Well, even the iPhones 6 and 6 Plus are not the same – they're different products for different people with different needs.
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Apple Appears to Have Ditched Plans for 4-Inch 'iPhone 6c' in 2015
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No, they're just different sized iPhones. One doesn't have anything the other doesn't aside from size and one has an OIS. The differences between the MBA/MBP/MB are actually meaningful.
They make 4 different sizes of laptops. Branding of the laptops has nothing to do with anything.
I don't know what oldmacs would do but I am looking for a new phone right now and am looking at what android has to offer in the 4" models. I could live with the size of the iPhone 6 if I didn't have no put a case around it. But I have to because it is so f####ing thin I can't hold it in my hands without it slipping out and dropping. I have the same problem with the 5S if I take it out of the case. I have always been told thicker is better,
The difference is that apple never made iPhones of that size. There is simply demand for a smaller iPhone regardless of what the actual screen size is. 4 inches just makes sense given it would be the most cost effective road if apple wanted it to be. Put an A8 + NFC chip in a 5S body, like the iPod touch 6.
The point is that you can choose 4 different sizes, based on your needs. apple doesn't force everyone onto a 13 and 15 inch laptop, just because the screen is "bigger" and therefore supposedly "better".
Okay, how about just 3.5"? I'm sure there are people there that would love a 3.5" iPhone with upgraded internals. Then they could make the 4" as well. 3.5",4",4.7", and 5.5"!
Because Apple has different models of MacBook that do more than simply give you varying screen sizes. If you're arguing for Apple to make the iPhone similar to the MacBook lines that way ... sure? I'd like to be able to choose what frequency chip and how much RAM my iPhone has. Maybe I could even pay a little extra for 3!
I'd go to a different brand (reluctantly). The iPod touch has nothing to do with this. I would have thought the fact that Apple created a new model of a product that sells in such low volumes as proof that they would consider something that would obviously sell in far higher volumes. Not only that but the 'infrastructure' is there for an A8 based 4 inch phone, they have he 5S casing and could easily add cellular hardware to the board they've designed for the iPod touch 6.
Yup, and I don't think Apple need to make it a low-cost version either. I have big hands, but I still returned the 6 after a week because of the size (more because of how it feels in my pocket than in my hands, really). Right now, I'd pretty much not care what it costs, as long as it isn't bigger than 4".
People are annoyed when Apple does things like keeping 3 iPad Minis, one which is 3 years out of date and the other 2 that are identical as it is confusing. Having a 3rd screen size is really quite simple for the consumer, its just a case of then choosing the best screen size for each consumers needs, instead of a complex array of " this iPad Mini is $100 cheaper but its missing x, x and x, but this one is the most expensive and identical to that one, just with touch id..."
They're not a homogenous group, but they are homogenous in that they all find ways to complain no matter what Apple does. Even if they make a phone that is basically flawless- indestructible, unbelievable battery life, incredible performance, unbelievable camera and display, amazing design, zero software glitches- people will complain anyway.
So basically we agree.
Phone size is a big deal. Do you propose Apple stops selling 11, 12 and 13 inch models and tells its customers to buy 15 inch laptops, as they have the biggest screen size and obviously must then be the perfect screen size for all, because screen size is apparently not important?
If it weren't such a big deal, I wouldn't be considering moving to an Android handset as a result, and there wouldn't be numerous members on here who plan to cling onto 5S's. Of course things like software stability are important, but honestly, It would be a simple simple simple thing to introduce a 3rd screen size, Apple could even use the 5S body, and do an iPod Touch 6 again.
Yes ideally, Apple would just introduce 3 models of the 6S, and the 4 inch would just be a scaled down 6 design. Sadly, Apple will of course want the 4 inch to be a low end model. I'd be happy with the 5S with the internals of a 6S or even an A8 (If Apple continued to update this mid range 4 inch model).
Do you think their are still a lot of people using the 4 and 4s?
I think Apple would make a lot of customers happy if they would just continue to sign the iOS that came with your iPhone. If I could go back to iOS 6 signed by Apple I would get a new battery for my iPhone 5 and I'd be happy probably for a few more years. The only reason I didn't stay on iOS 6 was that Apple scared me with the security problem they said was present in iOS 6. However I'm reading that people are still using iOS 6 and don't hear them having any security issues. I miss getting 7 and 8 hrs on a full charge with iOS 6.
