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Going from 4" to 4.7", what was your experience?

A

asoksevil

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 7, 2010
483
158
London, UK
I have recently preordered the iPhone 7 but I'm coming from an iPhone 5 and I have been so used to this size that anything larger than that, it kind of scares me. My girlfriend has an iPhone 6s and though I use it occasionally, I still can't find it usable one handed r reaching all diagonals using one hand.

I appreciate the larger keyboard as I make too many mistakes typing and if it weren't because of the auto spelling I don't think I'd get it right.

I've given myself 2 weeks to test it out and if I don't get used to it, I'll get the SE. Better value with the $50 drop.
 
I was afraid of this as well.

You will think it's big the first week, then think nothing of it from there on. Upgrading to 4.7 ended up being my single favorite jump since buying my first iPhone.
 
OT2000 said:
I was afraid of this as well.

You will think it's big the first week, then think nothing of it from there on. Upgrading to 4.7 ended up being my single favorite jump since buying my first iPhone.
Click to expand...

I had no problem going from a iPhone 5 to iPhone 6. The extra size was very easy to get used to and my hands are small.
 
I went from my 5 to the 6 plus and it only took a few hours for me to get used to it. I even went to a store to test the regular 6 after and it felt like them fake kiddie phones so I stuck to the plus. I still type with one hand so it's not an issue for me and I'm a woman and carry one in a purse not my pocket.
 
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It's a very, very easy transition. 4.7 is just as comfortable as 4.

The tough transition is from 4/4.7 to 5.5.
 
The move from 4" to 4.7" was the best smartphone decision i ever made. But i can't think of a smartphone of more than 5" atm. Too clunky even for my big hands.
 
I'd be extremely surprised if you didn't get used to the new size in 2 weeks. I adapted very quickly, and prior to my 6, the 5 was the biggest phone I'd ever used. A lot of people forget about- or just don't use- reachability, but I think it's a crucial feature to the phone size and immensely helpful for one handed operation.
 
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Thanks guys for your reassurance. I totally forgot about reach ability!

I will report later on, after I get my iPhone 7
 
I agree with all of the above posters, switched from 4 to 4.7 was great and very easy. I was worried about it too, when I got my 6. I definitely couldn't go back now. I still think the plus is too big for me but I'm completely happy with the 4.7 size. My coworker still has her 5, and when I mess with it, it does feel very small. I think you'll get used to the new size quickly. It's bigger but not that much bigger, you know. Enjoy your new phone!
 
Disagree with the previous posters. I went from a 5 to a 6, and the 6 never felt right in my hands for the year and a half I owned it. There's a much bigger hit to one-handed operation than you expect. Went back to the SE and am much happier.
 
As others have said, pretty easy transition. I would say that you may hold it differently the first day or so until you get used to it (obviously depending on the size of your hands). Enjoy!
 
I went from a 5 to a 6, kept it for almost two weeks, then returned it for a 5s. I'll stick with the small phones for the foreseeable future. I never did get used to the larger phone. I loved the screen b T it always felt like I was going to drop it and it was impossible to use one-handed. That said, I'm definitely in the minority amongst my friends. 5 of my friends have all moved up to the larger screens and none of them would go back to the small screen.
 
It can be a stretch for the thumb for a while but you will get used to it quickly and the benefits of a larger phone will outweigh the momentary discomfort. I went from a 5s to a 6plus and never looked back!
 
Pug72 said:
You'll be fine.......seriously.

The fun is when you are used to a Plus and someone hands you a 5/S/SE.

Feels like a postage stamp in your hands, feels so dinky.
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It feels like a toy lol

Everyone is different. Some like large phones and some prefer smaller ones. It's difficult to predict how someone will cope with the size increase.

I went from the 3.5 inch iPhone 4 to a 5.3 inch Galaxy note in 2012 and haven't used anything smaller than 5 inches since, apart from a very painful 4 weeks with the 5S in 2014. I like the plus size iPhone. I think even the the 4.7 is too small. I've never considered it for a second.
 
I'm going back to the standard size instead of the Plus and I'm really looking forward to it. I have very small child-sized hands, though. The rest of my immediate family has standard-sized phones (6 and 6s) and I handle their phones and count down the days til Friday afternoon. I won't buy a Plus again.

