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Anyone sticking with their 5s for the long haul until this big phone fad goes away?

Mac 128 said:
Thanks for all the supporting evidence of your assertion.



I personally have very big hands, but I have no interest in using a bigger iPhone 6, much less a Plus. I slip my iPhone in my front pants pocket without a case (I have been since the original iPhone in 2007), and as such I want it as small, slim, and slick as possible to facilitate easy storage, and withdrawal. When I stand I don't want an unnecessarily large device protruding from my pants leg, nor do I want it changing the lay of the fabric, or restricting my movement, or uncomfortable when I sit. I have found all four of those to be a problem with the iPhone 6.

I have iPads, and MacBooks with AirPlay at home when I need a bigger screen. Using the iPhone for that purpose is pointless, even with the 6 Plus. When I'm mobile, I don't need a screen any bigger than the 5s to glance at a message, or get quick directions. I'm certainly not surfing the web when I'm out and about either. And if I did need a bigger screen for some reason, any location with an TV will accommodate that need via Airplay ... something that may become more ubiquitous over the next few years. Who knows, I may even be able to use AirPlay to take over any Apple display at some point, including the iPhone's.

So, I'm holding onto the 5S until the iPhone 7. If there's still no 4" screen model with Pay, then I will reluctantly upgrade to the next smallest size. Depending on the features of the 7, I might just hold out to the 7s.

The way I see it though, as Siri improves for use with devices like the Watch, I can imagine a trend where the phones shrink as there will be less reliance on the screens, and more reliance on audio relay of information. The Watch is clearly headed toward replacing the iPhone completely, and in the future to the extent someone needs a display, they will carry a dumb terminal that tethers to the Watch, instead of the other way around as it is now. Perhaps a foldable, or flexible display, even. Because I can't imagine why anyone would actually want to carry around a bigger device for any other reason than the display. Replace the display with projectors, or flexible membranes, or whatever, and the goal may be again to make the phone as small as possible. Prior to the advent of the Apple smartphone, flip phones were on a race to be the smallest possible. Why? Because given the choice, people don't like to carry more than they have to. As iPhone internals continue to shrink and battery life improves, the only reason to maintain a 6 or 6 Plus size will be the screen, and that's just wasteful for those who don't ned it.
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Some peeps don't have iPads, Macs and goodness knows what else at home. They're looking for a mainly one device set-up, with the possible addition of a computer. Folk who use their phones minimally & for more traditional phone tasks; who do all their web browsing, video watching and games playing etc on other devices obviously aren't going to be interested in a big smartphone. If so, there are plenty of smaller and cheaper alternatives to a premium smartphone.
 
If Apple does cut down on the Bezzels next year, and rounding out the sides, I can easily see them getting away with a 5" only screen. My sister in law just hit the Galaxy s6 Avtive and I have to confess that I did find the 5.1" screen on it was really nice to look at.
 
Eileen89 said:
If Apple does cut down on the Bezzels next year, and rounding out the sides, I can easily see them getting away with a 5" only screen. My sister in law just hit the Galaxy s6 Avtive and I have to confess that I did find the 5.1" screen on it was really nice to look at.
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5.2" with minimal bezels is a perfect halfway house for me.
 
nnacrumors said:
Anyone sticking with their 5s for the long haul until this big phone fad goes away? :(

Apple provides hardware service for any product up to 5 years of it being discontinued from production... so you figure that the iPhone 5s will be able to get battery replacements as needed any time at least until until Sept 2019 (maybe even 2020).

Perhaps the big phone fad will have started to fade by then? :confused:

6596.jpg
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Yes.

In fact, I'm one step behind you. I'm with my iPhone 5. Why, you ask? I love the color of the black and slate. Plus, I'm really picky and hate how the silver ring on the home button looks on the iPhone 5S, haha. But in all seriousness, I love how small and thin and light the iPhone 5 is. It's the perfect phone for me.

I'm not a person who "lives on their phone" so to speak. I have a tablet, and a laptop that docks up to a desktop-like environment at home. I have a large screen smart TV with Apple TV, etc.

This means that my phone isn't used for all of my computing needs, and so I can ultimately afford to not feel pressured to have a HUGE phablet phone to act as an all-in-one computer.

It's simple. Texts, phone calls, quick web browsing, check scores, check emails, check stocks. Pandora on the treadmill if I'm not near my 80GB iPod. Quick YouTube videos, no movies, no TV shows. Facebook, Instagram, twitter. CNN breaking news feeds, GPS, etc.

