Larger smartphone screen sizes strongly correlate with a longer time spent using apps.
This emerged from research by HIS and Mobidia, which analysed the impact of smartphone screen size and resolution on popular mobile applications usage, including social, chat, gaming and video games.
The research shows that there is a tipping point for screens of around 5-inches.
The iPhone mobile app revenue generated per active iPhone is more than four times as much as Android, despite historically smaller iPhone screen sizes than Android flagship competitors. In Q2 2014, 80% of smartphone models launched had screens over 4,5 inches, larger than any iPhone then on sale.
Higher resolution screen smartphones have higher data consumption, but resolution is less important than physical screen size as an indicator of higher data use.
Meanwhile, streaming video and social networking apps have a stronger link between increased data consumption and screen size than do chat apps (for example WhatsApp, WeChat) or mobile games.
“Companies building apps for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus need to know what greater engagement these large screen iPhones will deliver for their genre of app, because higher engagement means more revenues through in-app purchases and advertising,” says Ian Fogg, senior director: Mobile & Telecommunications at IHS.
“And, given the importance of large screens on user engagement, Android becomes a significantly more attractive platform than in years past.”
Mobile operators and media companies that aim to understand the impact of video delivery on the super high resolution quad HD screens in the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Nexus 6 as compared with mobile networks, must analyse the available real world data from existing handsets to predict the future and not act on instinct, Fogg adds.
“Mobidia’s mega-panel of global smartphone users enables research and analysis of usage patterns and trends on a scale not previously possible,” says Chris Hill, senior vice-president: marketing at Mobidia. “Analysis of the data clearly shows the positive impact larger screens are having on the industry. For instance, users spent significantly more time in streaming video apps like HBO Go, Netflix and YouTube when accessing them from phones with large screens. We anticipate this trend will continue with Apple’s new larger screen iPhones.”
The report is based on an extensive set of data from smartphone users in the US, UK, Germany, Japan and South Korea collected from Mobidia’s global mega-panel of millions of smartphone users. The research investigated real world data on more than 25 different smartphone models with screen sizes ranging from 3,5 to 5,7-inches and model ages of one to four years and from OEMs including Apple, HTC, Samsung and Sony.