When Samsung released the first Galaxy Note there were many that questioned the need for a smartphone of that size, but the handset and other devices since then have proven extremely popular with larger screen sizes becoming the norm. Today we have a mock up for you of the iPhone 5 vs the Galaxy S3, iPhone Pus, and Galaxy Note 2 side by side.

The phablet type device is proving to be extremely popular and ideal for those of us that can’t afford or want to carry around a smartphone and a tablet PC at the same time. We recently heard talk of a supposed iPhone Math device with a 4.8-inch display, which was then put down to misinterpretation for an iPhone+.

For a while now the smartphone world has seen screen sizes slowly getting larger while the iPhone stuck to the 3.5-inches until last year Apple increased this to 4-inches with the iPhone 5. This failed to please many iPhone fans with Apple saying this screen size is perfect for one handed operation, and allowed all the available apps to still work on the handset.

There is a growing demand for larger screen sizes though with handsets no longer used just for making calls or sending SMS messages. Users now play games, read emails, and watch movies among other things so having a larger screen is ideal.

We have also seen the likes of the Samsung Multi-View feature found on the Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy S3, which allows owners of the devices to have two apps running at once on the screen in real time, but this won’t work well on a display of around 4-inches.

There has also been a growing trend of 5-inch display’s on smartphones with a variety of handsets becoming available, which includes the likes of the Sony Xperia Z and HTC Droid DNA. Even comparing the Galaxy S3 next to the iPhone 5 there is a noticeable difference in size, and when a consumer goes into a phone retailer they can see how much smaller the iPhone is.

Of course there are many that think the iPhone is ideal and don’t want anything bigger, but Apple really needs to offer something else this year if it doesn’t want to see more consumers head over to the larger Android handsets on offer. Image courtesy of Marco.org. Is the iPhone 5 the perfect size for you?