Weekly poll: what is the ideal screen size?

About a year ago we asked you what was the ideal screen screen size and the answer was “between 5-inch and 5.3-inch”. Will the answer be the same this year?

Last year we pointed out the growth trend in most product lines. For example, the original iPhone had a 3.5” screen, the iPhone 6 Plus went up to 5.5”. That trend is still going, though most recently we’re noticing a shift in it - screens are growing taller, but not wider.

The LG G6 and Samsung Galaxy S8 have bigger screens than their predecessors with an aspect ratio wider than 16:9. We’ve always said that width is the limiting factor, especially since manufacturers come up with various ways to save you from having to reach the top of the screen (e.g. swiping the fingerprint reader to bring down the notification area).

Last April, about a quarter of the votes went to sub-5” phones (equal to the votes for the 5.4” to 5.7” segment), but those are practically non-existent today aside from a few oddities. Will the 6+ inch segment (which barely registered on the poll back then) be a dark horse?

As an aside, what do you think of second screens like the LG V20 and HTC U Ultra have? Should they count towards the total screen diagonal? On one hand, they show useful content (i.e. not just the Android buttons), on the other hand, they can’t be fully utilized by apps.

What is the ideal screen size?

5.2-inch 5.7-inch 6-inch

5.5-inch 5.7-inch (wider aspect ratio) over 6-inch

survey maker