iPhone's Force Touch Tech May Track Contact Area Instead of Pressure, New 4" Model Unlikely in 2015

[oldmacs]

The 4.7 and 5.5 do satisfy everyone. You people that can't seem to stand an extra centimeter in height and a few millimeters in width make up about 0.00000000000001% of the market. Apple isn't concerned about that.

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You really think you could press hard enough to deflect a piece of sapphire in any measurable amount? Not even close.

You're wrong. Plenty of people want a 4 inch phone. There are plenty of people on here who want a usable one handed phone. The 6 is usless to people.

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Yes. If that is really a big selling point for some users.

Once you go bigger and learn to live with the bigger screen real estate most people will not go back.

Plenty of people don't want oversized phones. IF Apple a ally gave people choice, having a 4,4.7 and a 5.5 iPhone 6, people would buy the 4 inch phone.

looks like I'll be getting a second hand 5S then when that goes switching to a different brand as for me being able to use my phone one handed is paramount for both usability, and not dropping the phone. I don't need sometbing that is too small to be an iPad and too big to be a usable phone.

 

[Allin44]

I bought the original iPhone within the first hour of it going on sale and have upgraded to the latest top of the line model within the first minutes of availability every two years since then, which puts me at a 5S at the moment.

If there is not a 4" or better yet a 3.5" model with top of the line specs in this year's line up, I will skip my regular upgrade for the first time.
The net consensus of all the people I know who have a 6 is that the extra screen size it not worth the extra nuisance of the larger size, which confirms my impressions when checking them out in the store.

Take heed Apple, there is a very large segment of the mobile phone market that wants devices that are as small as practical to get the job done and an especially large segment of the market that wants devices that are easy to operate one handed.

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Pretty much everyone I know who has a 6 hates the size and wishes there was a smaller version available.

I don't believe this for a second. I know 20-30 people that have either the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus, and not one of them have complained about them being too big and wishing they had a smaller phone again. Do these people exist? Yes, but in no way do they even approach the majority. You may know the odd one, but I'm not buying that "pretty much everyone you know" wishes as such. That screams fabricated, inflated hogwash to help justify your personal wishes.

 

[0098386]

I think user will calibrate it on setup. No?
A true pressure sensitive surface seems to me would be a service headache.

Possible, but then you'd have to use the same finger since it's not possible to detect which finger you're using. Or which part of which finger (downwards poke, angled press, etc).

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You're wrong. Plenty of people want a 4 inch phone. There are plenty of people on here who want a usable one handed phone. The 6 is usless to people.

I waited with my 4S for an equal sized phone. Last year I got the 6, but I still keep the 4S for music. It really is the perfect size for me and has a much better design than the 6.

 

[mazz0]

Do you actually use fingers of different size, though? I just used my phone for a few minutes (paying attention to which fingers I used) and I found that I almost exclusively used my thumbs (and the left and right are pretty much the same size as far as I can tell.)

I certainly do - mostly my thumbs, often though I'll hold it in the left hand and do stuff with my right index finger. If it's sitting on the table and I just want to immediately dismiss a notification I'll reach over and do stuff with my middle finger (ooh err) as well.

To be honest though, it wouldn't matter if you don't use different fingers very often - if you do sometimes then that's too much. A new interaction method can't "just work... sometimes".

 

[cvam1985]

Just a few days ago I lost some money in a deal to "downgrade" from the 6 back to the 5S. Totally worth it for me.

I preordered the 6 and got it on launch day. My 5S went to my bf. Within days I had learned to adjust to using the Reachability and really loved the screen. After a while I would hold my old 5S and see it as a dinky little thing that I couldn't imagine using again.

Suddenly a few months ago though I realized how much I missed the smaller form factor, especially for Spotify, which is my most-used app. It's just so much easier to handle and manipulate the phone in every way.

Since being back on the 5S I remembered why I love the iPhone so much. It's so compact and personal. Maybe they are abandoning the form because that competes with what they want to create with the watch ?

If Apple never makes another 4-incher I'm afraid I'll have to stick with the 5S until it is unusable.

PS I tried to get my bf to trade me my old 5S for the 6 and he wanted nothing to do with it - too big for a total technology phobe like him lol. Not all of the masses are obsessed with phablets as it seems at first!