iPhone Sizes to Change This Year: What to Know

[Powerbooky]

That's the thing I never understood. I mean I can see why people would say if you can't handle a large iPhone with one hand, use it with both. FINE!
But what about the pockets of our trousers? Fashion industry is still stuck in the year 2000, pockets in trousers are too small for phones and pockets in jackets are too small for tablets. And the pockets are NOT getting bigger! So where the hell do we put plus-sized phones?! It's an honest question, they certainly don't fit standard blue jeans cuts or any suit-type trousers for that matter.

Guess I'll keep my mini for a long long time...

Well, you could get bigger trousers. Some call these "Baggy trousers", "Worker jeans" or "utility pants", but maybe the fashion industry has come up with a new name again.

I'm more concerned about bending and breaking due to the size of the phone. I've seen enough phones with broken glass edges because the owner had it in their back pockets and sat on it.

I think that for a time it’s fair that new tech needs iterations to evolve. But at some point it should settle down, with less need for short life spans. I think smartphones are starting to reach that point. As a comparison, I have had several computers that I used until they were 10 years old (some of them I bought second hand, so I didn’t myself own them 10 years though).

The main problem is the current economic system. Investors and stock markets don't like to "settle down". They always want more and thus demand that the tech industry will only make products that last a limited amount of time to keep sales high. Analyst Victor Lebow remarked in 1955:

"Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption.… We need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate." (source)​

​

There is on going R&D in how to make materials for all kinds of products that will last for a specific limited amount of time. When I was a technical student, it was part of the curriculum studying the use and lifespan of materials (plastics, metals, minerals etc). All to make it cheap and last just enough that the customer keeps coming back.
Also read this little piece written in 1929 by Charles F. Kettering: link

btw... I have the same experience with computers here: when I was a kid my first computer, the Commodore 128, was in active use for 10 years (the machine still works today!). After that I got a decommissioned industrial Intel PC (a very rugged NCR) that I used for 15 years. Initially it ran Windows 3.11 and 95 but of course that junk didn't last long. Afterwards I ran GeoWorks and Linux for a long time on it. Wasted some money on two new Windows PC which all broke down within 1-2 years. Then I got Macintosh around 2000, and all Mac's I bought up to today have been in use for 10 years (or more) each.

Ah, missing Nokia phones. Man, you could drive a tank on that thing and it wouldn’t have a scratch on it.

Personally, I think the current size is a bit too big for me. I miss the 5s. Best iPhone there ever was.

Indeed... and... these Nokia's could be used on one charge for up to two weeks! Try that with current smartphones. Once I did a road trip in California and I didn't have to recharge my Nokia 6310i for more than a week. That was one of the reasons why I didn't buy an iPhone up to early 2017: no mandatory daily recharge. When Nokia started to go "smart" too with Symbian and stuff, it went downhill. My last Nokia (E50) wasn't that rugged and didn't last more than 2-3 days on one charge.
Those early non-smart Nokia's were tough. You could drop these things so many times and still kept on working like a horse. But not unbreakable as I found out. One day I stepped out of my car and the thing fell out of my pocket about 15 inches to the ground. Not that high and it did land on soft ground... but... the glass on the LCD display circuitboard inside the phone had cracked. On the outside case, nothing! Weird. Fortunately I could repair it for a couple of bucks as there were plenty spare parts available online.

 

[Uncle Shadoe]

Some people don’t know that Apple’s magnetic chargers can deactivate ICDs and other medical devices and life sustaining equipment. The bigger they are, the more risky they are! So, it’s actually scary to see larger devices with this technology. And I hope Apple will continue to offer devices that don’t include magnetic chargers, such as the iPhone SE. Apple should make a public statement that express a commitment to always offer devices that are safer for ICDs. For now, I suggest Apple customers with ICDs should hold on to their iPhone SE.

 

[ric22]

Some people don’t know that Apple’s magnetic chargers can deactivate ICDs and other medical devices and life sustaining equipment. The bigger they are, the more risky they are! So, it’s actually scary to see larger devices with this technology. And I hope Apple will continue to offer devices that don’t include magnetic chargers, such as the iPhone SE. Apple should make a public statement that express a commitment to always offer devices that are safer for ICDs. For now, I suggest Apple customers with ICDs should hold on to their iPhone SE.

