When I reviewed the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and it didn’t seem that big, I knew I had to find an explanation for that feeling. A good part of the mobiles already exceed 16 centimeters in height and weigh 200 grams. It is curious, as my colleague Javier Lacort pointed out in defense of small mobiles, that the beginnings of telephony were marked by giant telephones, then the focus was on making them smaller and smallerto end in 2020 and 2021 in which mobiles are practically what we understood as tablets until not so long ago.
Beyond the debate of whether we personally prefer a large or a small mobile, I will try to give the point of view of someone who preferred a small mobile but ended up being conquered by the big onesbecause growing in size comes with some pretty mild benefits.
A few years ago we talked about ‘phablets’ and now we use seven-inch mobiles
I still fondly remember the first times we heard the term “phablet”, used for screens larger than 5.5 inches. To be fair, those 5.5 inches in the classic 16:9 aspect ratio of a few years ago is not 5.5 inches in ultrawide formats. For example, a Xiaomi Mi A1, with a 5.5-inch panel, was 15.5 centimeters high, or almost 16 by the current standard. This screen diagonal is similar to that of the iPhone 12 mini (5.4 inches), one of the smallest mobiles on the market, which barely exceeds 13 centimeters.
Currently, we have somewhat increased these sizes from 15 centimeters to 16, but we skimmed seven inches. One of the main reasons for this growth is how easy it is to introduce more components if we have more space. The number of cameras increases, the batteries increase, we want bigger screens… The more surface we have, the more the technology adapts. What have we gained along the way?
What you earn with a big mobile
First, the battery. Mobile phones have grown, but thanks to this, it is also normal to see batteries of 5000 mAh or even more. Doesn’t mean mobiles last longer (before there was less battery but less power wasting hardware, but they can do more things with the same expense.
If today a mobile with a 2K and 120Hz screen arrives at the end of the day, it is, among other things, because there is a generous battery which allows it (and there must be space for adapt it)
An S21 Ultra might have a 2K panel that refreshes at 120Hz and lasts all day, an iPhone 12 Pro Max can record Dolby Vision HDR content without draining. We can do more things, have more better quality material and arrive at the end of the day, thanks to these types of sizes.
Secondly, ring, one of the great forgotten. The body of a terminal is its main sounding board. If the loudspeaker material is good and well calibrated, a much bigger phone will sound noticeably better. A good example is, again, the iPhone, with even lower sound in the case of the 12 mini model and superlative in the Max model.
Sound and heat dissipation are two big overlooks of big phones. Increasing the size of a terminal has some pretty interesting side effects.
Heat dissipation is another of the forgotten ones. Again, there is no correlation between a large mobile running less than a small one, but it is much easier to redirect heat from the processor and make the cooling system more efficient.
Finally, the most obvious reason, is media playback and video game. Yes, until a few years ago we even watched movies on cell phones or iPods that were barely three inches long, but enjoy a movie in bed, with a nearly seven-inch 2K panel (In addition to what has been said about the speakers), it’s a joy. The latter goes so far that personally I sometimes prefer watching movies in bed with any big mobile than watching them on my 4K TV. I am alone here?
The same thing happens with games. We are in the golden age of mobile video gameswith games like PUBG Mobile featuring premium Ultra HD textures and offerings like Genshin Impact, which are literally a port of a PC game to mobile. Playing on a small screen is uncomfortable and can cause you to lose more than one game.
I know that mobile phones have become uncomfortable, that it is almost impossible to keep them in your pocket, that exceeding 200 grams in weight does not please anyone and that we continue to ask ourselves the question when will they stop growing, since we are reaching certain limits. Despite this, the large mobiles have brought us very positive points at the material level.
What team are you on?
