There are so many different sizes of smartphones these days that it can be tough to figure out which one is the best size for your particular hand. However, The Wall Street Journal’s Geoffrey Fouler has put together a terrific interactive test to help you decide which smartphone size is the right one for you. Your first step in the test is to make sure your display is properly calibrated by holding a quarter up to it and seeing whether it matches up with the quarter size used in the Journal’s test. Your next step is to measure the length of your thumb and then the length of your grip, which is the space between the crease in your thumb and your index finger’s middle joint.
Once you complete all these steps, the Journal then gives you an estimate of how three different sizes of smartphones — one with a display smaller than 4.5 inches, one with a display between 4.5 inches and 5.5 inches, and another with a display greater than 5 inches — will fit in your hand. As someone with a rather big thumb size of 9 centimeters, the Journal recommended that I get something on the larger end of the spectrum such as the five-inch Samsung Galaxy S5 or the 5.2-inch Sony Xperia Z2. The key is that you’ll want a phone big enough for your thumb to comfortably extend across the whole bottom of the display without going too far over the edge.
The Journal’s full smartphone ergonomics test can be found here and is well worth your time if you’re in the market for a new phone.
