Remember when holding a 5-inch phone made you look like you were talking to a slice of toast? The phablet—that glorious, unwieldy hybrid of phone and tablet—was once dismissed as a passing fad. But after years of foldable phones dominating the conversation, a new trend is emerging, phone makers are bringing back the giant slab phone. And leading the charge is the newly announced Nubia Neo 5 Max, a device that embraces the phablet spirit with a 7.5-inch screen that borders on tablet territory. The Rise of the Phablet The phablet concept isn't new. While early pioneers like the HTC Advantage (2007) and the doomed AT&T EO from 1993 laid the groundwork, it was the Dell Streak in 2010 that truly tried to bridge the gap between phone and tablet. But the Streak was ahead of its time—clunky and running outdated software, it failed to catch on. Everything changed in 2011 when Samsung launched the original Galaxy Note. With its 5.3-inch screen and S-Pen stylus, it defined the phabl...