Phablet

The Samsung Galaxy Note, which popularized the phablet form factor.

The phablet (/ˈfæblɪt/) is a class of mobile devices combining or straddling the size format of smartphones and tablets. The word itself is a portmanteau of the words phone and tablet.^[1]

Phablets feature large displays that complement screen-intensive activity such as mobile web browsing and multimedia viewing. They may also include software optimized for an integral self-storing stylus to facilitate sketching, note-taking and annotation.^[2] Phablets were originally designed for the Asian market where consumers could not afford both a smartphone and tablet as in North America; phones for that market are known for having "budget-specs-big-battery" with large low resolution screens and midrange processors, although other phablets have flagship specifications.^[3][4] Since then, phablets in North America have become successful too for several reasons; Android 4.0 and subsequent releases of Android were suited to large as well as small screen sizes, while older consumers preferred larger screen sizes on smartphones due to deteriorating eyesight.^[5]

While Samsung's Galaxy Note (2011) is largely credited with popularizing the phablet when launched in 2011,^[6] examples of earlier devices with similar form factors date to 1993.^[1][7][8][9]

The popularity of phablets grew dramatically in 2012, as a successor to the original Galaxy Note, along with the falling costs and increasing power efficiency of smartphone displays, began to fuel competition in the market from other smartphone manufacturers, including Lenovo, LG, HTC, Huawei, Micromax, and Sony; IHS, Samsung reported that 25.6 million phablets were sold in 2012 alone. Due to the market's growth, Reuters called 2013 the "Year of the Phablet".^[10] In 2014, noting that phablets had overtaken laptops and desktops in global sales, The New York Times said "phablets could become the dominant computing device of the future – the most popular kind of phone on the market, and perhaps the only computer many of us need".^[11]

Definition

The definition of a phablet has changed in recent years due to the proliferation of larger displays on mainstream smartphones, and smartphones designed with thin bezels and/or curved screens to make them more compact than other devices with similar screen sizes. Thus, a device with a "phablet-sized" screen may not necessarily be considered one.^[12][13]

Current phablets typically have a diagonal display measurement between 5.1 inches (130 mm) and 7 inches (180 mm),^[14][15][13] assuming a 16:9 aspect ratio.^[13] In comparison, most flagship smartphones released in 2016 have a screen size of around 5 in (130 mm), with larger versions of mainstream flagships (such as iPhone 7 Plus, Pixel XL, and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge) using 5.5 in (140 mm) displays.^[13] PhoneArena argued that the S7 Edge was not a phablet, as it has a narrow and compact build with a physical footprint more in line with the smaller-screened Nexus 5X, due primarily to its use of a display with curved edges.^[12]

In 2017, LG, Samsung, and Apple each began to produce flagship smartphones (LG G6, Samsung Galaxy S8, and iPhone X) with displays taller than the conventional 16:9 aspect ratio used by the majority of devices, and diagonal screen sizes in line with those of phablets. However, in these cases, the sizes of the two devices are more compact than 16:9 aspect ratio devices with equivalent diagonal screen sizes.^[13][16]

History

The Dell Streak received mixed reviews for its large size and dated software despite its pioneering design.

Sales

Talking on a 6.4-inch phablet (Sony Xperia Z Ultra)

Engadget identified falling screen prices, increasing screen power efficiency and battery life, and the evolving importance of multimedia viewing as critical factors in the popularity of the phablet.^[40] Phablets also satisfy a consumer need – for the perfect sized device, since smartphones may be too small for viewing and tablets lose their portability – fuelling their global market growth. Phablets have also been popular with an older demographic of smartphone users – their large screens provide a benefit to those with deteriorating eyesight.^[41][42]

In April 2013, Doug Conklyn, vice president of global design for Dockers told Fox News that the company reworked the size of its pants pockets "to accommodate the growing size of smartphones".^[43] For women, a small handbag can easily accommodate a phablet, but not most tablets.^[44]

In January 2013, IHS reported that 25.6 million phablet devices were sold in 2012 and estimated that these figures would grow to 60.4 million in 2013, and 146 million by 2016.^[34] Barclays projected sales of phablets rising from 27 million in 2012 to 230 million in 2015.^[45] In September 2013 International Data Corporation (IDC) reported that its research indicated that phablets "overtook shipments of both laptops and tablets in Asia in the second quarter of 2013".^[46]

In 2014, Business Insider predicted phablets would outsell smartphones by 2017.^[47] Speaking with CNET in 2014, David Burke, Vice President of Engineering at Google, said "If you gave them a phablet for a week, 50 percent of [consumers] would say they like it and not go back".^[48]

In Q1 2014, phablets made up 6% of US smartphones sold. In the first quarter of 2015, phablets accounted for 21% of all smartphones sold in the US, with the iPhone 6 Plus making up 44 percent of those phablets sold.^[49]

Devices

References

Media related to Phablets at Wikimedia Commons
The dictionary definition of Phablets at Wiktionary