I think the 4-inchers will join the 17" MBP folks in waiting for the return of their favorite device.
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Are Apple planning to release a new 4" iPhone or maybe even update the 5s?
- Thread starter Z3man
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You may well be right, but if i had to take a guess i would say there probably will be a 4" option in the future, probably within the next year.
Not in this particular thread but can you imagine Apple putting out a new phone in the next generation without having the features from at least the last one? And then can you imagine if they did, endless threads about "why am I being punished for having a smaller phone" and "small screen gate".
I think you might be unrealistically optimistic, honestly. Even if you're not expecting a phone with top of the line features, it's pretty clear that Apple doesn't want to devote time/effort into developing a new product for lower level markets - even in the case of the 5c the phone was just repackaged, it wasn't a new device.
Yes i can well imagine that, especially on these forums, but the other 99% of iPhone buyers would just be happy having the choice of 3 different size phones even if the smallest had a few less features, and it would be cheaper to buyers well.
Exactly this. In truth Apple never actually made a new entry level phone, they probably didn't go much further than taking an iPhone 5 and glueing it to a plastic case rather than a metal one, at lower cost to themselves. Design costs were probably minimal in comparison to making a new device.
The mainstream audience want large screens and next years entry level device (the iPhone 6) has large screens at the lowest price. If this weren't true then the market wouldn't already be flooded with large screen devices. There may be some demand for a smaller phone but even still, the R&D costs of said device probably outweigh the projected sales, even with low spec.
But if they were just to add NFC to the 5s and maybe a few small updates, it shouldn't take up to much of their resources, it's not like they would be having to design a new phone from the ground up.
Apple will wait until there's not a single company making a 4" phone, and everyone has forgotten about them, then they'll unveil...
The "iPhone Mini"; a revolutionary new device that brings the world of iOS to even the smallest pocket!
The world will be amazed at how Apple managed to shrink the iPhone down to such an incredibly small size (4"), and applaud their innovation.
The "iPhone Mini"; a revolutionary new device that brings the world of iOS to even the smallest pocket!
The world will be amazed at how Apple managed to shrink the iPhone down to such an incredibly small size (4"), and applaud their innovation.
This is a perfectly relatable and valid point but NFC is the only feature that YOU want, what you're asking for is a device tailored to you because out there somewhere there is a guy who wants the same as you but without NFC, but 3D touch instead, and then another one that wants the 5S but just with a 12mp camera.
They did make a 4" iPod touch with an A8 chip, that is what makes me wonder if we might see a smaller screen iPhone, if they weren't working on the logic board anyway it would have been cheaper to reuse the design from the 6 and pull out the cellular components while increasing the screen size on the touch.
I think if we will see a 4" phone in the near future it will come with the iPhone 7 next year. For now apple can point people who want a small screen to the 5S, but when the 7 comes out the 5S will be discontinued if apple follows their normal pattern so they will need something to replace it. If we don't see one with the 7 it will be quite awhile until we see one again. Probably it will come when some android manufacturer starts to sell a flagship speed device in a small size, is successful, and apple decides to copy them.
Yes people all want different things and you cant please everybody, but it just seems so logical for Apple to want all their phones they currently have on sale to have NFC for obvious reasons like Apple pay, how else are they going to take over the world.
I don't know. I do know that around a month ago I was very vocal about being sick of the size of my 6S Plus and wanting Apple to come out with another iPhone the size of the 5s or even IPhone 4, but with updated features.
Then it came time to choose between the 6s and the 6S Plus. And I decided I couldn't even downsize to the 6S because I would miss the screen resolution on the 6S Plus and the longer battery life and the OIS and some other things I don't recall at the moment. I realized even if Apple did come out now with an updated 4 inch form factor, if it can't match the feature set offered in the phablet, I'm probably stuck with the phablet. It was a depressing epiphany.
I do want it all...long lasting battery life, high res display, OIS and in the smallest form factor possible. It's not happening at the moment. And I have my doubts it will happen next year. I'd guess the 7 will still be too long and wide to be comfortable to hold or pocket, but will be thin enough to slice ham.
Then it came time to choose between the 6s and the 6S Plus. And I decided I couldn't even downsize to the 6S because I would miss the screen resolution on the 6S Plus and the longer battery life and the OIS and some other things I don't recall at the moment. I realized even if Apple did come out now with an updated 4 inch form factor, if it can't match the feature set offered in the phablet, I'm probably stuck with the phablet. It was a depressing epiphany.
I do want it all...long lasting battery life, high res display, OIS and in the smallest form factor possible. It's not happening at the moment. And I have my doubts it will happen next year. I'd guess the 7 will still be too long and wide to be comfortable to hold or pocket, but will be thin enough to slice ham.
My zen moment for the day: everything in fashion is cyclical. Super compact phones will be back. Especially if smart watches don't achieve critical mass of adoption. Might be a year or two, might be 5.
I'm more curious as to Apple's iPhone 7 strategy: will it stay more or less the same size as the iPhone 6 but with smaller bezels all around for a bigger screen or will it be smaller than the iPhone 6 but with the same screen size?
I ended up selling my 5S and sticking with this 6S. I guess I'll just get used to the size jump the more I use it. I would like to see the overall footprint be reduced when the 7 comes out though.
Yes...and no.
One thing is fashion, another thing is progress and technological advancement.
I don't see cassettes, tapes, vinyl, cathode ray tubes or CGA graphic cards coming back anytime soon...
By waiting until everyone has an iPhone 6 or later?... That'll only take about two years.
I tend to disagree, the big phones were big due to inadequate / limited hardware, the objective back then wasn't to build a big phone, the objective was to build a phone which was mobile, and with as many features as possible. Size was simply a technological limitation.
The objective right now is to build a phone with a big screen, this is not a limitation, it's a choice, or at least it's not a limitation in the current incarnation of technology screens...it will be when a new screen technology arrives (e.g. Neuro imaging, sensorial vision, who knows). But then physical size won't be a factor anymore so we won't be talking about big or small as it will not have a real meaning.
I hope I am making sense...
I would hope that by eliminating the home button, which I believe could happen as soon as next year, they will fit the screen size of the current 6 into s smaller physical device. Gotten used to the size now but still can't reach the top left of the screen without reachability
It's a choice based in a current trend that people want to consume content heavily on phone screens. But that is only one form of utility. Small lightweight Devices to provide info and connectivity in the most compact package are just as legit. That's the basis of smart watches. Personally I'll take the small phone. Not wear a watch and watch my tv on a 50" tv.
Funny you should say that, Vinyl has now come back to the point where in some genres it's the primary distribution method, albeit bundled with digital download. I know it's barely relevant but it just goes to show, sometimes people will go back a few years in technology to have the fashionable thing and unfortunately, fashion plays a big role in phone design.
