These are the very largest smartphones in the world (2015)
When Samsung announced the original Galaxy Note, with its then humongous 5.3-inch display, the audience in the room was shocked. The thing was huge! Who would want to lug around such a thing? And yet, as time went by, it became obvious that Samsung was ahead of the trend, and was really onto something. Today, phablets are ubiquitous, and while large phones existed before Samsung, we still credit the shift in preferences to the South Korean company.
Samsung still makes some pretty large devices — like its signature Note line — but it's far from the only maker to target fanciers of giant smartphones. It's no surprise that tablets shipments are falling, what with 6-inch plus phones now made available regularly. And with 2015 soon to expire, we though it's time we rounded up the (non-obscure) behemoths of the industry in one neat place for all the fans to see.
Google
Largest smartphones by top brands
Let's start with the best known brands and what they have to offer, and make our way towards less popular makers.
Samsung
Biggest: Galaxy A8
The largest mainstream smartphone from Samsung in 2015 is the Galaxy A8, which we recently reviewed. At 18.8 square inches, the A8's 5.7-inch display and bezels quickly add up to one monstrous device that requires some deep pockets.
The Galaxy A8 is not alone, though, with the Galaxy Note5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ measuring at 18.09 and 18.11 square inches, respectively. That's more than two and a half times the size of your credit card or ID. That's still fairly small compared to some other devices on the list, though.
Apple
Biggest: iPhone 6s Plus
While the screen on the iPhone 6s Plus measures only 5.5 inches, the iPhone 6s Plus is actually enormous! In fact, it's bigger than the 5.7-inchers in Samsung's camp. Why? A ton of bezel, dragging down the screen-to-body ratio to the unimpressive 67.91%. So despite its relatively smaller screen, the iPhone 6s Plus takes up a ton of space: 19.1 square inches, to be precise.
LG
Biggest: V10
The dual-screened V10 is LG's largest smartphone in 2015, with an area of 19.6 square inches — more than any Samsung device on this list. That's not surprising, though, given how the auxiliary screen, with shortcuts to apps and contacts, is positioned on top of the main, 5.7-inch panel. To provide some perspective, think of the LG V10 as something nearly two and a half times larger than your mom's old Nokia 3310.
The V10 is not alone, however, and is given company by the far less exciting, mid-range LG G Stylo. With its 5.7-inch display, the Stylo measures in at 18.9 square inches — again larger than any of Samsung's boys this year.
Sony
Biggest: Xperia C5 Ultra
That the 6-inch Xperia C5 Ultra is Sony's largest device of the year shouldn't be surprising — the thing has a large, 13-megapixel selfie camera taped to its top front bezel. Add in some healthy amount of bezels — in typical Sony fashion — and you've got yourself a phone that occupies 20.2 square inches of space. That's a third of a standard mouse pad (7.9" x 7.9"). Or pretty darn huge.
Biggest: Nexus 6P
While the Huawei-made, 5.7-inch Google Nexus 6P isn't quite as large as its predecessor — the 6-inch Nexus 6 — it still is plenty huge and occupies the respectable 19.2 square inches of free space. That's still smaller than LG's V10, but larger than anything mainstream Samsung has going on, or a fifth the size of an A4 paper.
Huawei
Biggest: P8max
Speaking of Huawei, the Chinese company has become something of a specialist within the phablet niche, with enormous devices that are nevertheless not quite as huge as you would expect. The secret ingredient? Just a sprinkle of bezel, and no more.
Unsurprisingly, the company's most bonkers phone of the year is the P8max, which boasts an enormous. 6.8-inch display and occupies an area of... wait for it.... 26.3 square inches! So imagine an iPhone 6s and then visualize another. Now glue them together, and you have the Huawei P8max, give or take a few (square) inches.