With pacemaker simply flip the iPhone

Apple recommends keeping the iPhone 12 and 13 at least 15 centimeters away from pacemakers, raising safety concerns among people with implanted medical devices. A study conducted by Thoralf Niendorf’s lab at the MDC, along with researchers from Charité, shows these fears are unfounded.

www.mdc-berlin.de

They'll be fine. Forgot 15cm distance, that's just Apple being overly cautious- testing showed at 17mm was the real cutoff point. Which means with the current Qi2/MagSafe standard there's no safety issue posed by the phones themselves.

Edit: As for accessories, I can't judge, as the Qi standards people hide the tech specs behind a pay wall, so I don't know if there's limits to how powerful the magnets in accessories are allowed to be, or just minimums they must conform too. Similarly, as far as safety goes, I don't know if minimum thermal thresholds and wiring standards are also stipulated. One would hope so...

 

[rembert]

Wake me up when Apple starts shrinking the iPhone sizes. Until then I’ll stick with my 13-mini or eventually jump ship to another brand of phones, which would be my first step to leave the Apple ecosphere. Might be a healthy step though.

 

[jlc1978]

But if you look at reports for the iPhone Plus, it wasn't as big a hit as Apple had expected compared to the iPhone mini

True, but the 13, even at $100, outsold the mini. Would a 14 Mini have outsold the 14 Plus? Or would people who wanted at larger phone but not at the Pro Max price point settled for a 14?

 

[jlc1978]

Well why do you think clothing stores keep all the sizes XXS, XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL, etc. in stock?

And why do you think shoes come in different sizes? There is really no one size fits all.

True, but there is a point where keeping an item in stock isn't worth the marginal revenue it will produce. Your examples are of products that are not manufacturer specific and if one store doesn't have them you go to another. So stores stock a broader line of sizes. And some don't stock sizes that sell poorly because the cost of stocking them eats into profit.

Phones are a bit different. If you want an iPhone you're stuck with Apple's offerings. If enough customers buy a larger iPhone becasue they can't get a mini but want an iPhone, it is more profitable to stop selling the mini and focus on larger phones.

A company does not have to meet all customers' wants at the expense of profit margin. Sometimes it is better to forgo some products to maintain margins and revenue.

 

[I7guy]

Wake me up when Apple starts shrinking the iPhone sizes. Until then I’ll stick with my 13-mini or eventually jump ship to another brand of phones, which would be my first step to leave the Apple ecosphere. Might be a healthy step though.

Might as well start looking; Apple doesn’t seem to be in any rush to offer smaller phones.

 

[I7guy]

...

Apple has a billion customers. There is no keeping 100% of them happy 100% of the time. That’s a fools errand. Apples financials tell the story. MR posters do not.

That said, apple has managed to have happy customers with good margins.

 

[ProfessionalFan]

I find my iPhone 15 Pro Max still too small,

Are you a giant?

 

[sers]

I can see why Apple is going bigger. People more and more watch movies, shows, play games on their iPhones, so it only makes sense for Apple to go this way. iPhones have essentially become content consumption devices. More content consumption = selling more services, etc. It's all bout $$$$$ for sure. But this is what laptops, iPads and large screen TVs are for. For me, a phone should be as portable and easy to use as possible with one hand, but I guess the majority don't think the way I do!! I'm still using my 2016 iPhone SE and am trying my best to keep it going. I've replaced the battery twice. The screen is looking a bit tired with yellowing around the edges. I suspect software support will slowly dwindle away as more and more apps won't support iOS 15. I tried the XR, 12 and recently the 14 but just can't get used to the weight and size of these behemoths. However, I've noticed with the 12 and 14 how addictive the OLED screens are. Any chance I had, I would "use" the phone just so I can look at the screen, even when I didn't need to. It was like I got a shot of dopamine every time I used it. I can understand why people like to watch movies and play games on their phones. It's addictive, for sure. But ultimately, portability, size and one handed use is what's most important to me.

I'm hoping to get at least another year on my SE, maybe 2. When that dies, I'll probably go for a used iPhone mini and replace the battery on that (or an SE 3). I'm not married to Apple either, so I could jump to Android if necessary. The Asus Zenfone 10 got good reviews and the size seems decent. We'll see.

 

[we8me]

I'll continue to be a fan of the smaller phone... I want it to be as lightweight as possible to keep in my pocket. I'll use my iPad when I want to do any heavier lifting, and my iMac for even heavier lifting. I for one would love a iPhone Mini Pro!

