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Despite the iPhone 6 Plus, Samsung is still America’s phablet king

Published Nov 25th, 2014 7:30PM EST
iPhone 6 Plus Vs. Galaxy Note
Image: Zach Epstein, BGR

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Although 2014 has been a pretty bad year for Samsung overall, the company can still take solace in the fact that people still seem to love its gigantic phones more than any other models — including the iPhone 6 Plus. Chitika has done some analysis of North American smartphone traffic from devices whose displays measure in at 5 inches or greater and has found that despite the added competition from Apple this fall, Samsung is still America’s phablet king.

DON’T MISS: Our Galaxy Note 4 review

“With Samsung’s sizable number of offerings in the segment, it’s no wonder that users of its larger-screened smartphones drive more than 77% of all phablet-based Web traffic within North America,” Chitika writes. “However, current usage statistics point to a competitive marketplace with a variety of brands achieving success with new five-inch and greater phone models.”

Samsung is mostly helped here by the fact that both the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S5 — its last two flagship phones — are 5 inches or larger and thus count as “phablets” under Chitika’s metrics. That said, the Galaxy Note 3 is still the most widely used device that measures in at 5.5 inches or greater and it accounted for 14% of all North American phablet traffic in early November.

Chitika found that the iPhone 6 Plus, which is Apple’s first-ever phablet, accounted for 3.9% of phablet traffic in early November, which actually put it slightly behind the Motorola Droid Ultra’s 4% traffic share. That said, both devices in Chitika’s study fared better than the new Galaxy Note 4, which accounted for just 2.1% of phablet traffic in early November.

Be sure to check out Chitika’s full study at the source link below.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.