However, this is the kind of experience that is going to be very subjective. Someone with large hands will find the Plus far easier to use than someone with tiny hands. I'd love a standard phone with the more-capable camera, but I don't expect that any time soon as the camera by necessity takes up a lot of space and there just isn't enough room for it in the smaller casing.

I'm glad to be getting a smaller phone with optical stabilization and a wider aperture as I take a lot of photos of my baby daughter in dim lighting and I have to delete a lot of them because they're out of focus or because she moved and the necessary shutter speed was too long to prevent motion blur.
 
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Buran said:
I'm going back to the standard size instead of the Plus and I'm really looking forward to it. I have very small child-sized hands, though. The rest of my immediate family has standard-sized phones (6 and 6s) and I handle their phones and count down the days til Friday afternoon. I won't buy a Plus again.

However, this is the kind of experience that is going to be very subjective. Someone with large hands will find the Plus far easier to use than someone with tiny hands. I'd love a standard phone with the more-capable camera, but I don't expect that any time soon as the camera by necessity takes up a lot of space and there just isn't enough room for it in the smaller casing.

I'm glad to be getting a smaller phone with optical stabilization and a wider aperture as I take a lot of photos of my baby daughter in dim lighting and I have to delete a lot of them because they're out of focus or because she moved and the necessary shutter speed was too long to prevent motion blur.
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I have small hands but somehow manage to use the plus phones. However I totally get that some people are just more comfortable with a smaller phone.

I've got a 4 month old son and I'm hoping that the camera on the 7 plus is better than it is on my 6S plus as I'm also getting a lot of blurry shots. I had a galaxy S7 edge for a while which I just sold and it was able to take much better photos of my son.
 
During the first one or two days, it felt a bit awkward, but never uncomfortable - and after that, I definitely would not have been able to go back. For me, the 4.7 is just the sweet spot and my iP 5 feels so tiny in comparison.
 
You will be fine and don't forget the double light tap on home button makes your screen going down...

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I went to 4.7 by 2013 with HTC and it took awhile because I was coming from a Nexus One and iPhone which are even shorter than the iPhone 5 series. One M7 is 138mm in height while iPhone 4 is 115mm and Nexus One is 119mm. The 2-2.5cm gap was huge. Took me several months to adjust. Actually it is when I got the Xiaomi at 144mm on height is when the M7 started feeling more compact. I see iPhone SE and just think too small. My thumb has adjused to "4.5-"5 screens for three years now.

Now iPhone 4.7 size is pretty easy to adjust to although my favorite size is where my Moto E2 is at 130mm and 4.5. Why not just get a Plus version but only do it as a two-week tryout? Adjust to its size for a couple weeks. Then go 4.7. That's actually a faster transition than going from 4 to 4.7 directly. Go 5.5 first as a temporary so 4.7 will feel right for you. The sizes for each phone is kinda like going from a small Toyota to a large, Escalade SUV.

Just a matter of time until you get used to their size. Like Allen Iverson once said, it's just practice.
 
I switched back to a iPhone 5s after six month of iPhone 6 usage, mainly because of the following reasons:
TheHungarianGuy said:
I also consider switching to the 5S as well.

I have the 6 since december but still not confident with the size and there are to many cons for me personally. For example: I have enough space in my running gear for the iPhone 5, but not for my iPhone 6, so I bought a cheap armband and later on a more expensive one because the cheap one was uncomfortable while running ... unfortunately, the expensive armband doesn't help.

Due to the size I also always "feel" the phone. Kind of sounds stupid, but with the 5 I could sit down or walk stairs and felt nothing but now every time I sit down I have to take the 6 out of my pocket.

The 5 felt like a companion who was there if I needed it but the 6 fells like reminding me all the time "hey, HEY ... I'm in your pocket!" ... oh an no, I don't have skinny jeans ;)

Additionally, the 6 still feels very slippery in my hands and putting a case on which actually protects it, multiplies the cons.

So all in all I think it also depends on how you use the phone but for my use-cases the 6 doesn't fit.
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Original Thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/anyone-switch-from-6-6-to-a-5s-and-regret-it.1860666/

I'm still use the 5s as my daily driver and will eventually switch to the SE by the time my 5s stops working.
 
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