I think Apple would make a lot of customers happy if they would just continue to sign the iOS that came with your iPhone. If I could go back to iOS 6 signed by Apple I would get a new battery for my iPhone 5 and I'd be happy probably for a few more years. The only reason I didn't stay on iOS 6 was that Apple scared me with the security problem they said was present in iOS 6. However I'm reading that people are still using iOS 6 and don't hear them having any security issues. I miss getting 7 and 8 hrs on a full charge with iOS 6.
It would take so little effort to make a 4 inch phone.... So little effort.
So little effort? They have to purchase more parts for reskinning, develop parts for older phones, and mass produce them enough to get into the markets in time. If it's not profitable, then why does Apple need to waste time? The 4" market isn't worth the time seeing as Apple didn't go after it.
So you've got the figures to say it wouldn't be profitable? They just bought out an iPod Touch 6 that has a guaranteed much smaller market than an a 4 inch iPhone. They just need to use the groundwork from the Touch 6 and put an A8 processor into the iPhone 5S casing.
Apple has the resources to easily do this.
From the consumer side, it shouldn't be a big deal to offer the 4" phone. I think Apple has financial reasons if they decide not to. If they drop the smaller phone, they feel it benefits them financially.
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Or perhaps they aren't sure how they want to deal with a 4 inch phone.. whether to maintain it as a premium model or update it say every two years and keep it as a mid range model, and they have tried the latter option for the moment.
Given the news that we now have a new iPod Touch at 4", I find no need for an iPhone 6c. Who needs such a small phone when the 6/6+ are exactly what the market wants? Their replacements are the same size and those will almost certainly be better than what is out there right now.
NOBODY needs/wants/desires a 4" iPhone. What is this, 2012?
NOBODY needs/wants/desires a 4" iPhone. What is this, 2012?
You're wrong, Plenty of people want a 4 inch phone. Look through this thread if you want evidence. Maybe you don't find a need for a 4 inch phone, but since screen size is an opinion based thing, many people do. 4 inches is not a small phone for a lot of people anyway.
Everyone needs to get it in their head that bigger screen size is not automatically an advantage. For many people, 3.5 and 4 inches is more than big enough for comfortable on screen phone usage, in combination with being optimal for 1 handed use. Some people may prefer a bigger screen, but that does not automatically make a better phone. In a survey of iPhone owners last year by a popular tech site, they found 40 percent of iPhone owners did not want a bigger iPhone, and that is a significant number.
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Then why did Apple make (relatively) larger phones with the 6/6+? Simple: people were buying Android phones that were somewhere between 4.5" and 5.5" in size worldwide, especially China. Is Apple really losing market share because they abandoned the 3.5"-4" market? I personally doubt it.
CAN Apple gain a few points by making a 6c at 4"? Perhaps, but Apple prefers having the lion's share of the profits within the smartphone market. I swapped my 3.5" iPhone 4 for a Galaxy S3 because I wanted a larger screen and Apple did not have one at the time (certainly not one larger than 4"). A lot of people agree with me because sales of the 6/6+ have vastly exceeded the 5s/5c from the previous year.
IMHO, the 4" market is now a niche Apple no longer wants to be in. Their sales numbers justify that decision.
They made larger phones because there is a market for larger phones. Simple. That doesn't mean that there isn't a market for smaller phones. The 6 is very popular with android switchers, but there were lower than usual numbers of updaters this time. Most people who like 4 inch phones were and are probably on the 5, 5C and 5S, so very little need to update for the moment, given those phones are still relativity new. The demand for 4 inch phones will go back up when this group starts mass upgrading which will happen soon enough. There are a lot of people waiting for a 4 inch iPhone, or something smaller than the iPhone 6, which for many (including myself) is too big.
Apple could easily make a 4 inch 6S with high profit margins, especially if they price it $50 or so under the 4.7 6S. People who like smaller phones, will do the same as you now. I'll be regrettably going to a different manufacturer unless there is a new 4 inch iPhone in 2015 or 2016 as the iPhone 6 is next to useless for me. Again of course sales for the 6 are big, they grow every year, plus you had big screen lovers coming back across. However just because some people like big screens, not everyone does.
So you are in apple management, and you know they don't want to be in the 4 inch market? Right. I'd say Apple would do well to continue making a small iPhone, even if it is a relative niche. I would suggest based on survey results that 30-40 percent of iPhone users would buy one. I know 5 or so friends of mine bought iPhones FOR the 4 inch screen in the past 2-3 years.