Phablet


The phablet 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.
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. 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. Since then, phablets in North America have also become successful 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.
While Samsung's Galaxy Note is largely credited with popularizing the phablet when launched in 2011, examples of earlier devices with similar form factors date to 1993.

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.
Current phablets typically have a diagonal display measurement between and, assuming a aspect ratio. In comparison, most flagship smartphones released in 2016 have a screen size of around, with larger versions of mainstream flagships using displays. 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.
In 2017, several manufacturers began to release smartphones with displays taller than the conventional 16:9 aspect ratio used by the majority of devices, and diagonal screen sizes often around 6 inches. However, in these cases, the sizes of the devices are more compact than 16:9 aspect ratio devices with equivalent diagonal screen sizes.

History

Origins

In tracing the 10 earliest devices in the history of the phablet concept, PC Magazine called the 1993 AT&T EO 440, "the first true phablet", followed by the following devices:
The Android-based Dell Streak included a 5-inch, 800×480 display and a widescreen-optimized interface. Reviewers encountered issues with its outdated operating system, Android 1.6, and the device was commercially unsuccessful.

Galaxy Note and competitors

The Samsung Galaxy Note used a screen. While some media outlets questioned the viability of the device, the Note received positive reception for its stylus functionality, the speed of its 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, and the advantages of its high resolution display. The Galaxy Note was a commercial success; Samsung announced in December 2011 that the Galaxy Note had sold 1 million units in two months. In February 2012, Samsung debuted a Note version with LTE support. By August 2012, the Note had sold 10 million units worldwide.
, with a 6.1 inch display.
In late 2012, Samsung introduced the Galaxy Note II, featuring a 1.6 GHz quad-core processor, a screen and the ability to run two applications at once via a split-screen view. The Note II also incorporated a refreshed hardware design based on the Galaxy S III, with a narrower, smoother body. International sales of the Galaxy Note II reached 5 million in two months. The 2012 LG Optimus Vu used a 5-inch display with an unusual in contrast to the aspect ratio used by most smartphones. Joining the Galaxy Note II on many carriers' lineups in 2013 was the nearly-identically-sized LG Optimus G Pro, released in April.
In late-2012 and early 2013, companies began to release smartphones with 5 inch screens at 1080p resolution, such as the HTC Droid DNA and Samsung Galaxy S4. Despite the screen size approaching those of phablets, HTC's design director Jonah Becker said that the Droid DNA was not a phablet. HTC would release a proper phablet, the HTC One Maxa smartphone with a screen and a design based on its popular HTC One model, in October 2013.
Examples of Android phablets with screens larger than 6 inches began appearing in 2013 with the Chinese company Huawei unveiling its Ascend Mate at Consumer Electronics Show and Samsung introducing the Galaxy Mega, a phablet with a variant, which has midrange specs and lacks a stylus compared to the flagship Galaxy Note series. Sony Mobile also entered the phablet market with its Xperia Z Ultra.
As a variation of the concept, Asus and Samsung also released otherwise small-sized tablets, the FonePad, Galaxy Note 8.0 and Galaxy Tab 3 8.0, with cellular connectivity and the ability to place voice calls. Later that year, Nokia also introduced Windows Phone 8 phablets, such as the 6-inch Lumia 1520.
In September 2014, Apple released its first phablet, the -inch iPhone 6 Plus; the introduction of the new model reversed a previous policy under late Apple CEO Steve Jobs not to produce a mid-sized device larger than the iPhone or smaller than the iPad, which were 3.5 inches and 9.7 inches, respectively, at the time of his death. While Apple's iPad heavily dominated the tablet market, the void in their lineup left an opening for intermediate-sized devices, with other handset manufacturers already jumping on the trend of producing larger screen sizes to suit all niches.

