Weekly poll: what's the ideal screen size?

06 January 2019
The aspect ratios of smartphone screens have been growing taller and the diagonals grow with them. How much is too much?

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I didn't cheat before voting, indeed I was right. Since the new 5.5" is 6.0", it becomes the most voted one.

    The ideal screen size is Mate 20 X

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • kDY
      • 07 Jan 2019

      4.3"

        Just like girls, the bigger the better.

          • M
          • MobileMan
          • sSJ
          • 07 Jan 2019

          This Poll is Confusing . Firstly very very few manufacturers actually stick with 18:9 or don't make 18:9 any longer , instead poll should be do you like new format thats 18.5:9 or 19:9 & 19.5:9. ( 18:9 is next to no longer made , infact 19:9 is more common ( or should have pitted 19:9 with 16:9 ) as manufacturers are going for 85% + Screen to Body ratio , thats making the width even narrower ) - Infact Oppo , Vivo , Oneplus , Huawei , Realme , Honor & Xiaomi is all 19:9 & 19.5:9 , Samsung is between 18.5:9 & 19:9 , LG is also 19.5:9 .

          I went to a big mobile store and compared my 18 months old 5.5 (16:9) mobile to 19:9 Xiaomi Note 6 Pro , Oneplus 6T & Oppo V11 pro ( Actually lots of model including Samsung , since i wanted new phone with Max width as per new ratio ) , turns out Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is widest having 18.5:9 it matches 5.5 inch (16:9) , Rest all are narrower , Oppo , Vivo & Oneplus is way narrow its like 5.25 inch 16:9 , Xiaomi Note 6 Pro is like 5.3 - 16:9. With Sony 21:9 i think things are going taller & narrower.

          Inshort width wise very Very few mobiles match 5.5 of 16:9 standard of 2 years ago. Thou 19:9 has its advantages like greater coverage but it suffers from narrower keyboard & difficult typing as in 5.5 - 16:9 vs 6.2 - 6.3 19:9. so this 19:9 should be atleast 6.6 inch to match 5.5 - 5.6 inch of 16:9 for comfortable all around comfort including for all applications office , movies or gaming.

            How wide and how tall is the phone is all that matters in a poll, not the screen size, which is irrelevant, since depending on the aspect ratio, two phones of the same screen diagonal can have a big difference in width or length. For example, you can fit a taller 5'' screen in an old iPhone with 4'' screen, by making the screen longer and reducing the bezels, even the side ones. I'd go for 74-76mm wide and 154-157mm tall.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • vjw
              • 07 Jan 2019

              boiii, 07 Jan 2019Bigger equals better, simple as that. For me, at least. ... moreWhat are you doing with a 6.3" phone? Get a tablet! Like Samsung Tab or Xiaomi Mi Pad.

              Phones should remain phone-sized.

                • A
                • AmyThePerson
                • JE2
                • 07 Jan 2019

                For me the iPhone X is the perfect size!

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • JaK
                  • 07 Jan 2019

                  Used to be 5.5 inches but after the ratio switch its now 6 inches

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • 3NM
                    • 07 Jan 2019

                    [deleted post]This ( https://i.imgur.com/xZEO11u.png ) and this ( https://i.imgur.com/3NLH8Ol.jpg ) I mean (from here: https://bit.ly/2GWw8mL ).

                      Kiyasuriin, 07 Jan 2019well..................... considering the first ever phabl... moreIn tracing the 10 earliest devices in the history of the phablet concept, PC Magazine called the 1993 AT&T EO 440, "the first true phablet",[20] followed by the following devices:

                      2007 HTC Advantage (5.0 inch screen).

                      Note wasn't even in thoughts by then.

                        EskeRahn, 07 Jan 2019Hmm If you start by a 18:9 device that is on the edge of o... more(
                        Sony did the elongation of Compacts Z5 -> XZ2, keeping the width
                        https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?&idPhone2=9082&idPhone1=7535
                        and with smaller pixels HD -> WFHD
                        )

                          • G
                          • Gusta
                          • KiA
                          • 07 Jan 2019

                          With the minimal bezel now, I agree with the vote result for now.

                          6 inch for man.
                          5.8 inch for woman.

                          That'n not small and not big.

                            Kiyasuriin, 07 Jan 2019well..................... considering the first ever phabl... moreYou could go further back.
                            In 2011 the SonyEricsson Arc was considered an almost absurdly huge phablet.
                            Today it would be a super compact....

                            Back then they had three (well four) sizes with (almost) identical logical specs scaled up and down.
                            The "Neo" was considered the standard, the "Ray" a compact, and "Arc" a phablet
                            https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=3619&idPhone2=3734&idPhone3=3972
                            (Plus a "Pro" version of the "Neo with a sliding keyboard")

                            I remember a friend of mine got the Arc, and he was the laughing stock, especially when he put that huge plate to his ear for talking.

                              Anonymous, 07 Jan 2019I'd say it's the opposite. 18:9 or narrower makes even less... moreHmm
                              If you start by a 18:9 device that is on the edge of one hand operation (like the S8-/S9- to me) shortening it with same width would not help much.
                              If you start by a 16:9 device that is on the edge of one hand operation, narrowing it to say 18:9 with same hight would help.

                              But of course if you start with a 16:9 that IS one hand operable, then there is no need to elongate it - unless people like a larger screen.

                              Or said otherwise IF someone wants to make a larger version of a 16:9 device on the edge of one hand operation, it is better to go 18:9, than to go to a 16:9 too large for one handed operation.

                              ....But I too would prefer to stay at the one hand operable 16:9

                                I would say 5 to 5,5. It's a mobile phone after all. MOBILE, means designed to be mobile.
                                I voted for 5,2, that's what my Z5 is. It's big enough to do everything and with a 1080p screen in my palm?
                                It's perfect and the best resolution for this size.
                                Who thought that the resolution of out expensive tvs of 2008 would become the norm of phones 10 years later ha?

                                So yeah, I want my phone to be mobile but at the same time with a big screen. And 5 to 5,5 is the answer. Anything beyond is marketing and a game of who will finally create the iPhone 5 parody phone.
                                It's hilarious and pitiful. Stick to 5,2 1080p, go back to 16/9, put a bit of bezel having front facing speakers, a headphone jack, and work on what to improve for next year. I miss the 2014 days when phones had originality. The LG G4 red leather was so beautiful, the Xperia z3 being the greatest in battery. Galaxy s5 being a tough beast with plastic design but also durable. All phones had originality.

                                Now.. Well..

                                  • b
                                  • boiii
                                  • SXy
                                  • 07 Jan 2019

                                  Bigger equals better, simple as that. For me, at least.

                                  Right now I'm using a 6.3" 19:9 device and the only phone that would really interest me is the 7.2" Mate 20 X. Unfortunately it doesn't have a lot of features from the Mate 20 Pro but instead seems to be just a super sized regular Mate 20. That and the fact that it uses the Kirin 980 which has only more or less caught up to the 845 while the Snapdragon 855 is already on the horizon.

                                    Nowadays it's becoming hard to find best size for my short palm hand 5 - 5.5 inches display. Display size is one of major concern for me thank you for covering the topic.

                                      • l
                                      • laviossir
                                      • Kxc
                                      • 07 Jan 2019

                                      I missed those 5" screens.. nowadays they make mobile phone, but really they're just phablet.

                                        • D
                                        • AnonD-824731
                                        • 0mU
                                        • 07 Jan 2019

                                        viveksubhash, 07 Jan 2019If you must know.. Lg came up with a 21:9 phone long time ago.. Who cares about LG? (Coming from a person who owns an LG phone). They suck!

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