Smartphones with screen size of 5.5 to 6 inches to see most demand in the future

Key highlights:

• Biggest demand will be for smartphones between 5 inches to 5.5 inches
• Very little growth in the demand for smartphone displays between 6 inches to 7 inches
• Smartphones with the display size between 5.5-6 inches nearly doubled in 2016

The display size of smartphones has increased significantly from 4 inches to now even nearly 7 inches. Though display sizes may increase, the biggest demand will be for smartphones between 5 inches to 5.5 inches and 5.5 inches to 6 inches. However, there is expected to be very little growth in the demand for smartphone displays between 6 inches to 7 inches.

The biggest growth in demand in smartphones will be for the 5.5 inch to 6 inch display size. Demand is expected to grow from 272.1 million in 2015 to 749.3 million in 2021, according to an IDC report.

Smartphones with the display size between 5.5-6 inches nearly doubled in 2016 to 403.3 million smartphones shopped worldwide from 272.1 million in 2015.

The IDC forecast also expects demand to grow for smartphones with display size between 5 inches to 5.5 inches. While 447.1 million of the smartphones shipped in 2015 were with the screen size between 5 - 5.5 inches, it increased to 568.2 million in 2016.

IDC expects the demand for smartphones with screen size between 5-5.5 inches to grow to 731.4 inches by 2021.

However, it seems that people are not expected to go too large a display even in the future as growth in demand for smartphones with screen size between 6 inches to 7 inches is expected to see limited growth.

From 20.6 million smartphones shipped worldwide with screen size between 6-7 million in 2015, it increased to 33.8 million smartphones in 2016. However, it predicts this number to increase to only 37.4 million by 2021.

However, demand for smartphones between 4 inches to 5 inches is expected see a downward spiral.

While 611.7 million smartphones worldwide were shipped had the screen size between 4 inches to 5 inches in 2015, it had declined to 423.9 million in 2016.

It is expected to further decline to 314.2 million in 2017 and expected to drop down to 223.3 million by 2021.