There was a time going smaller was thought of as a feature.
Yeah, I remember when the tiny flip phones were all the rage. I'd actually love to see a smaller iPhone. Just something I can pop my SIM into and take running or any other time when a normal iPhone is too big. It would be sacrificing a browser experience but still have my email, calendar and contacts all synced up.
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You're right... they should be making smaller phones. Or maybe stay the same. THAT'S innovation.
But seriously... you may say Apple is following the competition... but maybe the competition is onto something.
Every time someone buys a phone larger than 4"... it proves there's a market for it.
There were 4.3" phones THREE years ago. And the trend today is even larger. People like 'em.
If larger phones were a mistake... all phones would have gone back to 4" or below. But they didn't.
However, just because people think they prefer it, doesn't mean it's actually a better experience for them. If every year tens of millions of people buy a 5" phone thinking it'll be a good experience, but they hate it and never by one again, it will still seem like there's a market for it, when in reality that segment is just learning what designers already knew. I'm not saying that's the case, but early sales figures can mistake a trend for a solid segment.