iPhone 4S almost dead last in Screen-to-body size ratio.

[sulpfiction]

Wow, when they say iPhones are for people that aren't able to think for themselves, they really mean it. Let me help you guys "think" this one out. Look at the title of the graph. Can it get more clear than this? Yikes!

Shewww...taking things a bit too literal, aren't we? Ur the one not thinking. Of course I know what the graph and data represent. But to get upset that iPhone ranks almost dead last is silly. This data means nothing. And I am 100% with the OP saying that iPhone needs a bigger screen and a refresh. But these (most likely android) people look for stupid data where iPhone will rank low and then make graphs to show everyone "look..iPhone ranks almost dead last". Its ridiculous.

 

[iamthedudeman]

Wow, who pissed in your cornflakes?

This graph proves nothing about Apple 'needing' to change their design. Do most of us here hope for such a change? Yes, but this graph proves absolutely nothing other than the fact that there are a lot of phones with bigger screens and smaller bezels AND that screen size means is not relevant to how good a phone is---I see a lot of garbage handsets on that list with 'more efficient use of unused screen real estate', as you put it.

And yes, sales DOES matter because unlike this graph, it actually provides some useful information about the quality of a handset.

Love the iSheep comments--go to rebuttal when someone disagrees with any pro Apple comments on these forums and they have nothing relevant to use in their reply.

Are you serious? You can't be. No one said Apple needed to do anything. What do sales have to do with the size of the bezel or the iPhone not taking efficient use of real estate on the front? last time I checked the iPhone was the only device to run iOS. Do sales of the iPhone make the screen bigger?

Who said screen size or Bezel has anything to do with how good the phone is?
Most of the people who own an iPhone know how good it is that statement has nothing to do with the OP's comments. I love my for 4S but wish it had a bigger screen how hard is that to understand?

The iPhone's sales or how bad other phones are and whatever else has nothing to do with the phone using the amount of real estate on the front.

You're implying that the OP was saying the iphone was bad because it did not maximize the real estate on the front of the device. Or other devices were better because they did. He simply stated that the iphone is not taking advantage of realestate on the front of the device. Plain and simple.

 

[Technarchy]

I don't care.

This benchmark or spec means nothing to me.

 

[PNutts]

What the heck does phone sales have to do with anything? Wow. That in itself is embarrassing.

Quit being isheep. You make us all look bad on these forums. Everything Apple does isn't the best. That 3.5 screen is a travesty. Quit telling yourself it isn't.

The OP offered his opinion, "This is something Apple seriously needs to update.". When I look at current sales numbers my opinion is I disagree. If the OP had stated, "If the iPhone had a larger screen more people might buy it." then I would agree.

When the G SIII is released in the US I expect it to be the best selling phone for awhile. These are all just point-in-time data samples. Nothing worth getting excited about and calling names.

 

[iamthedudeman]

The OP offered his opinion, "This is something Apple seriously needs to update.". When I look at current sales numbers my opinion is I disagree. If the OP had stated, "If the iPhone had a larger screen more people might buy it." then I would agree.

When the G SIII is released in the US I expect it to be the best selling phone for awhile. These are all just point-in-time data samples. Nothing worth getting excited about and calling names.

Who said anything about sales numbers. No one. I could see your point if the OP stated if Apple made more efficient use of the iphones screen real-estate they would sell more phones. Than you would have a point.

iOS sells the iphone, not the hardware. It plays a role but not the main reason people buy iphones. You people seem to miss that fact.

Sales of the iphone have nothing to do with what the OP was talking about.

The iphone has the same exact front as the original from five years ago! Now you mean to tell me that it doesn't need updated?

How do you know they wouldn't sell more iphones if the screen realestate on the front were put to better use? See where this is going?

 

[terraphantm]

I assumed it had to do with how much of the actual front is actually utlized by the screen. That would make sense. I am not sure why they are comparing total surface area then (or why they aren't using surface area as a term at all).

Regardless, I haven't sat down and crunched numbers, but just looking at the front of the iPhone there SEEMS to be a whole lot more excess there than most other competing phones. This is especially glaring in the white version. Would certainly love to see some more of that real estate be utilized.

It cannot be total surface area. There's no way the screen takes up > 50% of the entire surface area on any phone. By my own measurements, the screen takes roughly 58% of the front face's area

 

[cyks]

It cannot be total surface area. There's no way the screen takes up > 50% of the entire surface area.
By my own measurements, the screen takes roughly 58% of the front face's area

No, not total... just front facing surface area.

Your 58% measurement isn't far off from their 55.4% as toted on the graph.

 

[Rennir]

Interesting how when a person is perceived as attacking the iPhone, the go to rebuttal is iPhone sales, despite the fact that the OP never mentioned sales or popularity at all...

 

[cyks]

Interesting how when a person is perceived as attacking the iPhone, the go to rebuttal is iPhone sales, despite the fact that the OP never mentioned sales or popularity at all...

No more interesting how, when a person calls a graph obvious and useless, they're perceived as an iSheep.... despite the fact that is has nothing to do with so-called blind favoritism.