 

[Iwavvns]

I am needing to upgrade my aging iphone 12 pro max, with its battery life now down to 87%. I like to go for the 16 pro max, with a slightly bigger and brighter display.

But i hate the dynamic island and prefer the notch as its less visable. Also I doubt my battery can hang on till 2025 for the iphone 17 pro max.

Decisions Decisions!

I’m going to need to update my iPhone 13 soon. However, I hate that stupid dynamic island, it’s nothing more than a distraction and annoyance.. it’s like having a cartoon on my home screen. Apple really needs to stop adding things that attempt to grab our attention at any moment.

Is there a way to turn the dynamic island off completely? Or, is there a recent iPhone model, a version of the iPhone 15 perhaps, that does not have that silly dynamic island?

 

[MisterMillz]

I’m all for this. I always say my ideal screen size is 6.2-6.4”. Hopefully that increase in space is used for some additional battery capacity and not just camera hardware. Would be my Goldilocks.

I also think it’d be cool if they shrunk the lineup to 3. Something like:

iPhone 16: 5.7”
iPhone 16P: 6.3”
iPhone 16PM: 6.9”

That way people who desire smaller phones can get something a bit more compact.

 

[Apple Fan 2008]

They're changing the sizes again?!

 

[segfaultdotorg]

Super stoked to get my yearly upgrade from my 15 pro max to the bigger 16 pro max 👍

Yeah, you are winning bigly with that, hoss!

 

[schlackattack]

Still waiting on a new Mini sized iPhone, as my 12 Mini passes the three year mark. I thought I'd be buying a new phone by now, but instead I spent $100 to replace the battery, because there's no Mini option. Still appalled at the size of the current phones.

 

[schlackattack]

They're already too big! Stop it.
Some of us just want a pro mini...

Me: I can't buy an iPhone because they're gigantic.

Apple: Let's make them even bigger!!

 

[jozero]

iPad mini 1 display size: 7.9 inches
iPhone 16 Pro Max display: 6.9 inches

!! remarkable. Super curious if PDFs will be legible at the 6.9 size

 

[Velli]

The main problem is the current economic system. Investors and stock markets don't like to "settle down". They always want more and thus demand that the tech industry will only make products that last a limited amount of time to keep sales high. Analyst Victor Lebow remarked in 1955:

"Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption.… We need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate." (source)​

Exactly. We buy things to try to sustain an unsustainable way of living, rather than buy things we need.

 

[Turbonow]

Please don’t make it taller, enough of it... Though it can be a little wider to accommodate the pentaprism lens.

A truly rounded shape like last we saw with iPhone 11 series would be welcome back with 16, while 12 to 15 looks somewhat crude. At least, rear side can be made rounded as keeping front the same. We saw this hybrid approach on 5c models once.

As last resort, battery can be made about 10% smaller in order to gain space. Not everybody is an avid gamer. Batteries are far too good most users, and some compromise may be accepted for the sake of a smaller shape.

 

[Supermacguy]

I would prefer they reduce size by 5mm not increase. The normal/Pro size is already big enough as it is, and when you add a case protector that grows even more. And my shirt and pants pockets can't be enlarged, nor my thumb-reach.

 

[Bobdigi76]

I’m a sucker for big screens but maybe i can switch from a max size to a regular pro, 6.3 seems like a nice in between size…

Agreed.

 

[MrCrowbar]

All the nerdy people I know hold on to their mini iPhones because they don't want a bigger one. Just whip out the laptop for badly made websites.

The XR I got from work is so top-heavy and generally large that I really need to hold it with 2 hands, might as well just hang an iPad mini from a lanyard around my neck.

Honestly the 13 mini with a battery case is pretty fantastic. The extra thickness is actually kinda nice.

 

[cecil444]

BRING BACK THE MINI.

These screens just keep getting bigger and bigger! Why can’t Apple just keep one smaller screen option?!

 

[Azathoth123]

I don’t doubt that Apple makes what people want to buy, and they spend a lot of money to know that.

It’s hard to argue that keeping a mini-size phone in the regular lineup might not be the best return for investment given overall customer preferences. However , maybe I have a solution. iPhones are well made and durable, so why doesn’t Apple offer the mini say, every 3 years and let it be known that they’ll do this.

Mini fans can get their fix on a regular basis if not every year, and get new features and OS along with the rest of the ‘big’ crowd. After 3 years there will maybe be enough pent up demand to justify a ‘mini run’.