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Blame LTE chips for size increase in Android handsets
A new theory has emerged, from the Apple-hewn mind of John Gruber, examining why Android devices have proliferated in size of the past two years. For a long time, the standard display size of an Android device was between 3.7- and 4-inches (think Nexus One and then Nexus S), but since the advent of WiMAX and LTE chips, handset sizes have increased dramatically to compensate for the bigger chips needed to power them.
Not only that, since we do not have an all-in-one SoC solution (yet) for LTE, all devices with the high-speed technology must have room for an extra chip on the very small motherboard. This is likely the reason Apple decided to hold off on LTE for a generation (or two). And, with the need for LTE (to differentiate from the market) these Android vendors needed bigger batteries to deal with all this extra power. Hence, the 4.3-inch handset era was born. Gruber cites the Nokia Lumia 900, which is 4.3-inches to the 800′s 3.7-inches as an example: the only major difference between the two handsets, internally, is the addition of a LTE chip and a front-facing camera. As a result, he posits the device needed a bigger battery, so the bigger display was merely a forgone conclusion.
Now, sure there were large handsets long before LTE showed up, but they were the exception to the rule, and usually had some other marginal feature to separate it from the pack. A prominent display expert, Jin Kim, purports that it is the way Android’s framework deals with higher pixel densities that has led to the increase in handset sizes. As we near the “Retina Display” territory in Android handsets, among the first of which is the Galaxy Nexus and LG Optimus LTE, Kim claims that if we kept handsets at smaller display sizes with these current pixel densities, the touch areas would be far too small to use.
The way that Android renders different screen densities is very different from Apple’s, in that it has to adjust for multiple display resolutions and sizes. The larger the screen, the physically larger the touch area, unless you increase the DPI. The Galaxy Nexus, with its 4.65-inch display and 320~DPI could not have, according to Kim, had a smaller screen size because all the touch points would have been minute.
Either way, it’s an interesting theory about whether it was consumer demand that influenced these larger screen sizes, or whether various marketing departments spun it that way out of necessity. I may not agree completely — the articles gloss over the fact that larger handsets are easier to read, better for browsing and photos, and generally more consumer-friendly — but it’s easy to see, from a design perspective, why adding LTE to a handset would have forced manufacturers’ hands in creating larger devices.
What’s even more interesting to think about what will happen to handset sizes once LTE chips become more efficient: will battery sizes stay as large as they are now to bring demonstrably better runtime, or will the market push handset sizes back down to a more “reasonable” point?
Source: Daring Fireball
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30 comments for “Blame LTE chips for size increase in Android handsets”
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1. There are a lot of non-LTE >4″ Android phones
2. The Galaxy Nexus could have been smaller (just like the Rezound is 4.3″)
3. Displays got larger because that’s what people want.
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THE MAIN REASON IS: PEOPLE ARE USING SMART PHONES FOR BROWSING, GAMES AND TEXTING WITCH IS REQUIRED LARGE SCREEN 4.5 AND LARGER
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I’m ok with screens getting larger. It’s the increase in phone size I have a beef with.
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I agree with Bob and Sam, it’s got nothing to do with the hardware. People want bigger screens, period. They want bigger screens in their homes, they want bigger screens on their computers, they want bigger screens on their tablets, and they want bigger screens on their cellular devices. Heck, while you’re increasing the screen size why not increase the size of the battery and not worry about shrinking the processor? I’ve got a little 3.5-inch screen right now on my Android phone and I’d love to increase that by a full inch.
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Agreed displays got larger because people want larger phones. I would of prefered if my Nexus has a 4.3′ screen insead of a 4.65 it’s slightly unconfortable but its totally usable.
The whole “it’s because of LTE” isBC just look at the Galaxy S II line
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“the touch areas would be far too small to use”… The onscreen keyboard would be the same physical size… the text would be too small and unreadable.
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Exactly, the point is, you wouldn’t be able to touch links and small radio buttons. They were referring to touch points, not the keyboard.
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What a poor article!
Phones are big because screen real-estate is important.
What’s happening is that the market-place is now figuring out what works, and as we’ve seen, there is no one size that fits all. Despite what iSheep have been commanded to use.
