We first used the term “phablet” back in early 2012. Defined by Business Insider as a smartphone with a display measuring between 5- and 7-inches, the term was as odd as seeing these large devices back then. Skip forward to 2014 and phablets have not only become mainstream but account for a growing portion of the smartphone market. More than a third of smartphones shipped in Q1 2014 came with a display measuring at least 5 inches and are impacting sales of smaller-sized tablets. That trend shows no sign of slowing according to BI Intelligence.
The days of the 3.5-inch or 4.0-inch phone screen are gone. The entire smartphone market has been moving towards phablets over the past few quarters, and that trend is set to continue, as phablets become the go-to smartphone form factor.
Its latest research found that phablets shipments will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 27% over the next five years. In comparison, smartphones with displays smaller than 5 inches will only grow at a compound rate of 15%.
Phablet shipments could hit 1.9 billion units and account for 59% of total global smartphone shipments that year in 2019. It should come as no surprise then that tablet sales will continue to suffer at the end of these larger smartphones. By 2019, phablet shipments are expected to be three times those of tablets.
Even Apple which has resisted the trend to offer a smartphone with a larger display is almost assuredly about to launch its first phablet (the iPhablet?). Even the iPhone is expected to see its display grow from the current 4-inch one to a 4.7-inch one with the iPhone 6.
Source : Business Insider