Cell phones are becoming bigger and bigger these days, moving away from the previous, compact trend. When cell phones first began to gain popularity, they were so big that they needed to be carried around in boxes. But as technology grew, phones shrunk. They were first condensed into handheld phones, and then came the era of the flip phone. The trend was clear: phones were becoming smaller, slimmer, faster and more advanced. So why are phones getting bigger now?

First, the Nexus 5, released last year, emerged on the market at five inches. The recently unveiled iPhone 6 Plus has a 5 and a half inch screen. Are these big phones, or just small tablets? It seems that they are both. A new player on the phone market is the “phablet” – a phone with a screen between five and six inches. This new player on the market had acquired only 2 percent of the mobile market in 2013, but has increased in 2014 to 10 percent of the market, according to Business Insider. It seems that “phablets” are taking the mobile technology market by storm, and with good reason.

The iPhone 6 Plus operates as a phone when holding it in portrait mode, but when switched to landscape mode, it operates like a smaller version of the iPad, giving you two columns for apps such as mail, notes and messages, as well as multiple other apps. When it comes to the camera, it seems that bigger really is better. Though the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have the same camera, the iPhone 6 Plus has optical image stabilization, or OIS, which means that the camera is isolated from the phone. This results in better pictures, perfect for those of us with shaky hands, or for fans of low-light photography. Finally, to continue the trend of the iPhone’s betterment, the battery life for both models have improved from the iPhone 5s. To compare, the iPhone 6 has 14 hours of talk, 10 days standby, 10 to 11 hours of web browsing and video playback and 50 hours of audio, whereas the iPhone 6 Plus has up to 24 hours of talk, 16 days of standby, 12 hours of web browsing, 14 hours of video playback and 80 hours of audio.

So you may not be able to slide it as easily into your pocket, but you could easily put it in a bag, or carry it around with you. So consumers, it’s up to you: Is bigger really better? For me, I’ll stick with the regular iPhone. I already have a tablet and even though it’s small, it would be a hassle to try and carry it around with me everywhere I go. I like to be able to put my phone in my pocket, which wouldn’t be big enough for the new iPhone 6 Plus.  Not only would its size be inconvenient for me, but I would think the bigger size would leave the phone more susceptible to damage. I’m a pretty clumsy person and the bigger size means more area to get scratched or cracked, if and when I drop it. I could get a bulky case to protect it, but that would just make it even bigger and bulkier. So for me, bigger isn’t better, but it all comes back to personal preference.

 

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