 

[terraphantm]

No more interesting how, when a person calls a graph obvious and useless, they're perceived as an iSheep.... despite the fact that is has nothing to do with so-called blind favoritism.

How is the graph useless?

 

[twigman08]

No more interesting how, when a person calls a graph obvious and useless, they're perceived as an iSheep.... despite the fact that is has nothing to do with so-called blind favoritism.

I agree. We can't even "defend" our phone without us being called iSheep or iLovers.

I could give a damn what phone has the most screen real estate or what phone is first in that graph.

I like the iPhones design. It's not too "heavy" in my mind and I think phones are too thin nowadays. IMO these crazy thin phones are easier to drop, and yes I have held just about any major phone out there and played with it. I used to work at Verizon. I always felt the iPhone was more secure in my hands because I could feel it, because it wasn't crazy thin and crazy light.

Guess what though that makes me an "iSheep" somehow. Fact is, it's just my opinion.

If the new iPhone is thinner and a lot lighter then that's fine. If its good I'll buy it, though I still like the current phones design. I think the thickness and weight is perfect for a phone.

 

[cyks]

How is the graph useless?

As has been stated (a few times), it explains nothing in regards to how the area is used and it strongly favors larger screen sizes... something everyone already knows that the iPhone is lacking in.

 

[Sedrick]

Seems like a pretty legitimate post to me. One of the reasons I hate the Droid 4 and Razr Maxx is because of the huge bezel they have around the screen. Makes the phone appear much too large for the screen it houses. Much like the iPhone, but on a smaller scale. It's not so noticeable on the iPhone, because the overall phone is so small.

 

[Rennir]

No more interesting how, when a person calls a graph obvious and useless, they're perceived as an iSheep.... despite the fact that is has nothing to do with so-called blind favoritism.

Agreed. There are definitely people who are biased on both sides that realize their bias but do nothing in order to minimize it.

The result is pretty obvious, I agree though. I mean comparing the 4S with the S3, the 4S has a larger top and bottom bezel despite the fact that it has a smaller screen, so I expected the 4S to be at the bottom of any of these charts.

By the way, your original argument about the same 1mm thing fails to take into account the extra length and width of the bezels due to increased screen size; since the bigger screen is taller, the bezels on the sides must be longer and since the larger screen is wider, the top and bottom bezels must be longer as well.

I agree. We can't even "defend" our phone without us being called iSheep or iLovers.

I could give a damn what phone has the most screen real estate or what phone is first in that graph.

I like the iPhones design. It's not too "heavy" in my mind and I think phones are too thin nowadays. IMO these crazy thin phones are easier to drop, and yes I have held just about any major phone out there and played with it. I used to work at Verizon. I always felt the iPhone was more secure in my hands because I could feel it, because it wasn't crazy thin and crazy light.

Guess what though that makes me an "iSheep" somehow. Fact is, it's just my opinion.

If the new iPhone is thinner and a lot lighter then that's fine. If its good I'll buy it, though I still like the current phones design. I think the thickness and weight is perfect for a phone.

In my opinion, you're not really defending anything. The mindset of trying to defend the iPhone is what leads people off-track. What should be done instead is to analyze why the OP's original argument is wrong. You shouldn't really have to defend anything

 

[PNutts]

Interesting how when a person is perceived as attacking the iPhone, the go to rebuttal is iPhone sales, despite the fact that the OP never mentioned sales or popularity at all...

Instead of offering my opinion that historically the screen size has been sufficient, I'll simply ask. The OP said, "This is something Apple seriously needs to update." Why does Apple "seriously" need to make the screen bigger?

 

[cfedu]

As has been stated (a few times), it explains nothing in regards to how the area is used and it strongly favors larger screen sizes... something everyone already knows that the iPhone is lacking in.

The graph also favors phones with an aspect ration of the iPhone. A 3.5" square screen would have less bezel than a 3.5" rectangular screen.

Factors that have o be taken into account are, aspect ratio, screen size and the actual size of the bezel.

With your rational it's not fair to compare a 2012 60" Samsung tv with a .5 cm bezel to an old 32" LCD having a 18 cm bezel because they are a different size. Give your head a shake cool aid drinker.

 

[VulchR]

Of course the graph depends on which phone models are included, but the iPhone is about one-and-a-half standard deviations below the mean for this sample. So, while it is not a huge difference in terms of percentage, it does seem to indicate that the iPhone has become rather atypical. Personally, I'd like to see a bigger screen and the retirement of the home button.

 

[Rennir]

Instead of offering my opinion that historically the screen size has been sufficient, I'll simply ask. The OP said, "This is something Apple seriously needs to update." Why does Apple "seriously" need to make the screen bigger?

Because unless you think that every other phone's bezel is disproportional and ugly, then Apple could decrease the bezel a bit, and make the phone even smaller than its current size and not waste that extra space. It isn't just about the screen size. The OP mentions a scenario where Apple maintains the 3.5" screen size. In my opinion, Apple is currently wasting space on the phone with thick top and bottom bezels. I wouldn't find thinner borders to be atrocious on the 4S, but of course, other's may disagree and think that the larger bezels are there because: a) If the 4S was shorter, it would look bad, and therefore unless one increases screen height, the extra bezel is necessary and b) Apple may not have been able to make the screen taller because of maintaining an optimal proportion.

