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I hope new 4" iPhone will get Aluminium Body and not this Plastic Body.

We don't need low cost iPhones we need small sized Smartphone that fits every pocket, use with one hand and energy saving Display and 14nm CPU.
 
The only way a 4" iPhone comes out would be with the 6c, but even that is pretty unlikely. Like it or not, the 6 series have sold more iPhones than any other series in Apple's history by a long shot.

People seem to like bigger phones, so I doubt you will see anything below 4.7" from now on.
 
The only way a 4" iPhone comes out would be with the 6c, but even that is pretty unlikely. Like it or not, the 6 series have sold more iPhones than any other series in Apple's history by a long shot.

People seem to like bigger phones, so I doubt you will see anything below 4.7" from now on.

OH NO please not. 4" is so cute :) i like it when i feel it in my hand.

Iphone 6 and 6Plus is like a monster in my hand.
 
This report (at least the quote and the image; I don't see a link to it) makes no sense.

A.) Capacitive "force-touch" by contact area? You mean normal multi-touch? (as others have pointed out)

B.) "Transparent force touch sensor"? Force touch (for the watch at least) has sensors around the EDGE of the screen. They even say this in watch video (albeit with a misleading graphic). There is no layer that needs to be transparent. The watch sapphire does not bend, obviously. How do people, especially analysts, not understand this yet? It's actually very old tech (think annoying ATM touch screens).

C.) Force touch is an integral part of the UI of WatchOS. If they plan to integrate it into iOS, would they really want to further saturate the non-force-touch hardware base? The longer the hardware is fractured, the less they can do with hardware-dependent UI. UPDATE: I should clarify that making force-touch exclusive to the Plus was actually from the previous article about the TechNews Taiwan report, not this Ming-Chi Kuo report. But that also doesn't make sense :)
 
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Think about it for a while . . .

Whoa there Mr.Snarky.
I run a game studio, I'm pretty familiar with technology . . . I'll be interested to see you expand your method, and how you're going to get around different sized digits from the same users (using an index finger over a thumb, for example).

If you remember your calculus, you could easily also come up with an algorithm to measure the intentional change in contact area. It first requires a little research to find out how many people touch and what changes occur when they want to 'force touch'. I bet you are capable of it with the credentials you have. Try it and you can provide a software method for all Macs with touch pads and all iPhones and iPads. Don't forget to include time in your algorithm. Consider the time when the intent is formed and the action is initiated when you are calculating lag time for the program to interpret and respond to the intent.
 
This is funny, as it's exactly the idea I had years ago.

I thought to myself, when people talked about pressure sensitivity.

If you touch something lightly, then there is only a small amount of your skin on the screen, but if you press harder, you skin flattens out and the area in contact is much larger.

As I say, I had this thought literally years ago and did wonder why it was never used by anyone.
 
I think it would be smart for Apple to keep a high-end 4" phone in their product lineup. I personally think the 4.7" iPhone 6 is perfect for me, but I can see how a 5/5S size phone would be better for many people. Even if they kept the same form factor as the 5S to save on design/manufacturing costs, I would like to see them keep upgrading the internals to match the latest iPhone generation. Just gives people who prefer a 4" phone one less reason to switch from iPhone.
 
... A phone's primary purpose is determined by the user. Use the right tool for the right job.
Fixed that for ya.;)

If all you care about is screen size, you might as well just carry around an iPad. Or maybe a Cinema Display? More practical, right?

Hyperbole doesn't help make your point. I mean, why not carry around an IMAX theater screen?:rolleyes: A larger screen is but one consideration when making a phone choice. How important that consideration is, again, is determined by the user. It's the same for someone wanting a smaller phone.

Not really complete 'hogwash' since sales of the 6/6plus are so high and would suggest that the 4" might not be as popular.

Correlation doesn't work that way. You would have to look at total sales of phones categorized by size to come close to making that assessment. The last chart I saw suggested 4" phones were still sold in higher volume than larger phones. Larger phones may indeed have passed smaller phones in sales volume (I don't know that to be true or not) which would make the result of what you stated true. Just not what you stated.
 
I think there's a huge market for 4 inch. Apple didn't release 4 inch as they already were selling 5C, 5S. By year end both will be phased out and replaced with 6C or whatever they may call.
 
I might go for the 5.5" this time around, because with my Apple Watch, I won't need to keep my phone in the front shirt pocket any more. I can use the pants pocket because I won't be pulling it out for a peek at every notification etc.
 
Sorry 4"ers, the market has spoken.

It was underestimated how many people sucked at using a computer, so the 4" phone was too small for a primary device. Also, the uninformed public just sees "bigger is better".

Why do you think so many people have android phones, where big size, and harrowing specs are the primary advertising points?
 
Area vs pressure

I'm not so sure he's right about contact area, though it's hard to tell. The demo during Apple's showing of the trackpad had a stylus writing with a calligraphic style. While rubber styluses do spread when pressed harder, that doesn't automatically mean that that's the method being used for pressure.
 
Completely unrelated, but I can tell you're a Smash fan, and I think we should play.

Yes, we should! And yes, I'm a big fan :D I've been posting my amiibo purchases on the Latest Purchases thread actually haha.
 
It's rumors like this that make me really miss TUAW's "Rumor Roundup."

It'll be called the 6S and 6S plus, c'mon people.
 
I'd be willing to bet Apple wants to get away from the s designation now that Samsung is on a device that would again cause potential confusion.
 
Pure hogwash. How is a giant phone that's difficult to get a good grip on at all practical? A phone's primary purpose is to be a mobile device for on-the-go use. Use the right tool for the right job.

If all you care about is screen size, you might as well just carry around an iPad. Or maybe a Cinema Display? More practical, right? After all, everyone drives around tractor-trailers because they're more practical.

If you want something that is on the go, then just use a flip phone. Those are really portable and small.
 
Why don't they just skip ahead to the proper generation number and call it the iPhone 9? It'll have an A9 chip after all...

It does start to get ridiculous with the naming once you have multiple iPhone models.

Can somebody in marketing explain to me why companies love to confuse customers with their product model names?
 
4 inches is just too small for a smartphone. There is a reason why 4.7 and up is the standard now. Because it is more practical. I don't Apple is going about 4 inches. With the iPhone 6 and 6+ success, there is no going back to smaller phones.

It's the perfect size, because it can be used with one hand. 4.7 and up is the standard because android phone makers have crippled their smaller devices so you have to get used to it if you want a high end phone.
 
It seems like it could easily calibrate it without you noticing.

"Oh, I see lots of small touches - you probably have small fingers. A bigger touch - that's a force touch!"

"Lots of big touches - you have big fingers. A touch even bigger still - that's a force touch!"

The only caveat I can think of is it would have to be assumed that the first several touches were normal touches. So you could screw it up by always pressing as hard as you can.

My fingers are different sizes from each other.

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4 inches is just too small for a smartphone.

Four inches is a perfectly good size! Oh, right, for a smart phone... :eek:
 
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