iPhone 5 Cases Suggest a Much Larger Device with a 4" Screen

[yrsued]

Is it just me that can't stand inches and imperial measurements.

Why on earth do we measure things in some weird screwed up Base 12?

Well, Apple is an American Company, for better or worse, we use the system used widely in the US. You can always buy the company and relocate it to the UK.

Personally, I feel the Metric system is better, but introducing it into our society now would fail. Back, over 30 years ago the Metric system was introduced in Puerto Riceo, where I used to live, now, all these years later, they still use both. Why?? Too many generations using the old system, it is a huge mess down there with weights and measures. Didn't work in a country 100 Miles wide by 35 Miles high with under 5 Million people, not going to work here either.

 

[APlotdevice]

3.5" screen or 4" screen, if both are 960x640, there is absolutely nothing to change UI wise or Input wise for developers. It just works. Developers don't make different UIs for the MBA's 13" 1440x900 screen and the MBP's 15" 1440x900 screen.

iPhone = 960x640
iPad = 1024x768
1024 - 960 = 64
768 - 640 = 128

So not a huge difference in pixel resolution. The physical size of the display is far more important when it comes to the UI.

Now while the difference between a 3.5" and a 4" display isn't nearly as great, it still means you can fit more elements. Because the real limiting factor is the input method. Buttons have to be so large and space out so much to interact with them using your finger. The comparison to a MacBook Air doesn't work because those aren't touch driven. A mouse/trackpad and keyboard will work equally well regardless of the display size.

 

[yrsued]

I believe the majority of people (including myself) want a larger screen.

Q few points.

1- A few people on an internet forum DOES NOT constitute a Majority.
2- Most people that own the IPhone don't even know the screen size anyway.
3- Most Importantly, It's Steve Jobs wishes that happen at apple, not the majority of a few members on Internet Forums.

 

[Toe]

C'mon now

I would prefer an iPhone with a much larger screen, like 7" diagonal. And which is much smaller, so it fits in the little coin-pocket of my jeans. And which weighs about 50 grams, so I barely even feel it in my pocket. And which has a quad core i7 and 256 GB of RAM. And which costs $99 and has a $29/month 4G plan for unlimited minutes and data with unlimited free roaming (including international roaming). WTF Apple? Why can't you make this tomorrow?? Apple sux.

 

[Sedrick]

I for one hope they don't go back to the curve (and I don't think they will). Why... well when you lay the 3G or 3GS on a flat surface, like say a desk, and then you go to press the home button, the phone tips up like a flippin' rocking horse! Very annoying.

No one has ever suggested the next iphone would have a round back, not sure where you get that from. Just rounded edges.

For the people that don't want a 4 inch phone.

It's quite simple (and quite obvious). They don't want 4" because Apple as given them 3.5". When Apple gives them 4", they'll want 4". Simple as that. They will not "quit Apple" when 4" comes out. They'll be in line just like they always are. What the hell else would they buy that's 3.5"? Nothing out there these days with 3.5" screens but junk. Everyone has moved on but Apple.

On the other hand, you will see a lot of people 'quit Apple' is they stubbornly stick with 3.5" again.

 

[KnightWRX]

Now while the difference between a 3.5" and a 4" display isn't nearly as great, it still means you can fit more less detailed elements.

Fixed that there for you. It's a complet non-issue, no one is going to bother removing 4-5 pixels from icons to fit another based on physical dimensions. That's just poor planning and waste of ressources.

iPad and iPhone are different form factors. iPhone UIs are based around 480x320 resolution really, they just use much sharper images. The iPad uses the entirety of its pixel counts for UIs.

Really, different design paradigms, can't compare them at all. An iPad UI wouldn't work on an iPhone based on screen size.

A 3.5" and 4.0" iPhone UI would be the same and no one would blink.

I'm not a developer, not even one of the parties in this exchange. However, isn't the original poster on this correct? Namely, that if a developer would like to add an extra button due to the larger screen size, they could?

Your point is that they won't have to, but his is that one could!

If they make them less detailed. Remember folks, you have the same number of pixels if both 3.5" and 4.0" inch screens are 960x640.

Think Android. All those screens at 800x480 and no one bothers making different UIs for negligible changes in inches of the screens. That's because it's completely wrong to start playing with icon dimensions and removing detail to fit more on a wider screen, something you can't know you're displaying on from querying the device.