Motorola
Biggest: Moto X Pure (a.k.a. Style)
As of this Tuesday, it's fair to say that Motorola is fully invested in the phablet business, what with both the new DROID Turbo 2 and DROID Maxx 2 measuring at over 17 square inches. And while the Turbo 2 is almost as large as the Moto X Pure, at 18.18 square inches, the latter is a hair larger. Obligatory analogy? Imagine an uneaten KitKat bar, tear off a single stick of another bar and add them together, and you've got it.
Microsoft
Biggest: Lumia 640 XL
Announced at MWC 2015 in Barcelona, the 5.7-inch Lumia 640 XL might sound like old news, but it's actually the biggest Microsoft device for the year. Yes — it's bigger than even the Lumia 950 XL, which occupies 18.5 square inches of space. In comparison, the Lumia 640 XL measures in at 20 whole square inches.
That's over one and a half times the size of the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact!
Giants from smaller brands
While the companies that landed on this list are not quite as well known as the ones above, it's right here that you'll find the very biggest devices currently on the market. We'll start from smallest to largest, so make sure to get to the bottom for the winner.
Xiaomi
Biggest: Mi Note / Mi Note Pro
One of the smallest on the list, Xiaomi's Mi Note Pro (along with the Mi Note) occupies an area of 18.7 square inaches, courtesy of its 5.7-inch display and bezel cushions. Compared to its better known, 5-inch Mi 4 flagship, it's almost a third bigger.
And that's the small in these parts of the woods.
Meizu
Biggest: PRO 5
While Meizu has been known to be a hater of bezels, that didn't stop it from putting the 5.7-inch PRO 5 phablet on the market. With a footprint of 18.9 square inches, the PRO 5 is no joke, and certainly not a friend to skinny style jeans.
Oppo
Biggest: R7 Plus
Chinese Oppo wasn't about to miss out on all the fun, though, and thus was the R7 Plus created. A massive 6-incher, the R7 Plus takes up quite a bit of space at 20.1 square inches. That's twice the size of the original iPhone that Steve Jobs introduced in 2007. So... big.
ZTE
Biggest: Max+
Commanding 21.1 square inches of space wherever it goes, the ZTE Max+ is a hair bigger than its brethren, the Grand X Max+. Kind of surprising, given how the latter sports a 6-inch display, while the Max+ has a 5.7-inch panel. The difference that a good screen-to-body ratio makes!
Alcatel
Biggest: OneTouch POP Mega
For years now, TCL-owned Alcatel has been into really big phablets, and 2015 yielded two such products: the 6-inch POP Mega and Hero 2+.
At 21.2 square inches, the POP Mega is slightly bigger than its higher-end friend, which measures in at 20.3 square inches. Given how it's also the lower end device, Alcatel obviously wasn't as concerned about bezels.
Asus
Biggest: Zenfone 2 Laser 6-inch
For one reason or another, Asus tried to list as much of the specs sheet of the Zenfone 2 Laser 6-inch into its name. So you know that you're getting a 6-incher that shoots lasers out of its camera, and you know it's also quite large at 6 inches. Square inches? 21.4 of them.
Lenovo
Biggest: PHAB
The Lenovo PHAB, along with its near-twin — the PHAB Plus — is almost comically large. With a massive, 7-inch screen, it's easy to forget that this is still a phone, despite occupying 28 square inches. Holy moly!
BLU
Biggest: Studio 7.0 II
As ridiculously large as Lenovo's PHAB may seem, there's a bigger player in the game: BLU's Studio 7.0 II.
At the astounding 30 square inches, the Studio 7.0 II is a tablet that is technically a phone. Weird world we live it. Anyway, in case you're curious, that's the size of two whole Samsung Galaxy S6 phones together. And this thing is not a fluke, either — BLU has a whole army of gargantuan devices, including the Studio XL (21.7 sq in), Pure XL (20.9 sq in), and Studio 6.0 LTE (20.6 sq in). More cynical people than us would think that the Miami-based BLU is overcompensating or something.
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