Sales

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. Phablets also satisfy a consumer needfor the perfect sized device, since smartphones may be too small for viewing and tablets lose their portabilityfuelling their global market growth. Phablets have also been popular with an older demographic of smartphone userstheir large screens provide a benefit to those with deteriorating eyesight.
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". For women, a small handbag can easily accommodate a phablet, but not most tablets.
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. Barclays projected sales of phablets rising from 27 million in 2012 to 230 million in 2015. In September 2013 International Data Corporation reported that its research indicated that phablets "overtook shipments of both laptops and tablets in Asia in the second quarter of 2013".
In 2014, Business Insider predicted phablets would outsell smartphones by 2017. 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 would say they like it and not go back".
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.

Devices

BrandModelScreen diagonal sizeDisplay aspect ratioOperating systemYear launched
AkyumenHolofone1.:1 Windows 10/Android2016
AppleiPhone 6 Plus1.:1 iOS2014
AppleiPhone 6S Plus1.:1 iOS2015
AppleiPhone 7 Plus1.:1 iOS2016
AppleiPhone 8 Plus1.:1 iOS2017
AppleiPhone X2.1:1 iOS2017
AppleiPhone XR2.1:1 iOS2018
AppleiPhone XS2.1:1 iOS2018
AppleiPhone XS Max2.1:1 iOS2018
AppleiPhone 112.1:1 iOS2019
AppleiPhone 11 Pro5.80 inches 2.1:1 iOS2019
AppleiPhone 11 Pro Max2.1:1 iOS2019
ArchosArchos 641.:1 Android2014
ASUSFonepad Note 61.:1 Android2013
ASUSZenfone 5Q2:1Android2018
ASUSZenfone 61.:1 Android2014
BBK ElectronicsOnePlus 5T2:1Android 2017
BBK ElectronicsOnePlus 62.:1 Android 2018
BBK ElectronicsOnePlus 6T2.1:1 Android 2018
BBK ElectronicsOnePlus 7]6.41 inches 2.1:1 Android 2019
BBK ElectronicsOnePlus 7T6.55 inches 2.:1 Android 2019
BBK ElectronicsOppo A3s2.:1 Android2018
BBK ElectronicsOppo N11.:1 Android2013
BBK ElectronicsOppo R7 Plus1.:1 Android2015
BBK ElectronicsOppo R17 Pro2.:1 Android2018
BBK ElectronicsRealme 2 Pro2.1:1 Android2018
BBK ElectronicsRealme C32.:1 Android2020
BBK ElectronicsVivo NEX Dual Display2.1:1 Android2018
BBK ElectronicsVivo Z1 Pro2.1:1 Android2019
BLU ProductsPure XL1.:1 Android2015
ElephoneC1 Max1.:1 Android2017
ElephoneS81.:1 Android2017
GoogleNexus 61.:1 Android2014
GoogleNexus 6P1.:1 Android2015
GooglePixel 2 XL2:1Android2017
GooglePixel 3 XL2.0:1 Android2018
Hewlett-PackardElite x31.:1 Windows 10 Mobile2016
HMD Global/NokiaNokia 7 Plus2:1Android2018
HMD Global/NokiaNokia 7.1 Plus2.:1 Android2018
HTCOne Max1.:1 Android2013
HTCU11+2:1Android2017
HTCU12+2:1Android2018
HuaweiAscend Mate1.:1 Android2013
HuaweiAscend Mate 21.:1 Android2014
HuaweiAscend Mate 71.:1 Android2014
HuaweiHonor 8X Max2.0:1 Android2018
HuaweiHonor X10 Max 5G2.:1 Android2020
HuaweiHonor Note 102.0:1 Android2018
HuaweiMate 10 Pro2:1Android2017
HuaweiMate 202.0:1 Android2018
HuaweiMate 20 Pro2.1:1 Android2018