That's what I use my phone for. I have no problem with people who go for bigger screens, but I simply don't need it and am more than willing to trade off screen real estate for something sleeker, sexier, lighter, and smaller.


I really hope Apple returns to it's roots of small, nimble, intricate products. Not these large, clumsy Samsung competitors. It's just sad the direction Apple is heading. Getting kind of scary now.
 
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sunking101 said:
5.2" with minimal bezels is a perfect halfway house for me.
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Yeah, but knowing how Apple does things. I don't see them doing away with the 4.7" and 5.5" in favor of a 5.2" screen only. Given the fact that there is still a large demand for the 4.7" screen, I can't see them going with a 5.2" screen only. I think it's more plausible that they would go with a happy medium 5" screen to satisfy both 4.7" and 5.5" customers.
 
Big screen fad?

With all the content available on phones these days, in addition to inceasd capabilities, I'd say about 4.3" is minimum for a smartphone these days.

Back when I had the iPhone 4 and 5S I recall thinking, "the perfect size screen for me would be a max of 4.7." That was when I thought the Notes were way too large. But now, my view of the matter has changed a bit. I've been using the Plus models for over a year now and have gotten used to it but I believe if Apple creates a 5-5.2" screen I'd opt for that one instead of the 5.5" on the Plus.
 
Big phones are not a fad. People aren't getting bigger phones just because they are following the crowd or its stylish. They are getting bigger phones because phones are little mini computers now.

10 years ago, phones couldn't do half the stuff they are able to do now. There was no need for phones to be larges screen because you only text, call, took grainy pics and maybe played some 16 bit game on it.

I don't see myself ever using a phone below 5 inches. I edit photos and documents on my phone. Plus I watch movies and games.

iPhone 5s and previous iphones is a damn toy. One of the reasons I left iphones behind for 3 years was because of the screen size.
 
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nia820 said:
Big phones are not a fad. People aren't getting bigger phones just because they are following the crowd or its stylish. They are getting bigger phones because phones are little mini computers now.

10 years ago, phones couldn't do half the stuff they are able to do now. There was no need for phones to be larges screen because you only text, call, took grainy pics and maybe played some 16 bit game on it.
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So agree with this. I haven't touched my laptop in ages. Not even my iPad. I do all I need on my Plus.
 
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Mildredop said:
Exactly. Come on people. If you have anything at all to say, please start a whole new thread rather than adding to existing ones.
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The amount of people responding to the OP's year old comment as if they were still around was entertaining though.
 
After having the 6s Plus now since release, looking at my 5s seems really odd. It's so tiny and hard to use. It's great for being portable and all, but it's so ridiculously tiny. I make a lot more mistakes typing on it.

I have to say that the 6/6s is probably the best all around version. I love the Plus but wish the bezels were smaller for a smaller phone with the same screen size.

Overall, I'm happy with the 6s Plus, but it's hard to say how I'll feel when the next update comes. It'll be an S version for me.
 
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Mac 128 said:
The way I see it though, as Siri improves for use with devices like the Watch, I can imagine a trend where the phones shrink as there will be less reliance on the screens, and more reliance on audio relay of information. The Watch is clearly headed toward replacing the iPhone completely, and in the future to the extent someone needs a display, they will carry a dumb terminal that tethers to the Watch, instead of the other way around as it is now. Perhaps a foldable, or flexible display, even. Because I can't imagine why anyone would actually want to carry around a bigger device for any other reason than the display. Replace the display with projectors, or flexible membranes, or whatever, and the goal may be again to make the phone as small as possible. Prior to the advent of the Apple smartphone, flip phones were on a race to be the smallest possible. Why? Because given the choice, people don't like to carry more than they have to. As iPhone internals continue to shrink and battery life improves, the only reason to maintain a 6 or 6 Plus size will be the screen, and that's just wasteful for those who don't ned it.
Click to expand...

This might happen. But then wouldn't that support larger phones? If you're using your watch for most general communications, the phone base can be large and stay in your bag. the larger size is ideal for longer sessions of web browsing. They might get even bigger
 
My desperate theory is this:

Apple just updated the 4" iPod Touch with new internals akin to that of an iPhone 6. If they wanted to dismiss the 4" device entirely, they should have updated the iPod touch to 4.7"

I would have thought that re-engineering the whole iPhone 6 chipset to fit in the smaller iPod Touch would have been a bigger task than scaling up the Touch to fit the internal components of an iPhone 6 (But what do I know, I'm not an engineer!)

