Nearly One-Third of iPhone Users Still Have 4-Inch Screens

[toddzrx]

I get to inherit my wife's iphone every 2 years when we buy a new "S" model for her; so I started with a 3GS, to a 4S, to a 5S last fall when we got a 6S for my wife. I would not call the 5S's tech specs "outdated": the only feature it could use to future-proof it is Apple Pay. The 5S was a significant upgrade from the 4S: the fingerprint sensor is gold, the extra screen size is nice to have (but still easily used in one hand), and in general the phone is much more responsive.

 

[Rogifan]

Maybe the price is a reason lots of people still use 4" iPhones, Apple's iPhone 6(s)-(Plus) are just too expensive, I certainly will not buy a 6-6S nor a Plus even though I easily can afford them.

So the 5 and 5S weren't too expensive but the 6S is?

 

[Westside guy]

Anecdotal evidence doesn't mean much, but I know several people who still have an iPhone 4/4S or an iPhone 5S/C because the "iPhone 6 is too big."

My wife is one of them. She has even asked me to look for 4" Android phones, should her iPhone 5 die. She wants a small phone she can operate completely and easily with one hand.

I have the 6 Plus, which she thinks is ridiculously big.

 

[Traverse]

My wife is one of them. She has even asked me to look for 4" Android phones, should her iPhone 5 die. She wants a small phone she can operate completely and easily with one hand.

I have the 6 Plus, which she thinks is ridiculously big.

The 5S is pretty cheap and is "twice as fast" as her 5. If she's heavily invested in Apple's ecosystem the might be worth it over an android device.

 

[BlandUsername]

Usage cases, people, usage cases. The small phone is perceived as a phone first, app platform second. The larger phone is an app platform doubling as a phone. For those of us on the go, larger is not better, an 11' air provide all the size when you need it. The phone is the hotspot, not the tool. I would bet most small phone users utilize them in some form or fashion in this way.

 

[WaxedJacket]

I really don't want anything bigger than the 5.

 

[toddzrx]

The latest data from Mixpanel shows that approximately 32.22% of active iPhone users still have a 4-inch screen. That is the same screen size as the so-called "iPhone 5se" that Apple is expected to announce at its rumored March 15 event.

In the company's latest earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that 60 percent of older-generation iPhone users have yet to upgrade to the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, or iPhone 6s Plus.

These two quotes from the article tell me that most of the iPhone 6 and 6S sales are conquest sales from Andriod, or sales to customers that have never had a smart phone before. As time goes on, and iPhones get more capable, I think the upgrade cycle will get longer and iPhone sales will level off. Maybe we're already seeing evidence of that in the last month?

 

[StevenPG]

This is why I see Apple having a good 2016. When they put out the iPhone 6se it will give the people that do not want a bigger screen a reason to upgrade their phones. Faster processor. Better camera. Apple Pay. "Hey Siri". All good reasons to upgrade.

 

[Michael Scrip]

I never felt the jump from 4S -> 5 was that massive.

You're right... it wasn't a big jump. It was more of a move to the 16:9 aspect ratio while keeping the phone the same general width.

Apple's first four iPhones had a 3:2 aspect ratio... but every phone since then has a 16:9 aspect ratio.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I think the new 4" Device going to kill 6s sales.

I was one of those during the iPhone 6/6+ size rumors that was adamant that anything bigger than a 4" was silly big. But being as I always upgrade every two years I braced myself and jumped in the iPhone 6 pool. Now I could never go back. The 4.7" screen is quite comfortable even w/ my tiny hands. And love the extra real estate. I'm not alone here.

My point is I don't think too many 6/6s users are going to migrate back to a 4". A new 4" won't eat into 4.7" iPhones. They'll live together just like S,M,L pizzas on a menu.

 

[coolfactor]

"STILL" have?

What's wrong with a 4" inch screen? I have a 3.5" screen and it's perfect for me.

 

[ahireasu]

I still use a 5s and i was all in for a bigger screen for many years,... but not with this bezels even to this day apple has one of the worst ratio in screen/bezels.

In a 5s they could easily put a 4.3" screen they never did it, the dimensions of the iPhone 6/6s can easily fit a 5" screen etc. it's really embarrassing the incompetence apple has shown so far in the mobile phone front.

I still remember some words in this lines "to make a big phone and put all the latest tech in it is easy, but to make a small phone with the best tech" well now apple is making big phones,actually bigger than any competitor but they fail to give what the others give aka bigger battery life in a smaller factor than any iPhone has now, to me this is the biggest failure from apple on mobile phones,the same apple that i admire for more than a decade for giving us when no one else could great design lite weight and great battery performance in laptops (and they still do) but on phones????
No matter how much someone loves apple he can't say that what apple is doing to herself and to their costumers isn't un-apple,the obsession with thinness not only in the iPhones but also to the iMac is hurting us and them, small battery life on iPhone and giving us a battery case that makes the iPhone look like Quasimodo, HDD at 5400 on iMacs, shouldered ram?I still remember how proud Steve was when he introduced the iMac with the HDD running at 7200,apple is doing back steps after his death and i am sad.

