In the second half of 2012 existing smartphone owners were most likely to be interested in devices with a screen size between 4.2-inches and 4.7-inches. The Strategy Analytics’ Wireless Device Lab report, "Smartphone Size Preference on the Rise: 4.5" Most Preferred Size" found an increase in the most preferred smartphone screen size from the same period in 2011, where a 4.3-inch device was most preferred.


Smartphone intenders show greater interest in slightly smaller devices than existing smartphone owners. Males preferred smartphones with larger screens than females, while current brand of smartphone also impacts future screen size preferences. Nearly all respondents showed a preference for their next phone to have a larger screen size than their existing handset.

"As consumer acceptance of smartphone sizes increases, many smartphone manufacturers are making larger and larger products" commented Paul Brown, a Director in the Strategy Analytics User Experience Practice (UEP). "The intention of many manufacturers to drive screen size up has been very clear over recent months, and there is the potential for 'phablets' at the lower end of the size scale to become more mainstream - especially as manufacturers work to maximize the ratio of screen to overall size, therefore providing a larger screen on a smaller form factor."

Kevin Nolan, Vice-President for the User Experience Practice at Strategy Analytics, added "As screen size increases, the way in which consumers interact with the device also needs to be considered. Larger devices are harder to interact with one-handed, and so it is important for user-interfaces, and especially on-screen key placements, to be designed to allow for easy interaction."

Reminds me of this commercial: