Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone 5 Crushes Samsung’s Galaxy S III: Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NOK), Research In Motion Ltd (BBRY)

Does size really matter?
With much debate recently over smartphone display size and the perception that Apple is lagging in this department, these figures show that Apple’s choice to focus on one-handed use is holding up to skepticism. The anecdotal consensus recently has been that Apple is falling behind competitors because it has thus far refused to approach phablet territory.

Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK)‘s flagship Lumia 920 sports a 4.5-inch display, the Galaxy S III carries a 4.8-inch display, and Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY)‘s new Z10 that was just unveiled uses a 4.2-inch display. Nokia sold a total of 4.4 million Lumias last quarter (including smaller devices), although it would have sold more if it could have built more.

The iPhone 4S figure is actually rather impressive when you think about it. We’re talking about a previous-generation device that was released in 2011 that lacks 4G LTE and has “just” a 3.5-inch display outselling the latest 2012 flagship devices from Samsung and Nokia that have much larger displays and far faster 4G LTE data connections. The Lumia 920 sits at the same price point of $100 on contract, so the iPhone 4S has no pricing advantage there, while the Galaxy S III costs more.

That being said, there certainly is a growing market for larger smartphones and Apple really should tap it sooner or later. But these figures show that the pressure isn’t quite as great as you’d think and that the company probably has the time to wait and do it right… like it always does.

The article Apple’s iPhone 5 Crushes Samsung’s Galaxy S III originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Evan Niu, CFA.

Fool contributor Evan Niu, CFA, owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool recommends Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple.

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