Samsung rumored to be working on 6.3-inch Galaxy Note III

Just when you thought smartphones couldn't get any bigger, rumor has it that Samsung will put a 6.3-inch OLED display into its Galaxy Note III.

The report comes from Korea Times, citing officials from local parts suppliers as part of a larger story on Samsung's transition from LCD to OLED displays. The story doesn't provide any other details or a release date for the Galaxy Note III, but a mid- to late-2013 launch seems likely, given that the Note II launched in October.

Samsung's original Galaxy Note had a 5.3-inch screen, while the Note II had a 5.5-inch screen. (Samsung also changed the aspect ratio from 16:10 to 16:9.) Although jumbo-size smartphones have their detractors, the concept has proven popular. Samsung sold more than 5 million Galaxy Note II handsets within two months of launch.

If Korea Times' report is true, and assuming Samsung sticks with a 16.9 aspect ratio, that means the Galaxy Note III's display would be about 0.7 inches taller, and about 0.4 inches wider than its predecessor. If we assume a 1080p display, which seems likely now that other phone makers have graduated from 720p, the pixel density would be 350 ppi, better than the iPhone 5 and the previous Note.
The problem is that as these “phablets” get bigger, they get harder to hold in one hand and to fit comfortably in a pants pocket. Of course, we've been saying that about larger phones for a while now. I remember when the 4.5-inch Samsung Infuse 4G seemed oddly large back in 2011, but phone makers keep pushing the boundaries anyway.

Samsung could try to compensate for the larger screen with smaller bezels or a thinner frame, and there's always a chance we'll just shut up and deal with reduced comfort, like always. As previous versions of the Note have proven, those gloriously large screens can be hard to resist.