 

[cyks]

By the way, your original argument about the same 1mm thing fails to take into account the extra length and width of the bezels due to increased screen size; since the bigger screen is taller, the bezels on the sides must be longer and since the larger screen is wider, the top and bottom bezels must be longer as well.

Bezels being longer due to increased phone size doesn't effect it nearly enough to compensate.


I'll try to make this easy with exaggerated proportions.


Let's assume all phones have the same exact 1mm bezel surrounding the screen.


Phone A's front is 10 x 10 making it's total area 100mm^2.
Phone A's screen is 9 x 9 making it's total area 81mm^2.
Phone A's bezel takes up 19mm^2 or 19% of the total area.

Phone B's front is 100 x 100 making it's total area 10,000mm^2.
Phone B's screen is 99 x 99 making it's total area 9,801mm^2.
Phone B's bezel takes up 199mm^2 or 1.99% of the total area.

Phone C's front is 1000 x 1000 making it's total area 1,000,000mm^2.
Phone C's screen is 999 x 999 making it's total area 998,001mm^2.
Phone C's bezel takes up 1999mm^2 or 0.199% of the total area.


Bezel size the same = strong favoritism to larger phones.


The iPhone has one of the smallest screens currently available, so it SHOULD be at or towards the bottom of the graph.

With your rational it's not fair to compare a 2012 60" Samsung tv with a .5 cm bezel to an old 32" LCD having a 18 cm bezel because they are a different size. Give your head a shake cool aid drinker.

I never said anything about it being fair, just that what it was showing was obvious and already well known since the iPhone has one of the smallest screens available.

Having to resort to the typical 'cool aid drinker' defense says far more about you than me.

 

[cfedu]

Bezels being longer due to increased phone size doesn't effect it nearly enough to compensate.


I'll try to make this easy with exaggerated proportions.


Let's assume all phones have the same exact 1mm bezel surrounding the screen.


Phone A's front is 10 x 10 making it's total area 100mm^2.
Phone A's screen is 9 x 9 making it's total area 81mm^2.
Phone A's bezel takes up 19mm^2 or 19% of the total area.

Phone B's front is 100 x 100 making it's total area 10,000mm^2.
Phone B's screen is 99 x 99 making it's total area 9,801mm^2.
Phone B's bezel takes up 199mm^2 or 1.99% of the total area.

Phone C's front is 1000 x 1000 making it's total area 1,000,000mm^2.
Phone C's screen is 999 x 999 making it's total area 998,001mm^2.
Phone C's bezel takes up 1999mm^2 or 0.199% of the total area.


Bezel size the same = strong favoritism to larger phones.


The iPhone has one of the smallest screens currently available, so it SHOULD be at or towards the bottom of the graph.






I never said anything about it being fair, just that what it was showing was obvious and already well known since the iPhone has one of the smallest screens available.

Having to resort to the typical 'cool aid drinker' defense says far more about you than me.

You called the graph useless. The iPhone has an aspect ration that favors the iPhone. You example is flawed as your comparing 2 screens withe the same ratio

Most droid phones have a 16:9 apect ratio vs the 3:2 for the iPhone, plus the bezels are not all the same size. You calling it useless based on 1 variable when there are 2 other variable make you a useless cool aid drinker.

 

[cyks]

You called the graph useless. The iPhone has an aspect ration that favors the iPhone. You example is flawed as your comparing 2 screens withe the same ratio

Most droid phones have a 16:9 apect ratio vs the 3:2 for the iPhone, plus the bezels are not all the same size. You calling it useless based on 1 variable when there are 2 other variable make you a useless cool aid drinker.

Personal insults aside, you just proved my point further.

I showed one variable that the graph doesn't take into account and how it makes it useless, you've pointed out a few others.

Once again, the graph is useless.

 

[PsykX]

I’ll make a 50" screen phone, and I’ll be the first and all the other phones will be "dead last" !

 

[F123D]

I’ll make a 50" screen phone, and I’ll be the first and all the other phones will be the last !

Post pictures when you're done making it.

 

[cyks]

I’ll make a 50" screen phone, and I’ll be the first and all the other phones will be "dead last" !

So long as your bezel is a whopping 7" or less you would easily win.

 

[robanga]

I'm so glad i saw this post, thanks

Scores of friends, aquaintences , business contacts, family members, and fellow satarists frequently ask me my advice on buying their next phone. Hands down, the number one thing they ask me about is screen to body size ratio. Its a huge concern for them and probably one of the number one pivot factors on whether they buy an iPhone or something from Apple's competition.

I appreciate someone doing the math for me.

Incidentally, many of them report that when they bring this very important factor up at their local carrier store while out phone shopping, the responses they get from the retail staff are looks of bewilderment, nervousness, attempts at deflection, (hey ...did you see the new Nokia windows phone? its awesome dude!), and generally lacking in proportional knowledge. Kind of a sad commentary on the training of phone store staff...in my opinion anyways.