That's why non developers should not be telling people what the issues are when they aren't issues at all.

 

[DakotaGuy]

It's quite simple (and quite obvious). They don't want 4" because Apple as given them 3.5". When Apple gives them 4", they'll want 4". Simple as that. They will not "quit Apple" when 4" comes out. They'll be in line just like they always are. What the hell else would they buy that's 3.5"? Nothing out there these days with 3.5" screens but junk. Everyone has moved on but Apple.

I completely agree. The only reason bigger screens have been a negative around here is because Apple does not offer one. The minute an iPhone comes out with a larger screen you can bet everyone will quickly forget the 3.5" screen and claim that Apple was so wise to make a larger screen. The only reason anyone has ever tried to say that 3.5" is superior to anything larger is because Apple doesn't currently offer anything larger.

 

[prowlmedia]

Well, Apple is an American Company, for better or worse, we use the system used widely in the US. You can always buy the company and relocate it to the UK.

Personally, I feel the Metric system is better, but introducing it into our society now would fail. Back, over 30 years ago the Metric system was introduced in Puerto Riceo, where I used to live, now, all these years later, they still use both. Why?? Too many generations using the old system, it is a huge mess down there with weights and measures. Didn't work in a country 100 Miles wide by 35 Miles high with under 5 Million people, not going to work here either.

Own a bit of apple - bought in 1997

Well we use both too... You buy petrol in Litres now instead of Gallons but then the Speedometers are in Miles and MPH. Crazy - But probably too expensive to changes all the speed signs around the country.

 

[KnightWRX]

I completely agree. The only reason bigger screens have been a negative around here is because Apple does not offer one. The minute an iPhone comes out with a larger screen you can bet everyone will quickly forget the 3.5" screen and claim that Apple was so wise to make a larger screen. The only reason anyone has ever tried to say that 3.5" is superior to anything larger is because Apple doesn't currently offer anything larger.

Isn't that how it always is ? Remember the iPhone 4 leak ? "Ugly! Apple would never make a phone like this! It's square! It has gaps!".

Then when it came out and the leak was proven legit "Brilliant! Best design yet! Flawless !".

 

[manu chao]

But in a scenario where the resolution is the same, this is a non-issue.

It is a non-issue for app compatibility as I already said said myself. But it still puts the developer into the spot to decide whether to leave everything the same or make those five buttons in one row six buttons because this might make useful functionality easier to access.

Your buttons are based on pixel values, not screen dimension. Your bounding box is related to pixels, not millimeters on the screen.

Well, and how did you decide how many pixels your button should have? Why are your buttons, eg, 60 pixel wide and not 40 pixel wide? Because you set yourself a target that was based on what you could easily touch with your finger (or maybe a set of fingers from a number of people that assisted you in this). And if the pixels had been larger, you might have chosen a 50 px button instead of the 60 pixel button. You did not choose 60 px because it was certain fraction of the screen width but because it corresponded to a physical size you could easily touch with your finger.

You don't. Really. Interface Builder provides scaling automatically.

Sure that works for standard UI elements provided by Apple (and any icons you are happy with to scale automatically). But any icons or UI elements you fine-tuned yourself in a pixel-level editor need adjustment when changing resolution. There are enough app developers on record saying that they maintain their icons in a set of resolutions and that new iOS resolutions (ie, iPhone 4, iPad) required them to create new versions of their icons.

3.5" screen or 4" screen, if both are 960x640, there is absolutely nothing to change UI wise or Input wise for developers. It just works.

Just works does not equal optimal. All iPhone 3G(s) apps just work on the iPhone 4, but adjusting your pixel-level content (icons, background images) to the new resolution does make the app better. Of course, if you have no pixel-level content, that might not apply to you.

Developers don't make different UIs for the MBA's 13" 1440x900 screen and the MBP's 15" 1440x900 screen...

But a lot of people wished they would (eg, finding text or icons too small on the 13" MBA). And the key difference is that on a 3.5" screen space is at such a premium (and thus UI elements and text tends to be quite small and the number of UI element like buttons is really pared down to a minimum set) that trying to optimally use that space, pixel for pixel, is noticeably more important.

 

[KnightWRX]

It is a non-issue for app compatibility as I already said said myself. But it still puts the developer ...

