Why did Apple decide to make a skateboard phone?

http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/

Anyone can make a larger smartphone display. But if you go large for large’s sake, you end up with a phone that feels oversize, awkward, and hard to use. iPhone 5 features a 4-inch display designed the right way: it’s bigger, but it’s the same width as iPhone 4S. So everything you’ve always done with one hand — typing on the keyboard, for instance — you can still do with one hand. On a larger canvas that lets you see more of every web page. More of your inbox. More events on your calendar. Even more apps on your Home screen.

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Have you not seen their "Thumbs" commercial?

Now that's either A: an amazing coincidence, or B: a dazzling display of common sense.

Although I'm sure you disagree with both. But it does seem to explain their design philosophy in 30 seconds...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H365yzynSs

Not sure where you've been, but it's widely known that Steve was involved in the design and development of the iPhone 5 right until his passing.

I like the iPhone 5's screen, but I can't help but feel that a few years (months?) down the line this will be another bold statement about their product that Apple sweeps under the rug.

Small tablets suck
You don't want a video iPod
We can't do a phone well
People don't need Apps
Integrated GPUs suck

MJD Dawg said:

Not sure where you've been, but it's widely known that Steve was involved in the design and development of the iPhone 5 right until his passing.

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And it's not like he hasn't publicly been against something (like video on an iPod) before, only to proudly introduce that very same feature a year or two later.

He was a brilliant marketer.

When Android has a 16:9 phone: Hurray! The iPhone's 3:2 screen sucks!!!!!
When Apple has a 16:9 phone: WTF! Why did Apple decide to make a skateboard phone?



I'm really tired of this kind of post. Why suddenly it becomes a problem for Apple when other Android phones also have a 16:9 screen? I thought your whine would be better, like "Oh Apple copied Android's 16:9 screen! !@#!@&*#$"

It's awkward at first coming from previous iPhones, but you get used to it real fast and it's definitely preferable.

macbook123 said:

...photos in traditional 3:2 format are weird to look at as the photo app has to artificially upscale them or put bands on the sides...

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Ok, we're going back to the 4S screen.

But now it's weird that TV shows have bars on the top and bottom.

Ok, we're going back to the 16x9 iPhone.

But now it's weird that photos don't fill the screen.

Ok, we're going back to the 4S screen.

But now it's weird that widescreen videos...

etc...

macbook123 said:

I completely disagree. It's easier for me to hold a wider phone. How can this statement be universally true anyway, given that people's hand sizes vary by at least 20%? Sounds like fanboyism to me...

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If you follow the link he gave you, at the very top of the page is a video where Jonny Ive says basically the same thing.

Disagree if you want, but you asked what the reasoning was why they made it longer than wider. The man behind Apple's product design explains exactly that in that video.

Dude if 83 millimetres is the difference between holding a """"""""""""rod""""""""""" instead of a phone, then you should probably just go cry a little harder

EDIT: Also apart from the obligatory "I'm sure you know all about holding rods" etc, if it bothers you then take the damn phone back it's not hard, jesus

XboxMySocks said:

Dude if 83 millimetres is the difference between holding a """"""""""""rod""""""""""" instead of a phone, then you should probably just go cry a little harder

EDIT: Also apart from the obligatory "I'm sure you know all about holding rods" etc, if it bothers you then take the damn phone back it's not hard, jesus

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I agree 100%. If you don't like it, return it. Whining about it is not going to cause the iPhone to morph into something you want. You have to 30 days to evaluate and then keep or return. Only you can decide. You have had it a few days. Sounds like it's not for you, or any other new Apple product. Perhaps it's time for you to discover Android and/or Windows again.

macbook123 said:

You guys are funny

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Your not

sectime said:

Your not

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Leave his not out of this. Rude!

aristobrat said:

Have you not seen their "Thumbs" commercial?

Now that's either A: an amazing coincidence, or B: a dazzling display of common sense.

Although I'm sure you disagree with both. But it does seem to explain their design philosophy in 30 seconds...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H365yzynSs

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Funny, I remember the old display having a similar logic behind it. Now they apply it to this one as well. I guess whatever paints the choice in a good light

dukebound85 said:

Funny, I remember the old display having a similar logic behind it. Now they apply it to this one as well. I guess whatever paints the choice in a good light

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Find any statement from apple proving that and I'll let you off the hook

Go home Macbook123, you're drunk!