 

[CmdrLaForge]

Maybe the price is a reason lots of people still use 4" iPhones, Apple's iPhone 6(s)-(Plus) are just too expensive, I certainly will not buy a 6-6S nor a Plus even though I easily can afford them.

Thanks. That's exactly the reason. An iPhone 6S would cost me 854€ just the phone, plus case and dock I am beyond 900€ and for what? Force touching the phone? Sorry for that money I find better things to buy.

 

[samcraig]

Not sure what we can read into this. For some people if their phone is good enough they may not see a need to upgrade. I'm highly skeptical 1/3 if the iPhone install base hasn't upgraded because the screen sizes are too big. Some yes. But not 1/3.

This. There could be several reasons.

Also - I don't think the "5SE" will be a hot seller unless it really is a smaller screened version of the latest tech. If it's just an upgrade from the current smaller phone - I imagine most will opt to upgrade to the 6S/iPhone 7

 

[CmdrLaForge]

So the 5 and 5S weren't too expensive but the 6S is?

No the cost for the delta is to high. What could I do with the phone that I cannot with my 5? And yes I do know all the specs.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Maybe the price is a reason lots of people still use 4" iPhones, Apple's iPhone 6(s)-(Plus) are just too expensive, I certainly will not buy a 6-6S nor a Plus even though I easily can afford them.

The iPhone has had the same price for many years. The current model starts at $650... or $199 down on a contract.

If someone is still in love with their 4" iPhone 5S... it once cost the same as an iPhone 6S today, remember?

So I'm not seeing how iPhones are "too expensive"

 

[justperry]

So the 5 and 5S weren't too expensive but the 6S is?

Where did I say that, the 5S is around 500 Euro now.

 

[GoodWheaties]

Some people on this forum says that 4" is too big and want a 3.5" phone. I never felt the jump from 4S -> 5 was that massive.

Yup. When I first held a 5 I thought, "This is great, more screen and I can still reach everything". The first time I held a 6 I thought, "This sucks, it's too wide and I can't reach everything (with one hand)".

 

[ProjectManager101]

I have a 5, fully upgraded, still looks like new. No need to switch.

 

[BlandUsername]

The iPhone has had the same price for many years. The current model starts at $650... or $199 down on a contract.

If someone is still in love with their 4" iPhone 5S... it once cost the same as an iPhone 6S today.

So I'm not seeing how iPhones are "too expensive"

So, so so true. When has price really driven the apple cart? On the fringes, the small percentages, yes, price comes into play, but I firmly believe it has more to do with other factors. If price was the main issue, would not everyone be rushing to use the new Phone purchase plans?
I dont know any hard numbers there, But you don't seem to hear that Apple is crushing it with that plan now.

 

[a0me]

I still use my iPhone 5 as well. My wife uses an iPhone 4S. They do all we need. Not sure what I could do with an iPhone 6? Force Touch it? Not worth the cost...

Apple Pay, 128GB, twice the RAM, and of course better Touch ID, better cameras, faster LTE, better battery, and so on. I also wish there still was a 3"5 or 4" option but I won't deny that this year's model can do a lot more than that of a few years ago.

 

[saxon48]

Has the rumor mill at all mentioned the revamped Touch ID sensor found in the 6S/6S+ coming to the 5"se"?

 

[igorsky]

Thanks. That's exactly the reason. An iPhone 6S would cost me 854€ just the phone, plus case and dock I am beyond 900€ and for what? Force touching the phone? Sorry for that money I find better things to buy.

My iPhone is something that I use every day, without fail. I use it for leisure, I use it for work. My laptop has become a niche device thanks to my phone. I'm going to assume that your use case doesn't stray far from mine. That's not worth $950 to you? It's a no-brainer for me.

 

[avanpelt]

Perhaps they will make only one capacity of the new 4" phone -- 32 GB. Also, maybe it will only have 1 GB of RAM and perhaps the A8 chip. That makes some sense especially if they sell it at the $500 pricepoint. If you want the bigger screen (6S), you'll have to pay a $150 premium for that and it will have more RAM and the A9 chip but it will have smaller capacity in the base model -- 16 GB.

This is not unlike what Apple has traditionally done with Mac pricepoints. You can buy a 13" MacBook Pro with a 512 GB SSD and 8 GB of RAM for $200 less than a 15" MacBook Pro with a faster processor, 16 GB of RAM, and a 256 GB SSD.

 

[justperry]

The iPhone has had the same price for many years. The current model starts at $650... or $199 down on a contract.

If someone is still in love with their 4" iPhone 5S... it once cost the same as an iPhone 6S today, remember?

So I'm not seeing how iPhones are "too expensive"

No it is not the same price as before, here in Europe prices for new iPhones have gone up considerably.