I'm done here. Moving you to ignore, don't bother replying to my posts again. No, my icon sizes are not based on screen dimensions. They are based on the details of the artwork in them and standard sizes (64x64, 48x48, etc...). A few millimeters here or there isn't changing my whole art portfolio to strange sizes (53x53).

 

[manu chao]

It's a complet non-issue, no one is going to bother removing 4-5 pixels from icons to fit another based on physical dimensions.

I can assure you that there are enough developers out there that have that attention to detail. You might not have it and the majority might not have it, but that does not mean no one cares about it.

A 3.5" and 4.0" iPhone UI would be the same and no one would blink.

That is what you with your broad stroke don't get: Attention to detail.

Think Android. All those screens at 800x480 and no one bothers making different UIs for negligible changes in inches of the screens.

Sure, no one bothers because there are so many different resolutions. And that is why those who care about details don't find Android as refined as iOS.

That's why non developers should not be telling people what the issues are when they aren't issues at all.

And that is why one developer, YOU, knows it all, knows how ALL developers feel, knows how ALL users react to given UI. Thank God we have somebody like you who knows everything.

 

[APlotdevice]

Fixed that there for you. It's a complet non-issue, no one is going to bother removing 4-5 pixels from icons to fit another based on physical dimensions. That's just poor planning and waste of ressources.

Who the heck cares if a button is a little bit less sharp because it's smaller? They would still be plenty sharp, while increasing the convenience factor considerably by having more UI elements on screen.

Windows Mobile and Palm OS used comparatively tiny UI elements, even on the early low resolution screens, which was fine because they were designed around stylus input.

 

[manu chao]

I completely agree. The only reason bigger screens have been a negative around here is because Apple does not offer one. The minute an iPhone comes out with a larger screen you can bet everyone will quickly forget the 3.5" screen and claim that Apple was so wise to make a larger screen. The only reason anyone has ever tried to say that 3.5" is superior to anything larger is because Apple doesn't currently offer anything larger.

Did I ever say 3.5" was better than 4"? Not in the recent past as far as I can remember. I simply say consistency has a value (and I am not even saying that consistency will always trump the advantage a larger screen has, I am just saying it is an important factor in this game). Why did Apple not introduce an intermediate resolution (between the original iPhone one and the iPhone 4 one) with the iPhone 3 GS? To allow apps to look almost identical over all versions of the iPhone with minimum developer intervention.

 

[mtbgtr]

How about reviving the curved glass rumors ??

 

[Piggie]

Well, Apple is an American Company, for better or worse, we use the system used widely in the US. You can always buy the company and relocate it to the UK.

Personally, I feel the Metric system is better, but introducing it into our society now would fail. Back, over 30 years ago the Metric system was introduced in Puerto Riceo, where I used to live, now, all these years later, they still use both. Why?? Too many generations using the old system, it is a huge mess down there with weights and measures. Didn't work in a country 100 Miles wide by 35 Miles high with under 5 Million people, not going to work here either.

In the UK we use both systems all the time, some people (older normally) tend to refer to things in feet and inches. Younger people seem to think more in Centimetres etc.

We buy petrol (gas) in litres, but everyone what's to know how many miles per gallon a car does.
Our road signs are all in miles per hour.

Sometimes you buy carpet only in metre widths, but you buy it by the foot of length

To be honest the metric system makes more sense, it's just a pity we did not totally change over and scrap the old system as opposed to keeping both running.

A lot of it has to do with you as a person.
If you say to me you weigh 197 lbs it means very little, if you say you weigh 11 stone 5 lbs then I know how heavy that is.

In the same way if you say you are 183cm tall I have to work that out, if you say I'm 5ft 11" then I know.

On the other hand I know that 30 degrees C is a very hot day for the UK, but I've no idea what 90 degrees Fahrenheit is.

Oh and we also use both the 12 Hour and 24 hour clock together as most understand both systems, unlike the US where I believe the 24 hour clock is not generally used

 

[cdmoore74]

Q few points.

1- A few people on an internet forum DOES NOT constitute a Majority.
2- Most people that own the IPhone don't even know the screen size anyway.
3- Most Importantly, It's Steve Jobs wishes that happen at apple, not the majority of a few members on Internet Forums.

