The smartphone/tablet hybrid - usually described as a ‘phablet’ - isn’t as much of a niche product as previously thought. That’s the conclusion of a new report from Juniper Research.
It expects global phablet shipments to exceed 120 million units in 2018, up from an estimated 20 million last year. Consumers in the Far East and China are expected to be particularly keen on these large-screen phones, thanks to the device being well-suited for gaming and video streaming.
Juniper Research also points out that the definition of a phablet is constantly changing, with a diagonal screen size of between 5 and 5.5-inches expected to become relatively standard for high-end smartphones. It’s chosen to define phablets as smartphone devices with at least a 5.6-inch screen.
Phablet production is expected to be dominated by two operating systems: Android and Windows, with Nokia’s Lumia range driving Windows-related sales. However, the introduction of an Apple Phablet - currently rumoured by some people - could change this.
[Whitepaper; report]