Phablets will become the most popular smartphone type by 2019

pulse

December 5, 2017 4:02 PM

Phablets — smartphones with a screen size between 5.5 and 7 inches — are on track to lead the global smartphone market in terms of shipments by 2019

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Phablets — smartphones with a screen size between 5.5 and 7 inches — are on track to lead the global smartphone market in terms of shipments by 2019,accordingto a forecast by IDC.

Phablets accounted for 40% of all smartphones shipped in 2017, and that share's expected to reach 59% by 2021.

While sales of phablets will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18% to reach 1 billion units in 2021, up from 611 million in 2017, regular-sized smartphones will decline 7.4% over the same period.

The shift toward phablets as the dominant smartphone form factor is significant because smartphones with larger screens tend to drive more mobile usage:

Phablet owners open more apps.
Phablet owners use apps longer.
This is likely a result of an improved mobile experience derived from the device's larger screen size, which makes everything from navigating menus to playing games more enjoyable.

This shift is happening more rapidly in the Android smartphone market, which offered a range of phablet-sized smartphones roughly three years before Apple did.

Android has a robust lineup of phablet devices.
Although Apple was late to the phablet game, its
recent launches
are

The greater availability of device financing options and smartphone trade-in programs are helping to spur the growth of phablets and other high-end smartphones, according to IDC research manager Anthony Scarsella. The flagship lines — which phablets tend be part of — from Apple, Google, Samsung, and other vendors surpassed the $850 price point for the first time in 2017. But despite the growing costs of these devices, they’re becoming more attainable to consumers in numerous markets thanks to financing and trade-in programs.

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