1. But the majority of smartphone users in the US are android users and have voted with their wallets. 4 inch plus screens do sale and you can find them at $0 under 2 year agreements. It proved Steve Jobs wrong last year.
2. That's like saying that people don't understand the size of a TV when shopping for one. I think the majority of people are smart to know 32 inch vs 42 inch vs 50 inch tvs. You can say the same for phones, 3.5 inch vs 4.0 inch vs 4.5 inch. It doesn't take a spec sheet to know the difference.
3. When Steve Jobs dies what's next. Just don't see Steve leaving a magical "Apple for dummies book" laying around for Tim Cook that will be good for years to come. Eventually their going to have to make decisions without Steve. The phone and tablet market will not be the same 5 years from now. If you don't adjust it will be pc vs mac all over again.

 

[oliversl]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; es-es) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8L1 Safari/6533.18.5)

You are looking at an iPod touch 5 case

 

[JMC08]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; es-es) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8L1 Safari/6533.18.5)

You are looking at an iPod touch 5 case

Nope.

And it will feel fine to hold. I can't believe how many people are posting about how it's not going to feel right in your hands. No company would make a phone that feels bad in your hands...that includes Apple.

 

[Judas1]

Well, Apple is an American Company, for better or worse, we use the system used widely in the US. You can always buy the company and relocate it to the UK.

Personally, I feel the Metric system is better, but introducing it into our society now would fail. Back, over 30 years ago the Metric system was introduced in Puerto Riceo, where I used to live, now, all these years later, they still use both. Why?? Too many generations using the old system, it is a huge mess down there with weights and measures. Didn't work in a country 100 Miles wide by 35 Miles high with under 5 Million people, not going to work here either.

There's a kind of a dual system here in the US already, and it kinda works. Scientistists, engineers, and other such professionals use mainly the metric system, while the general public still uses the english system. I studied engineering and we learned both units and was expected to be able to convert between the two seemlessly. It was a pain in the ass for us. The general public on the other hand don't have to worry because they still get everything in the system they're familiar with.

 

[chrmjenkins]

1. But the majority of smartphone users in the US are android users and have voted with their wallets. 4 inch plus screens do sale and you can find them at $0 under 2 year agreements. It proved Steve Jobs wrong last year.
2. That's like saying that people don't understand the size of a TV when shopping for one. I think the majority of people are smart to know 32 inch vs 42 inch vs 50 inch tvs. You can say the same for phones, 3.5 inch vs 4.0 inch vs 4.5 inch. It doesn't take a spec sheet to know the difference.
3. When Steve Jobs dies what's next. Just don't see Steve leaving a magical "Apple for dummies book" laying around for Tim Cook that will be good for years to come. Eventually their going to have to make decisions without Steve. The phone and tablet market will not be the same 5 years from now. If you don't adjust it will be pc vs mac all over again.

And Rubenstein. Palm kept on with the small screens as well. It didn't cause their downfall, but I doubt it helped.

 

[Huntn]

Up to this point I have resisted (currently using a Sprint Incognito), but with the release of the iPhone5, I'm anticipating assimilation.

Ok, which is the best company to go with? Who treats their employees the best??

 

[bigchief]

More and more people are looking into buying a smart phone. Just walk into a carrier store as if you are a first time smart phone buyer and as if you have never owned an iphone. Now start comparing the phones. The iPhone looks puny compared to the other phones. The screen as for as clarity goes is no longer superior. If apple doesn't increase the screen size with the iphone 5 they will start losing market share. Just my two cents.

 

[Huntn]

More and more people are looking into buying a smart phone. Just walk into a carrier store as if you are a first time smart phone buyer and as if you have never owned an iphone. Now start comparing the phones. The iPhone looks puny compared to the other phones. The screen as for as clarity goes is no longer superior. If apple doesn't increase the screen size with the iphone 5 they will start losing market share. Just my two cents.

Aren't the indications that the screen size of the iphone 5 will be increased? There is a sweet spot in size that I think a phone manufacturer does not want to exceed or the phone starts moving towards tablet territory.

 

[Sedrick]

3- Most Importantly, It's Steve Jobs wishes that happen at apple, not the majority of a few members on Internet Forums.

You think with his terminal health issues, Steve Jobs gives a damn about the iPhone screen size? I'd say he has a helluva lot more important things on his mind, like is he even going to live long enough to see the iPhone 5 launch.