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jeffreyropp

macrumors member
Jun 23, 2009
69
2
Its all about hand size

There's a pretty large variation in hand sizes. If the standard deviation was small for hand size, everyone would be happy with the same size phone. I'll bet 1/2 of existing owners would jump to the larger size if offered.
 

kobalap

macrumors 6502
Nov 30, 2009
369
2,519
No.... the bigger screen is NOT needed.

I like the current size of the iPhone 5/5c/5s. I also liked the size of the 4/4s. But to be honest, these phones are not easy to use as GPS units in the car because of their size. Its the one use case I can think of where bigger is better.
 

Ieo

macrumors 6502
Jun 17, 2009
251
0
...as long as they keep offering a smaller screen too... not ALL of us want the bigger screen.

Not saying it will happen with iOS, but when the average consumer is given the choice, they tend to go with the bigger screen:

http://www.statista.com/topics/840/smartphones/chart/1396/android-phone-sales-by-screen-size/

Just by being on this website, we've all demonstrated we're not average consumers. The average consumer buys whatever is shiniest without a care in the world for things like hardware specs, etc.

There are a LOT more average consumers than people like us...so naturally, their opinion matters more.

Hate to say it, but the small screen camp is just a vocal minority. Hopefully Apple will throw you a bone and keep a small screen model around, but if large screens sell better with iOS as they do with android, your days may be numbered.

That said...I honestly do not understand the hatred of 5" screens... my iPhone 5 is so narrow, I can hold it and my fingers completely encircle it and then overlap. When I text horizontally, my thumbs take up 1/2 of the screen and only one line of text is visible between the keyboard and the status bar. And forget typing vertically...It's way too narrow for that.

Web browsing is severely limited because the screen is too narrow to load the entire page AND have legible text, and horizontal brings about the keyboard problem.

When I put it in my pocket, it's so narrow it falls to the side, lodging itself at an angle in my pocket both making it difficult to retrieve and uncomfortable.

It's so thin and narrow with un-ergonomic, squared edges that I constantly feel like it's going to slip out of my hands when I don't have a case on it.

I will concede however that i'm 6'2" with gorilla paws for hands. But I do see plenty of dainty-handed women using massive android phones happily. Maybe the people (who have already demonstrated they're dedicated Apple fans just by being here) who hate large screens have never used one for an extended period of time?
 

kobalap

macrumors 6502
Nov 30, 2009
369
2,519
I hope Apple doesnt ever change anything!

I hope Apple never changes anything just for the sake of changing something. That's what they did with iOS and really, they did not come up with something better. Just something different.
 

caliman1

macrumors newbie
Aug 13, 2012
5
0
This is all I need to go all out full front Apple:apple:! Let me get a 4.6+ inch screen and I'll change my android phone!:)
 

dannys1

macrumors 68040
Sep 19, 2007
3,639
6,712
UK
At some stage the extra power available, (due to the above points), will allow you to connect to an external display and use in place of a normal computer.

I never want to do that thanks.

and 7"?? You've got an iPad mini as a phone basically, haha.
 

iSayuSay

macrumors 68040
Feb 6, 2011
3,789
906
...as long as they keep offering a smaller screen too... not ALL of us want the bigger screen.

Exactly. I don't like the trend of bigger phones. Hopefully they keep a smaller version running the same chip and software, unlike Android manufacturers who treat their "mini" products as lower-end.

120% agreed .....

I don't care too much if they come out with a bigger screen - as long as they keep the current screen size that comfortable fits in all my pockets. If I need a bigger screen, I use the iPad mini. But different people have different needs, and there seems to be market for phablets. Maybe they should make a phone enabled iPad mini/air for people with big pockets?

iPhone with bigger screen is not just about big screen, although admittedly bigger screen is more comfortable to the eye. But also battery life. I for one would love a bigger iPhone which TRULY lasts 1 or 2 days in one charge. Be honest, current iPhone battery life is pathetic and I don't want to buy external battery. Look at the iPad! Great battery life in a compact package. But not too compact like a minuscule iPhone.

Keep saying what you want. You're fighting the inevitable.

Nobody wants a bigger iPhone. iPhone 5s is already the perfect size. These rumors are stupid.

Wait I thought 3.5" IS perfect for a phone. It had been the same from 2007 until iPhone 5, remember? .. And now 4" iPhone is the perfect size? Later when Apple released a 5" iphone you'd say it's the bestest most balanced iPhone size ever made. Wow.

In other words, perfect size is whatever Apple sells you next year, I suppose? :rolleyes:

I hope Apple doesnt ever change anything!

In that case you'll be playing with iPhone 2G with not so big 3.5" screen now.
 

69650

Suspended
Mar 23, 2006
3,367
1,876
England
You do know what "pro" stands for, right?

You think "pro" users don't use smartphones? Look at the MBA vrs MBP. The "pro" version has a larger display, faster processor, better graphics, more RAM, etc. They could easily do the same with an iPhone Pro.
 

kobalap

macrumors 6502
Nov 30, 2009
369
2,519
Wait I thought 3.5" IS perfect for a phone. It had been the same from 2007 until iPhone 5, remember? .. And now 4" iPhone is the perfect size? Later when Apple released a 5" iphone you'd say it's the bestest most balanced iPhone size ever made. Wow.

