( CNN ) -- After ceding the smartphone and tablet size war to competitors like Samsung for the past few years , it appears Apple had finally decided that bigger is better . The next iPad will be Apple 's biggest ever , with a whopping 12.9-inch display screen , according to a report Tuesday from Bloomberg . That would be a huge leap from the current 9.7-inch iPad Air screen . And the report comes as Apple prepares to release not one , but two , new , bigger iPhones . Multiple reports have said the company plans to announce iPhones with displays of 4.7 and 5.5 inches . That 's compared to the 4-inch display on the iPhone 5S , and would put them more in line with their chief rival , Samsung , which has put a dent in the iPhone 's dominance with devices in their Galaxy S and Galaxy Note lines . So , what 's with the super-sizing out of Cupertino ? J.P. Gowndner , an analyst with Forrester Research , says bigger smartphones are a natural response to the way people have begun to use them . `` As our digital lives become deeper , we 're spending a lot less time speaking on phones and more time using smartphones as tools -- for communications , yes , but for paying our bills , finding the nearest ATM , looking up sports scores , taking photos , navigating around town , and other activities , '' he said . `` With more digital activity and less minutes spent on voice calls , it 's only natural that phones should grow larger . '' In recent years , Apple has watched as competitors managed to chip away at its smartphone dominance by offering an array of products at different prices and sizes while Apple stuck with a single flagship phone . Last year 's iPhone 5S and 5C marked the first time Apple offered more than one new version of its phone . Both have 4-inch screens . Meanwhile , Samsung 's flagship Galaxy S5 has a 5.1-inch display and the company 's Galaxy Note III has a whopping 5.7-inch screen . As phones grow , Gowndner said , it only makes sense for tablets to do the same . `` Seven- or 8-inch tablets are popular today , but if I have a 5- or 6-inch phone , I would n't want one , '' he said . `` Instead , larger screen sizes wedded with ever thinner , ever lighter materials means that I could have a 12.9-inch tablet that weighs no more than a 10-inch tablet used to weigh -- making it quite portable . '' In addition to differentiating itself from the growing field of hybrid `` phablets , '' a bigger iPad screen could be a step toward the goal of making tablets more than just consumption and recreational devices . Analysts say they can see design , manufacturing , education as just a few areas in which a bigger display would be useful . But is bigger really better ? Some in the mobile world have argued against that . Among them : Apple . `` You can hold it in one hand , '' Apple marketing vice president Phil Schiller said when introducing the 7.9-inch iPad Mini in 2012 . Founder Steve Jobs was adamant until the end that a 3.5-inch screen was the perfect size for a smartphone screen . `` You ca n't get your hand around it , '' Jobs said in 2010 , as rivals running Google 's Android operating system began rolling out bigger phones . `` No one 's going to buy that . '' According to a 2013 study by mobile designer and author Steven Hoober , 59 % of smartphone users operate their device with one hand , perhaps lending some credence to Jobs ' argument . `` As with the iPad Mini -- which Steve Jobs said was a bad idea before he passed away -- a larger iPad would be a departure for Apple , '' Gowndner said . `` But it 's a welcomed one : Market segmentation is important , and there are buyers who would benefit from a larger device . `` Tim Cook will continue to put his own imprint on Apple , and we 'll see if the bets he makes succeed . ''
A report says the next iPad will have a 12.9-inch display . That 's up from 9.7 inches , and follows news of bigger iPhones . Analyst says bigger screens go along with how we use phones . If phones become `` phablets , '' tablets need to get bigger , too .