HuaweiMate 20 X2.0:1 Android2018
HuaweiMate 302.1:1 Android2019
HuaweiMate 30 Pro2.0408163265306122448979591836735:1 Android2019
HuaweiMediaPad X11.6:1 Android2014
HuaweiMediaPad X21.6:1 Android2015
HuaweiNova 32.1:1 Android2018
HuaweiNova 42.13:1 Android2018
HuaweiP8 Max1.:1 Android2015
LeEcoLe Max1.:1 Android2016
LenovoA8801.:1 Android2014
LenovoA8891.:1 Android2014
LenovoPhab1.:1 Android2015
LenovoPhab 21.:1 Android2016
LenovoPhab 2 Pro1.:1 Android2016
LenovoPhab Plus1.:1 Android2015
LenovoS9301.:1 Android2013
LenovoS9391.:1 Android2014
LenovoTab V72:1Android2019
LenovoVibe Z2 Pro1.:1 Android2014
LG ElectronicsG62:1Android2017
LG ElectronicsG Flex1.:1 Android2013
LG ElectronicsG Pro 21.:1 Android2014
LG ElectronicsStylo1.:1 Android2015
LG ElectronicsStylo 21.:1 Android2016
LG ElectronicsStylo 31.:1 Android2017
LG ElectronicsStylo 41.:1 Android2018
LG ElectronicsV302:1Android2017
MeizuX82.0:1 Android2018
Micromax/YUCanvas Doodle 31.:1 Android2014
Micromax/YUCanvas Doodle 4 Q3911.:1 Android2015
Micromax/YUCanvas Mega 21.:1 Android2016
Micromax/YUCanvas Xpress 2 E3131.:1 Android2015
Micromax/YUYureka Note1.:1 Android2016
Microsoft Mobile/NokiaLumia 640 XL1.:1 Windows Phone 8.12015
Microsoft Mobile/NokiaLumia 950 XL1.:1 Windows 10 Mobile2015
Microsoft Mobile/NokiaLumia 13201.:1 Windows Phone 82013
Microsoft Mobile/NokiaLumia 15201.:1 Windows Phone 82013
Motorola MobilityMoto G6 Plus2:1Android2018
Motorola MobilityMoto Z32:1Android2018
Samsung ElectronicsGalaxy A8s2.1:1 Android2018
Samsung ElectronicsGalaxy Mega 6.31.:1 Android2013
Samsung ElectronicsGalaxy Note 1.6:1 Android2011
Samsung ElectronicsGalaxy Note Edge1.6:1 Android2014
Samsung ElectronicsGalaxy Note21.:1 Android2012
Samsung ElectronicsGalaxy Note31.:1 Android2013
Samsung ElectronicsGalaxy Note3 Neo1.:1 Android2014
Samsung ElectronicsGalaxy Note41.:1 Android2014
Samsung ElectronicsGalaxy Note51.:1 Android2015
Samsung ElectronicsGalaxy S6 Edge +1.:1 Android2015
Samsung ElectronicsGalaxy Note71.:1 Android 2016
Samsung ElectronicsGalaxy Note FE1.:1 Android 2017
Samsung ElectronicsGalaxy Note82.0:1 Android 2017
Samsung ElectronicsGalaxy Note92.0:1 Android 2018
Samsung ElectronicsGalaxy Note 10+2.:1 Android 2019
Samsung ElectronicsGalaxy S8+2.0:1 Android 2017
Samsung ElectronicsGalaxy S9+2.0:1 Android 2018
Samsung ElectronicsGalaxy S10+2.:1 Android 2019
Samsung ElectronicsGalaxy S10 5G2.:1 Android 2019
Samsung ElectronicsGalaxy W SM-T2551.:1 Android2014
Sony MobileXperia C5 Ultra1.:1 Android2015
Sony MobileXperia T2 Ultra1.:1 Android2014
Sony MobileXperia Z Ultra1.:1 Android2013
Sony MobileXperia XA Ultra1.:1 Android2016
Sony MobileXperia XZ32:1Android2018
VodafoneSmart 4 max1.:1 Android2015
Walton GroupPrimo ZX31.:1 Android2017
XiaomiBlack Shark Helo2:1Android2018
XiaomiMi 82.0:1 Android2018
XiaomiMi Max1.:1 Android2016
XiaomiMi Max 21.:1 Android2017
XiaomiMi Max 32:1Android2018
XiaomiMi MIX1.:1 Android2016
XiaomiMi MIX 22:1Android2017
XiaomiRedmi Note 6 Pro2.:1 Android2018
ZTENubia X2.:1 Android2018
ZTENubia Z202.1:1 Android2019