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Would it have been so terrible for Apple to release iPhones in multiple screen sizes? This trend isn't that new, they should have seen this coming. Now they look like they're reacting to the market (which they are) instead of anticipating where it would go and being ready with a product.

Agreed.

I would never have even considered an Android phone but the larger screen size was just too compelling to stay away from. Now that I've gotten use to Android, I'm not sure I could go back to an iPhone with iOS's limitations.
 
I'm probably in the minority, but large screen phones have zero appeal to me. I like being able to grasp the phone with one hand and actually fit it in my pocket.

I mean, the primary reason other companies developed these absurdly large screens is because their OSes are inefficient and require more battery life. Bigger screen = bigger battery.
 
The 3.5 and 4 inchers can whine all they want about not wanting to go bigger. But those sizes are just not adequate anymore. It is becoming quite apparent to everyone.
 
Or...

An alternative conclusion is that 1/3 of smartphones are cheap.

Until a manufacturer produces the same phone at the same price at two different sizes, it is not possible to determine whether larger phones attract market share.
 
I remember when this was cool

Nokia-8210.jpg

Yep.

Back when a cell phone was just a speaker, a microphone and a rudimentary screen... small was in.

But now these "phones" are amazing pocket computers... with a bright, bold LCD screen as their primary interface.

And some people like 'em big :D
 
The 3.5 and 4 inchers can whine all they want about not wanting to go bigger. But those sizes are just not adequate anymore. It is becoming quite apparent to everyone.

I suppose the other two-thirds who don't want a large phone are inadequate, they just haven't gotten the memo.

The things a person can learn here.
 
Many people go practically masturbatory over big screens, missing the obvious drawback that 'bigger' also means unwieldy.

Not true at all, not once in my life with the Note 3 have I thought it was "unwieldy".
 
I just think it is ironic that the iPhone is the best phone for multimedia yet has a relatively smaller screen compared to some on the market.
 
Correct. Mega-phones are a small portion of the market. Big enough for Apple to go after, but certainly not deserving of 3+ years of endless media attention. Most people want their portable devices compact.

Apple doesn't care about the low-end segment of the market. If you consider the market segment Apple is interested in, which is the high-end segment, larger smartphones are much more popular. From the article:

It is notable that 5" and above displays featured on almost half (47%) of smart phones with an unlocked retail price of US$500 or more.
 
Yep.

Back when a cell phone was just a speaker, a microphone and a rudimentary screen... small was in.

But now these "phones" are amazing pocket computers... with a bright, bold LCD screen as their primary interface.

And some people like 'em big :D

I always thought smaller was better too, but now I hardly use my phone to call any more...it really is more of a take everywhere mini tablet. I have an iPad mini, but it's just too large to always have with me.

I'm also hitting the age where I can barely read my phone screen sometimes, so I think these new bigger phones are just in time. As much as I think it looks ridiculous to talk on a phablet, I will probably go as big as I can comfortably carry. If the 5.5 is too big to slip into my pockets without looking awkward, I'll probably do the 4.7.
 
I suppose the other two-thirds who don't want a large phone are inadequate, they just haven't gotten the memo.

Excluding iPhone buyers, most of these 2/3 buy cheap smartphones, that's why in the high-end segment large smartphones reach almost 50%...
 
Yep.

Back when a cell phone was just a speaker, a microphone and a rudimentary screen... small was in.

But now these "phones" are amazing pocket computers... with a bright, bold LCD screen as their primary interface.

And some people like 'em big :D

Which is an interesting point. Most smart phones nowadays are just used as mini tablets basically.

A smartphone now is more like a mini tablet computer with phone capability than a phone with computer capability.
 
What will larger screens do to fragmentation for devs? Back in the day, Apple mocked it but it seems they're headed the same way.
 
So that means 66% would be the iPhone. Still pretty good market share :p

Since all this is just "guestimations" by analyst, Apple's share of that whole pie would be roughly 15%. Apple's share of the 66% portion would be approx. 23%. All that based off some other analysts guess that 281 million smartphones were sold in the first quarter and Apple pushed 43 million of those. That leaves ~43% of the rest between 3.5" and 4.9".

Caveat: publicly educated so math may be off;)
 
i think some people confuse iphone popularity with people not wanting bigger screens. many people that love iphones live with the smaller screen because they don't have any choice. the real test is going to be when apple finally gives people a choice in phone size (hopefully soon). i am betting that the larger display phones are going to surpass apple's expectations, by a lot.
 
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I'm probably in the minority, but large screen phones have zero appeal to me. I like being able to grasp the phone with one hand and actually fit it in my pocket.

I mean, the primary reason other companies developed these absurdly large screens is because their OSes are inefficient and require more battery life. Bigger screen = bigger battery.
Really bad logic here that you have.
 
So that means 66% would be the iPhone. Still pretty good market share :p

It does not mean that. This chart is for Worldwide market where Apple's share is only about 17%. The chart does not show the share of phones with screens larger than 4" which would be the most relevant chart for analysing where iPhone fits in this picture.
 
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