Since the Samsung first released the Galaxy Note in 2011, people have somehow gotten behind the infuriating term “phablet”. And last month’s release of the iPhone 6 Plus only fueled the fire behind this abomination. It’s so big! Is it a phone? Is it a tablet? Is it… a phablet?

Stop it. Please, stop.

Aside from some petty complaints (the awkward pronunciation and spelling), what bugs me about this term is how a simple change in form factor seems to have thrown a wrench in people’s classification of two very different device types.

As the term becomes more accepted, so too does the notion that the use cases for these two devices have somehow merged. The thinking being that if a smartphone’s size exceeds some arbitrary threshold, it apparently stops being phone altogether.

In my view, this reasoning is not only unnecessary, but it conflicts with some very fundamental aspects of usability and user experience: understanding the user’s needs at a particular moment.

Let’s make a quick comparison:

Consider paper napkins. We use them as a quick, disposable way to deal with minor spills, typically in the kitchen or around the house.

Now consider a standard mop. It shares many characteristics with the paper napkin; it’s used to clean up spills or messes, it’s kind of soft. They both may be more effective when used with water or a cleaning agent. Aside from those similarities though, these are two very different products. And our choice to use one over the other depends significantly on our circumstances, point in time, and where we find ourselves needing them.

A spill in the car is easy to clean up with your paper napkin. A mop? Not so much. Conversely, washing your entire floor with a stack of napkins would take you a few hours, leave you with a broken back and a mountain of refuse once you’re done.

But wait! What if we attach a mini broomstick to a wad of paper napkins? Does that make it a mopkin? Of course not. It’s a wad of paper napkins, entirely inappropriate for cleaning your hardwood floor with. Are the two interchangeable? If we’re talking about appropriateness and efficiency, the answer feels pretty apparent to me. Why is it then that we’ve let a change in form factor throw us for such a loop?

In responsive web design, websites adapt to a device’s screen resolution or viewport. In other words, a user on a smartphone will experience a different layout – and often with different functionality – compared to someone else using a laptop or desktop computer.

The obvious advantage about responsive design is the ability to adapt the content and visual design to a smaller screen, while eliminating the user’s need to magnify pages for legibility. Easier to read, easier to navigate – easier to use. And that’s great.

But the real beauty of responsive design is how we can tailor the experience for the device type and corresponding use case. Suddenly this has nothing to do with screen size anymore.

It’s about understanding that someone accessing a website from their phone is typically task-oriented, looking for quick hits and quick response. Whether they’re browsing using the pointlessly small screen on a BlackBerry Bold or the generously sized iPhone 6 Plus, they’re still smartphone users. Chances are their needs from websites are reasonably basic – looking up a phone number or address, checking the price on a product, skimming an article. It’s on-the-go, “just in time” information needs from our cars, walking the halls at our office building or waiting in line for your latte. In my view, what we do on a smartphone web browser doesn’t even warrant the term “browsing” anymore because it’s anything but the casual, leisurely pace the word implies.

Those browsing from a tablet, on the other hand, are typically in an entirely different frame of mind, physical setting and have vastly different priorities. Most tablet browsing experiences occur at home, usually during a person’s downtime. Watching TV, relaxing in the yard, that kind of thing. A different environment and mindset call for a very different web experience than that of a phone.

When clients ask where the “phablet” fits into responsive design (a question I seem to get at least once every couple weeks), it seems to me the answer couldn’t be more obvious:

Users on larger smartphones should receive just that – a larger smartphone experience – larger, courtesy of their hardware. Similarly, smaller tablet users (iPad mini, Nexus 7) receive a more modest tablet experience.

True, there are design considerations for both cases, but it seems to me that design should be towards the bottom of the priority list when defining a mobile experience. Take the time to understand what your users need to do, how they need it and how this differs by the device. Build your content and functionality similarly. And only then do design attributes like pixel widths, buttons and scrolling have the slightest bit of relevance.