People (in the internet anyway) seem to have an incredibly difficult time distinguishing between provable facts vs. opinions.
 

JGIGS

macrumors 68000
Jan 1, 2008
1,817
2,073
CANADA!
4.5" with a swype style keyboard. Honestly, I like the 4" size quite a bit .. I just want a better keyboard input method.

Use to feel that way but without a case 4.9 is a perfect size.

I'm going caseless with my Nexus 5 and it still feels good with one hand use and fits fine in my pant pockets.

A case might make it too bulky for me though since my hands are on the smaller side. I've never used a case with any phone so it works for me. :D

It's all about minimizing the bezel as much as possible to increase the screen size comfortably. Not sure how apple is going to do that with that huge finger print home button that they invested so much in.
 

69650

Suspended
Mar 23, 2006
3,367
1,876
England
I would prefer:

4" iphone mini
4.7" iphone air
5.5" iphone pro

And please minimize the bezel!

Who knows. I think HTC have the right idea with the One, One Mini and One Max. Matching design in 3 sizes all in colour aluminium.

Maybe Apple will have 2 lines of iPhone - one in aluminium like HTC and one in polycarbonate like Nokia. They could have 3 sizes in each line making 6 iPhones to chose from. The specs would be the same for Mini/Air/Pro just with a different metal or plastic outer shell.
 

iSayuSay

macrumors 68040
Feb 6, 2011
3,789
906
People (in the internet anyway) seem to have an incredibly difficult time distinguishing between provable facts vs. opinions.

Yep .. Opinion is what forums are made for. But having an opinion about one thing and does the exact opposite later is one provable fact. It's called hypocrisy.

You know .. Like saying anything larger than 3.5" phone is bad and few years later all of so sudden 4" is golden. And later 5" is a must have.. :eek::rolleyes:

At least give it a chance. We don't know what it's going to look and feel. It COULD HAVE been a great experience without being so dismissive first.
 

kobalap

macrumors 6502
Nov 30, 2009
369
2,519
At least give it a chance. We don't know what it's going to look and feel. It COULD HAVE been a great experience without being so dismissive first.

We don't know but I am pretty sure Apple knows.

Any company that builds products has to balance various competing requirements. Building an iPhone with a larger screen has consequences that we as consumers might not be aware of. Apple needs to weigh these consequences against the benefits provided by a bigger screen.

You might not agree with Apple's decisions but assuming that the people that design these products are stupid is just plain silly.
 

techwhiz

macrumors 65816
Feb 22, 2010
1,297
1,804
Northern Ca.
The bottom line for me is this.
Rumors or not, I will not buy an iPhone until it has a larger screen, period.

I am an Apple shareholder.
My household has total of five Macs (MacPro, Macbook Pro, Mac Mini, and two 13" MB Air).
We have two iPads and three iPods.

We don't own a single iPhone.
We have three Android phones and unless Apple makes an iPhone with a screen 4.5" or larger, the three phones in my house will continue to be Android.

Wake up Apple, if you want to unseat the Galaxy line, make a bigger screen.
 

clibinarius

macrumors 6502a
Aug 26, 2010
671
70
NY
No.... the bigger screen is NOT needed.

I don't see why the iPhone 5C line can't eventually fill this niche, given the fact that the iPad Mini and iPad Air now are pretty much the same specs...

Don't want a bigger screen? Methinks Apple, based on its historical track record and the fact it is still selling a 3.5" phone will keep some newer phones small. Higher margins, and there is a market.

We don't know but I am pretty sure Apple knows.

Any company that builds products has to balance various competing requirements. Building an iPhone with a larger screen has consequences that we as consumers might not be aware of. Apple needs to weigh these consequences against the benefits provided by a bigger screen.

You might not agree with Apple's decisions but assuming that the people that design these products are stupid is just plain silly.

R&D and inherently lower margins. Larger screens cost more. And you have to do the programming to make them work in the ecosystem. And then you have to secure the contracts to do it, and that may require moving off of LCD to LED by this point given the mobile market-dunno how common 5" LCDs are at the moment anymore-and then figuring out ways around the current problems with LED tech.

Basically, you think that the product might stink because Apple is looking from the consumer's point of view. That balance might also be for making as much money as possible and Apple didn't view a larger phone in their interests until recently-if they even view it as such at the moment. It is just rumor, and we've heard it before (The iPhone 5 instead of the iPhone 4S from years back?)
 
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Cloudsurfer

macrumors 65816
Apr 12, 2007
1,318
373
Netherlands
I for one welcome the larger screen. Been holding out since my iPhone 4 to get that bigger screen, but all we got was a stretch. An iPhone 6 with 5" screen and insanely quick A8 cpu would sound just about right for me:D
 

garylapointe

macrumors 68000
Feb 19, 2006
1,883
1,244
Dearborn (Detroit), MI, USA
...as long as they keep offering a smaller screen too... not ALL of us want the bigger screen.

I don't really want the bigger screen because of ease of carrying it around, but it'd be nice to have the larger screen. I think I'd get a larger once, but I think I'd either be swapping my chip out to a cheaper (smaller!) GSM phone when out running or something.

I'm not sure what I'd do...

Probably wait until the 6s regardless (since I just got the 5s), and then decide....

All the accessories will have dropped in price by then too!

Gary
 
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