Opinion: smartphone screens have become too big

Phablets. Does the word still sound familiar to you? The word stands for a cross between phones and tablets and was first used on the Samsung Galaxy Note. It was certainly a large smartphone for its time, with a 5.3 inch AMOLED screen. Might not sound big, but that’s more up to today’s standards. When the Samsung Galaxy Note (N7000) was launched in 2011, most phones were still equipped with 4.3 inch screens, or even smaller – remember the Blackberry phones with physical keyboards?

You may not be able to imagine that we ever had such small phones around. If you buy a smartphone these days, you can’t ignore the phones with 6 inch screens. There are only a few 5 inch phones left and Apple is stretching it a little further with the iPhone SE. Although that device is really nothing more than an updated variant of the iPhone 8, it is still for sale and you get the smallest screen at the moment: a 4.7 inch LCD panel. That screen is not only small, but also quite outdated. Both in terms of brightness and the panel technology used. If you look at the age of the device, this is not so strange, but it does show something else, namely that small smartphones are actually no longer viable.

RIP: Sony Xperia Z Compact

Not only Apple shows that not enough small smartphones are sold to throw enough development budget at it, Sony also experienced this. For years, it released a new Xperia XZ Compact phone to keep fans of smaller devices on board. With the XZ3 series, that came to an end in 2019; after the XZ2 Compact sold particularly poorly, Sony knew there was only one way out: a full end of the Compact range.

Sony’s departure from the market of compact Android phones meant that consumers had their backs against the wall in 2019. With the arrival of the 18:9 aspect ratio, which was introduced on the Galaxy S8 and LG G6 in 2017, to more and more smartphones, the 5-inch image format almost completely disappeared from the store shelves. Now, the aspect ratio has helped keep the size of larger 6-inch devices manageable, but it hasn’t magically made them smaller.

What has helped is that the screen edges have become slightly smaller in recent years. It started with the thinner bezels on the Samsung Galaxy S8 and LG G6, and even a notch on the Essential Phone PH-1. Huawei outpaced many a competitor with the ‘wide notch’ on the Mate 20 Pro. It was able to process all the necessary technology in this, so that the other screen edges could remain a bit thinner. This technique did not have a long life, however; the Mate 20 series was launched in October 2018, then in December Huawei introduced the Nova 4, the smartphone that brought us the current hole-punch notch.

Is big not big enough?

The disappearance of 4 and 5 inch smartphones in itself was not the biggest problem. Right after the revolution started, the average screen size was around 6 inches. Big, but not too big to comfortably hold in your hands or put in your pocket. As far as I’m concerned, the screens were also more than big enough to watch videos, read articles or play games. So just right. It was certain that larger smartphones would be released. It was also certain that Samsung would be ahead of that with the Galaxy Note line. Also fine and, for the purpose of the Galaxy Note phones, also an obvious choice.

Less evident is the choice of other Android manufacturers to keep pushing the limit. ‘How big can we make smartphones without users starting to complain?’ must be a question that regularly comes up in R&D departments of smartphone manufacturers. Recent telephone revelations also show that the answer to this is endless. On the ASUS ROG Phone 6 for example, you will find a 6.78-inch screen and the Mi 11 from 2021 even received a 6.81-inch screen.

You see a little more of the film or series you want to watch, the text you read, but is that really necessary? That question is about two things. On the one hand, the amount of raw materials required for such a huge device and on the other hand whether you can still hold the phone well. People can adapt to the environment, so we do the same with our smartphone use. If you buy an immensely large piece of equipment, then some degree of hand gymnastics is part of it. In any case, it will not make you a faster smartphone user: instead of clicking something quickly, you must first slide the device through your hand to reach the top. Or – that is also possible – you have to use two hands.

Experience with the Zenfone 9

That is not progress in my opinion. When I use my phone it is often in between and with some haste; Fortunately, my job as a tech editor doesn’t mean I’m glued to my smartphones day in and day out. A larger smartphone actually only ensures that I spend more time on the device. Partly because the format sometimes ‘gets in the way’ to perform an action faster, and also because the larger screen simply attracts me more to watch YouTube videos, for example.

Without looking for it, I gained the above experience in recent weeks with a new compact smartphone, the ASUS Zenfone 9. The screen has a 5.8 inch diagonal, making it one of the smallest screens on an Android smartphone. of the moment. Before the phone was set up, I knew the experience would be different from Samsung’s Galaxy S21+ and Motorola’s Edge+, but I didn’t expect that much of a difference.

Although the screen size differs by only 0.9 inches, I noticed a day and night difference in how I used the device compared to the ‘big boys’. Putting the Zenfone 9 away felt easier than the Samsung or Motorola, and I often said goodbye to the smartphone. Also, and you can see that as an advantage or disadvantage, I would be less likely to watch long videos on ASUS’s Zenfone. Not because of the screen itself, but simply because the screen attracts a little less. You can watch videos fine on it, but I am simply less sucked in than on the S21+ or Edge+.

Better for your (digital) well-being

With that in mind, you can say that smaller phones are less useful, but I prefer to see things differently. A smaller model also improves user well-being in my opinion. The owners of platforms like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube are only too happy to see you spend more time on their platforms. From what I’ve noticed, bigger screens certainly contribute to their objectives, while at the same time it means you spend less time in the real world. As far as I’m concerned, the smartphone should be an addition to our lives, to our computers and laptops – not simply another device with the same function.

We have all become accustomed to having to be online all the time. That the phone should be present in life, but I think it wouldn’t be a problem if we were a little less on our phone. A revolution that would really contribute to our quality of life.

So: it’s time for more small phones like the ASUS Zenfone 9. Devices that not only ensure that you no longer have to do hand gymnastics (who’s looking forward to that), but that also provide improved digital well-being. Oh, and they also fit better in your pants and are better for the environment than the biggest smartphones of the moment. A 5 inch phone does not fit within our time, but what if we regularly see announcements of models on the edge of 5 and 6 inches?

Don’t save on specifications

If manufacturers get started with this, the only concern is that they pay sufficient attention to the hardware. ASUS has shown with the Zenfone 6 that it is possible and Google is also able to unveil a fine midrange / high-end 6.1 inch smartphone with the Pixel 6a. If we then buy the small phones en masse, the constant growth is finally over. Can you imagine a 7 inch smartphone? Smartphone manufacturers probably do.