The point is, Apple made a conscious decision to maintain a current spec on a smaller device with the iPod Touch, rather than just making it bigger to fit the new screen standard.

It brings me a small ray of hope that another 4" device is coming. The question remains though - when?
 
nnacrumors said:
Anyone sticking with their 5s for the long haul until this big phone fad goes away? :(

Apple provides hardware service for any product up to 5 years of it being discontinued from production... so you figure that the iPhone 5s will be able to get battery replacements as needed any time at least until until Sept 2019 (maybe even 2020).

Perhaps the big phone fad will have started to fade by then? :confused:
Click to expand...

total exaggeration here.

after 2 weeks of use with my 6s i can handle it JUST LIKE my 5s with one hand. big deal whoooo, anyone can do this unless you have micro hands.

i will never go back to such a tiny display like the 4s or 5s.
 
mrklaw said:
This might happen. But then wouldn't that support larger phones? If you're using your watch for most general communications, the phone base can be large and stay in your bag. the larger size is ideal for longer sessions of web browsing. They might get even bigger
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It would support larger phones. Apple should make a range of phones. 4", 4.7", 5.5", etc. because some of us don't have bags to carry stuff in. In fact, with the right car, and a smart home, I don't need to carry anything but my phone for payments, unlocking my house, and driving my car. So why would I wanna carry a tiny iPad in my pants?

I've seen all kinds of justifications for the larger phones:

1) easier to engineer more electronics inside a larger phone;
But look at the 38mm Watch, they had to design for that in order to squeeze everything into it for people who might prefer a smaller watch, despite giving up valuable screen real estate and battery life. If having a larger screen is more desirable, why would anyone chose a 38mm watch over the 42mm watch?

2) phones are now mini computers and people do more on them;
Many people see this as using the correct tool for the job. I would never dream of doing any serious picture/movie/document editing on my iPhone. At a minimum I'd grab an iPad Air for that, even a mini would be too small. but the great thing about the iPhone is if I have to do something like editing a movie or a document when I'm out and about, I can, even if it's not the most convenient thing to do on a small screen. Certainly if my job were to edit video on a dedicated 5K Mac Pro video editing suite, any editing on a phone/tablet would be more difficult regardless of the size, so why parse the issue offer an inch, and discounting the importance of portability to some?

3) some people only have a phone, and no laptop or iPad;
So Apple is going to cater to those who would cannibalize from their other product lines? This use case explains the whole cheap Samsung/Droid "phablet" model perfectly, and why their tablets never took off, much less their PCs. Those early giant phones were being bought cheap by people who didn't buy any other electronics. Apple didn't get where they did by servicing that market demographic. Least compelling argument against a 4" phone for me as far as Apple is concerned.

My ultimate argument is one of choice. If someone wants to stretch out their clothes carrying an oversized phone, or carry a bag to hold it, so they can do things slightly more conveniently, that would be far easier to do on a larger device anyway (which a bag could hold), for the ability to do those things anywhere, then that's their choice. The idea that this is what everyone wants, or there aren't enough people who want a smaller phone, is unreasonable.
 
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Jakedonahuee said:
What are the benefits of sim free?
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To my knowledge this model has all bands and will be able to be activated on all the carriers without a problem. Some people have said that they had problems getting Verizon to activate their AT&T model even though it was unlocked. These are probably the main 2 benefits of the Sim Free model.
 
I've been fully converted from the 4" to the + size. I don't think they're anymore a fad than any other sizes have been trends in the past. It's really about what makes sense for technology at the time, and the larger screens just make more sense now for reasons others have already stated. That's not to say there's not room for a 4" display, but I think most people who switch to the 4.7 end up finding it a very manageable size and appreciate the extra screen real estate.

I'm loving the plus size. It's quite light in my Apple leather case, and while it's not going to be hanging out in my front pocket much, when I'm actually talking on the phone, it's the most comfortable cell phone to hold that I've ever had. I loved my 5C, too, but it feels like a tiny toy phone now.
 
I've used the speakerphone for calls more on the 6+ and 6S+ than I ever have done before. Obviously not whilst out and about but the size has converted me to a new way of using it, and my health will benefit. I'm not so cool with the SAR rating Apple phones have and not having a beetroot red ear anymore is aesthetically pleasing.:D
 
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