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I'd love to see research to back up or refute this, but I think it's driven by cost and later justified through marketing. The larger a phone is, the larger co

I'd love to see research to back up or refute this, but I think it's driven by cost and later justified through marketing. The larger a phone is, the larger components can be used, and the less design work needs to be done to ensure that everything fits without causing thermal issues or cross-talk. After that, you get a lot of marketing to establish that a bigger screen is inherently better, rather than being a design flaw. In my opinion, a phone should be small enough that it can fit in the palm of one hand, with every part of the screen reachable with the thumb of that hand. Unfortunately, screen sizes have been creeping up with each generation, and it's impossible to find reasonably sized phones anymore.

b112 5y ago
I don't think so. Otherwise, 15+ years ago, Android phones wouldn't have started out as small as they did. And they're so much smaller (components) now. If you open a modern phone, there's actually loads of space. And the smaller the screen, the less battery you need too.
- Rzor 5y ago
  Screen panels were more expensive.
- mimentum 5y ago
  Component cost was a barrier to larger size. Just like DSLRs started out with APS-C sized sensors, handsets started out with smaller screens.
- dahfizz 5y ago
  > And the smaller the screen, the less battery you need too. Sure, but the larger the screen the larger the battery that can fit. Apple themselves report that the iPhone 13 pro max will last longer than the pro, and the regular 13 will last longer than the mini. Third party testing confirms for Samsung as well, with the s21 ultra lasting much longer than its smaller brothers.
- Someone 5y ago
  > If you open a modern phone, there's actually loads of space. Can you give an example? I thought that at least the high-end ones are designed to fill up every corner.
vladvasiliu 5y ago
While it wouldn't surprise me that marketing would try to sell a product's shortcomings as actual features, in this particular situation, I don't think that's the case. The main reason being that it seems to go against the fashion of ultra-slim devices. What seems more plausible to me is that more and more people seem to use the phone for more and more tasks, so a bigger screen is more comfortable. Up to a point, of course.
- herbst 5y ago
  But why not also serve the market that doesn't use their phone for anything useful. My phone is way to huge to confirm banking logins, what essentially is it's only real job
  - vladvasiliu 5y ago
    Maybe they figured that market isn't big enough for the cost it would take to produce the smaller model.
    - tomc1985 5y ago
      More of that moronic "let's serve our primary customer segment and fuck everyone else" aka "You can have any color you want, as long as it's black" Modern capitalism... thanks, Henry Ford
      - kec 5y ago
        Alternatively the calculus could be that a smaller sized phone would not be profitable once you account for the fixed cost of setting up production lines and expected sales numbers.
      - jamiek88 5y ago
        What’s the alternative? Let’s make a loss on purpose cos a tiny niche of people want smaller devices?
tshaddox 5y ago
I doubt it has very little to do with that, and mostly to do with smartphones replacing people’s primary “non-work media devices” like laptops and desktops.
- Beltalowda 5y ago
  Most likely it's a combination of factors: "big screens" look good on spec sheets and in stores, some people use smartphones are their primary computers, and probably cheaper/easier to manufacture too.
  - Ekaros 5y ago
    Yeah, people always think big numbers are better. And here on display are phones are tethered due to theft so you can't even try to properly handle one. So bigger screen looks better compared to smaller one. Entirely forgetting usability with single hand.
R0b0t1 5y ago
This started with the Note2. Poor eyesight and the desire to watch media on phones is the driving factor, there's some marketing analysis that ended up concluding this.

b112 5y ago

I don't think so. Otherwise, 15+ years ago, Android phones wouldn't have started out as small as they did. And they're so much smaller (components) now. If you open a modern phone, there's actually loads of space. And the smaller the screen, the less battery you need too.

Rzor 5y ago
Screen panels were more expensive.
mimentum 5y ago
Component cost was a barrier to larger size. Just like DSLRs started out with APS-C sized sensors, handsets started out with smaller screens.
dahfizz 5y ago
> And the smaller the screen, the less battery you need too. Sure, but the larger the screen the larger the battery that can fit. Apple themselves report that the iPhone 13 pro max will last longer than the pro, and the regular 13 will last longer than the mini. Third party testing confirms for Samsung as well, with the s21 ultra lasting much longer than its smaller brothers.
Someone 5y ago
> If you open a modern phone, there's actually loads of space. Can you give an example? I thought that at least the high-end ones are designed to fill up every corner.

vladvasiliu 5y ago

While it wouldn't surprise me that marketing would try to sell a product's shortcomings as actual features, in this particular situation, I don't think that's the case. The main reason being that it seems to go against the fashion of ultra-slim devices. What seems more plausible to me is that more and more people seem to use the phone for more and more tasks, so a bigger screen is more comfortable. Up to a point, of course.

herbst 5y ago
But why not also serve the market that doesn't use their phone for anything useful. My phone is way to huge to confirm banking logins, what essentially is it's only real job
- vladvasiliu 5y ago
  Maybe they figured that market isn't big enough for the cost it would take to produce the smaller model.
  - tomc1985 5y ago
    More of that moronic "let's serve our primary customer segment and fuck everyone else" aka "You can have any color you want, as long as it's black" Modern capitalism... thanks, Henry Ford
    - kec 5y ago
      Alternatively the calculus could be that a smaller sized phone would not be profitable once you account for the fixed cost of setting up production lines and expected sales numbers.
    - jamiek88 5y ago
      What’s the alternative? Let’s make a loss on purpose cos a tiny niche of people want smaller devices?

tshaddox 5y ago

I doubt it has very little to do with that, and mostly to do with smartphones replacing people’s primary “non-work media devices” like laptops and desktops.

Beltalowda 5y ago
Most likely it's a combination of factors: "big screens" look good on spec sheets and in stores, some people use smartphones are their primary computers, and probably cheaper/easier to manufacture too.
- Ekaros 5y ago
  Yeah, people always think big numbers are better. And here on display are phones are tethered due to theft so you can't even try to properly handle one. So bigger screen looks better compared to smaller one. Entirely forgetting usability with single hand.

R0b0t1 5y ago

This started with the Note2. Poor eyesight and the desire to watch media on phones is the driving factor, there's some marketing analysis that ended up concluding this.