And describing screen DPI with marketing speak from one vendor is just silly. The day is beginning, but it’s already a slow news day?
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Nope sorry. My 2 year old HD2 with its 4.3 inches of screen real estate and barely 3g data speeds would disagree with this. LTE shipsets are just taking advantage of something that was already there. Gigantic screens existed way before LTE rollouts started happening.
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“For a long time, the standard display size of an Android device was between 3.7- and 4-inches (think Nexus One and then Nexus S)”
A long time? Those are 2 devices both released in 2010. 3.7 and 4.0 inch devices were mostly released in 2010. 2011 saw 4.3-4.5 inch become more common.
Unless I’m wrong I remember this from year to year being the common screen size for android:
2009: 3.2″
2010: 3.7-4.0″
2011: 4.3-4.6″
Now obviously they can’t just keep getting bigger, there has to be some sort of limit for a mobile phone right?
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Limit for the size of a mobile phone? See the Motorola Dynatac, circa 1983. I’d put a Wikipedia link, but it’s blacked out today to protest SOPA.
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Horrible article.
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I could care less about the reasons why. I’m 6’4″ with rather large hands and this Galaxy Nexus is a perfect fit.
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You know what they say about a man with large hands… Reach in his pants pocket and you’ll find a large phone!
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The iPhone is for chicks.
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I don’t want a phone over 4″. It needs to fit in my pocket.
My atrix is 4″. Is anyone listening?
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I hope you don’t carry a wallet as it’s probably larger than a 4.3″ phone
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Are you wearing a f*****g onesie? What pocket won’t accomodate a phone with a 4.65″ screen?
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It’s kind of funny, to see the race to make TVs bigger and phones smaller. At some point, it’s going to be the customer that dictates what’s the happy medium. Too small and too big are just that.
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does this mean the Dell Streak was ahead of it’s time?
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There are lots of other reasons for a larger display, and it most definitely has to do with consumer demand.
Apple may think it’s due to LTE, but perhaps it’s the other way around? Larger devices would be able to pack a lot more stuff into them.
I personally couldn’t go lower than 4″ now that I’ve had the Nexus S for the last year. These are just some benefits:
-I can watch video at a comfortable screen size.
-If I want to enhance or blow up pictures, I can do it a lot better.
-Web pages (especially text such as newspapers) are easy to read. I use my Android as my newspaper and canceled my subscription.
-Games are much more interactive.
-My GPS is easy to read while on the go.
And I sell mobile phones. A lot of older people and construction workers seem to have complaints about tiny buttons. On a giant screen, they get a giant dial pad, keyboard, and is much easier to navigate through versus a smaller device.
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Brutal article. Consumers want large screens. It should be titled ‘Blame LTE for Speed Increase in Android Handsets’.
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My atrix is definitely bigger than my wallet.
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Bigger screen = better
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Nokia is the only company other than apple willing to go less than 4″ (lumia 710/800) for a premium smartphone. Props to them.
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Android still better though , uMad iPhone Fan?
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It’s pretty much a fundamental truth that ifans are made jelly of all the features that Android has and that the iphone doesn’t have (larger/nicer screens, faster performance, more free apps, better battery life, voice guided GPS navigation and voice recognition that actually works well). Even Apple’s confounder Steve Wozniak thinks Android is superior in a lot of ways.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/01/14/even-woz-thinks-the-android-bests-the-iphone.html
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“Proliferated in size”; is that valid English? Proliferated is usually something increasing in number (‘rabid rabbits proliferated’), not numbers increasing in value.
And I’m totally good with the size of my Nexus S. Galaxy Nexus is too big, the Note is a differently class altogether, and the iPhones are too small.
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I don’t really like how you use the word “blame” in the article title. Makes it seem like it’s a negative that they’re getting bigger. With ICS giving software buttons large phones = large screen and long battery life. I’m ok with that.
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Apple propaganda! I phones and top end androids are very competitive with each other. Marketing sells stuff and that apple seems to be the best at. Apple needs to continue to innovate and bring new products to market. This is just junk propaganda coming from apple or an apple fan club. Wait till apple comes out with the four inch screen, it will be revolutionary
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