I've found. Even the more recent Elephone, the U and UPro, are less wide.

The Lumia 640XL, which I own (a Windows phone from a few years ago), is a touch wider than the Elephone S8, at 81.5, but it has significant bezels, so actual screen size is probably less. The LG Stylo 3+, which my wife owns, is 79.8, and I do like the width of it; I'm less keen on the other specs.

I may spring for the Elephone S8. It's cheap enough. I've seen some bad reviews, many of which are about the focus delay with the camera, but apparently that can be improved by fiddling with settings.

 

[Tranthor]

Agree!

 

[ubizmo]

For reference, the Passport is 90.4 mm wide, although there are some bezels, so the usable screen width is probably closer to 85 mm.

 

[ubizmo]

I went ahead and ordered an Elephone S8, which I should have by the weekend. In the meantime, I've identified an even wider Android device: The Maze Alpha https://www.devicespecifications.com/en/model/4c7743f3, at 82.5 mm. From the look of it, though, the usable screen width is about the same as the Elephone S8, since the Alpha appears to have a bit more bezel. At any rate, I think about 80 mm is the maximum for a phone, given 16:9 aspect ratio, as Itsa_Me_Mario explained above. So for those of us who like the Working Wide experience, 80 mm is about as good as it's going to get.

That said, the trend seems to be for longer, narrower phones, in the 70-75 mm width range; the 80 mm phones are less common.

 

[Itsa_Me_Mario]

Would there be any benefit to getting a large phone and using it in landscape, to get even wider?

 

[ubizmo]

Would there be any benefit to getting a large phone and using it in landscape, to get even wider?

I think that's what most people do, if they're looking for width. For me personally, however, I've never really warmed up to the ergonomics of using a phone in landscape for extended periods. For one thing, if I'm doing any text entry--and I usually am--I much prefer swipe typing over tap-typing. Swipe typing works better in portrait, in my experiences. Also, I do a fair amount of Kindle reading. I like the page to be as wide as I can get it, but I also want to be able to read down the page a bit, which is greatly diminished in landscape.

We won't see the like of the Passport again, so my best option is to go for the widest 16:9 screen I can find.

 

[ubizmo]

In case anyone's still reading, I got the Elephone S8 for $200 on eBay. All things considered, it's a decent phone for the price. I really am enjoying the wider screen. It's not as "premium" in look and feel as my LG G6, nor would I expect it to be. There's no 3.5 headphone jack, which I knew up front but it's still annoying. It's not a big deal to stick an adapter on my headphone plug and leave it there, but I can't listen and charge at the same time, which I occasionally want to do. The back cover is a shiny blue plastic that looks pretty good and feels grippy but I've still ordered a TPU case. I always use those cases, to be able to set the phone face down with no worries. The S8 has a single capacitive button on the front, which doubles as a fingerprint sensor. One touch of the button is the back key; two touches is home screen; long press is task switcher. But of course you can also use on-screen navigation buttons, which I tend to do.

It's not the finest phone in the world, but it makes my eyes happy to work on it.