Having a 5-incher means you spend more time in apps

It seems that size really does matter -- at least when it comes to the size of the screen on your smartphone. New research shows that people spend more time in apps if they have a larger screen.

The study from mobile engagement platform Localytics shows that 5-inch devices show 23 percent more app engagement than smaller screens. They also show 3.53 percent higher average session length than 4-inch screens.

On 5-inch screens people spend 66 minutes in each individual app per month, as opposed to 52 minutes a month in each app on 4-inch screens. Also users launch apps 21 percent more often on 5-inch screens than on 4-inch ones.

The report also looks at the difference in engagement time between Apple and Samsung users. It finds that those with Samsung devices average 22.9 percent more time in apps than Apple users.  People spend 72 minutes each month per app on Samsung devices, compared to 57 minutes on Apple devices.

It isn't just about handset manufacturers though, overall, Android phone users spend 29 percent more time in apps on their devices than iOS users, largely because the average number of app launches per month is 15 percent more for Android users.

You may conclude that this is because Android users don't have as much of a life -- we couldn't possibly comment. Localytics points out on its blog that there could be another reason, that Android is more customizable, "This level of customization and power-user angle suggests that Android users are encouraged to go deeper with the personalization of their app-consumption habits, leading them to be more engaged".

Apple's latest 4-inch iPhone SE has much lower in app time than the similarly sized Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, but it's also lower than for other 4-inch Apple models, so perhaps it’s too early to draw conclusions.

You can read more about the findings on the Localytics blog.

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