On a serious note, if you don't like it, don't buy it? Unless you own some huge stocks in Apple you really shouldn't care WHAT they do.

The older models seem really odd in hand now, short and stubby and just square brick in feeling to me.

I love the extra height and still one hand operation vs the competition.

I'm neither a fanboy or an apple hater. I swing both ways. I came back to iPhone for the 5, I left when I had a 3G. I went through a few androids, and I loved them all; I couldn't resist selling and getting my next favorite. I went nuts with custom ROM's, I like figuring things out and customizing. Nexus One, man I loved that phone. Perhaps it was because she was my first, but it was such a pretty phone, great build quality, solid in the hand, loved the glowy little roller ball. HTC Sensation, loved it too. Next the Motorola Atrix 4G, and then a brief sojourn into windows land with the Lumia 900... there I was stuck in the worst of both worlds. I had no apps, and I couldn't mess around with different ROMs and fun stuff like I did with Android. But I LOVED the build of that phone! Solid and unique!

I will say, I love my iPhone 5. But coming from the rounded edges of the Lumia, I do not like holding my iPhone! Might just take some getting used to, I never had the 4, but the squareness of it is a bit uncomfortable. I don't want a bulky case, but I do want something that's just a little more ergonomic. Also, it's a little too light. Again, I came from a 160 gram Lumia, so it will just take some adjusting. But it feels like the weight of a plastic phone, but it's metal and glass. It's just a little unsettling, like if you saw a big rock, prepared to lift it as if it was going to be heavy, but then you find out it's styrofoam. Ok, that's a big exaggeration, but to look at it, you'd expect more weight. The weight of the lumia never bothered me, felt solid.

Anyway, that's just my two cents. I sort of agree with the OP, sort of disagree.

macbook123 said:

I've been having some serious doubts in Apple's leadership decisions (yes, including the low res iPad mini display) and having owned an iPhone 5 for a few days I'm puzzled by the decision to make the display longer instead of wider

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If a product doesn't work for you then don't use it and find one that does. I'm having serious doubts about your purchasing decisions if you bought a smartphone that uses a form factor that doesn't work for you. It's not like it was hidden fine print or anything deceptive that you wouldn't have discovered prior to owning the device.

This topic has been discussed before and, per the posted link above (and TV ads) explained by Apple. You're certainly free to disagree with their decision making but doing and and buying their products seems a bit silly.

macbook123 said:

I completely disagree. It's easier for me to hold a wider phone. How can this statement be universally true anyway, given that people's hand sizes vary by at least 20%? Sounds like fanboyism to me...

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Fanboyim comes from fans not the company. No one says it's universally true. Obviously, people differ. Again, use what works for you. If the size and shape of the iPhone 5 don't work for you then use something that does. If anything, it's fanboyism to buy a product that doesn't suit you because you're so irrationally tied to the brand that you overlook something as basic as this when buying.

The iPhone 5 can't be appreciated in a few days of use when you are hyper-critical. For me the 4inch screen started to shine a month later when i went to pick up my moms 4s and you really see the differance, viewing apps, less scrolling through portrait mode on short articles. Apps like forum runner and tapatalk feel way different. It's not about the first 48 hours to me, it's about the next 10 months or more

macbook123 said:

I completely disagree. It's easier for me to hold a wider phone. How can this statement be universally true anyway, given that people's hand sizes vary by at least 20%? Sounds like fanboyism to me...

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macbook123 said:

You guys are funny

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What is funny to me is that you reference a link to Apple's own page wherein the member here provides a quote for you and then you call it fanboyism. You clearly have no clue whatsoever that the link would have proven the quote is not original to the poster. Instead, you give out some backhanded insult for the sake of trying to prove your point.

You're not going to come here and complain about a "skateboard" phone (lame name for it if you ask me) and see every reply standing tall in agreement with you. You may find some who agree and up until the other day when I got to use the phone for longer than a few minutes, I may have as well. The longer design gives me some more real estate but I can still do tasks that are one-handed. I had a Droid X and while it was fine to use just sitting there (almost like a tablet), it was difficult to manage one handed. Swipe was the only reason I think it survived for me.

The taller iPhone isn't for everyone and I'd venture to guess Apple could probably come out with a wider (but same height) iPhone next year and tell us that this was the phone they finally intended to make. Someone above said that Jobs was a great marketer and he was. His legacy of that will continue at Apple as far as I can see.