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

[0007776]

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.

I'm one of the ones that would prefer 3.5" phone, but that is more because I like the aspect ratio better. I'd be ok with a 4" as well if Apple is willing to do it with flagship specs.
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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.

I would beleive it. I know it's anecdotal evidence, but most of the people that I know who upgraded either did so because their 5S broke or they switched from android.

 

[TroyBoy30]

poor suckers

 

[sracer]

I'm not sure they want to give up the top and bottom symmetry and they need the bottom bezel for Touch ID, at least for now.

Probably so.

I have a Sharp Aquos Crystal... 5" Android phone with no bezels on 3 sides. I prefer a 4" screen on a traditional smartphone, but the lack of bezels makes the larger screen acceptable... and enjoyable.

 

[nottorp]

Probably so.
I have a Sharp Aquos Crystal... 5" Android phone with no bezels on 3 sides. I prefer a 4" screen on a traditional smartphone, but the lack of bezels makes the larger screen acceptable... and enjoyable.

Any problems with accidental touches when you meant to be holding the phone?

 

[OllyW]

33% of Apple's users prefer not to get a phone with a decent sized screen on it.

Apple really does have the largest share of people who don't care and know nothing about technology. Not only that, but they're stubborn and resistant to change, which is a huge pet peeve for me in society.

Perhaps they are just applying common sense and using the product that suits their needs and usage better than the alternatives on offer.

 

[American Hero]

Perhaps they are just applying common sense and using the product that suits their needs and usage better than the alternatives on offer.

The argument I have against this though, is that everyone thinks the current product suits their needs, even though something else may suit their needs better than the current product does.

Look at the way American's are accustomed to pay for things... via mag-stripe on a card, and yet, they're reluctant and hate using the chip even though it would suit their needs in a better way.

Just one example.

 

[OllyW]

The argument I have against this though, is that everyone thinks the current product suits their needs, even though something else may suit their needs better than the current product does.

Look at the way American's are accustomed to pay for things... via mag-stripe on a card, and yet, they're reluctant and hate using the chip even though it would suit their needs in a better way.

Just one example.

I just don't automatically equate bigger to mean better, especially with an item that many people carry around in their pocket.

 

[sracer]

Any problems with accidental touches when you meant to be holding the phone?

That's the question that I get most frequently. In the 18+ months that I've used this phone (daily), I've only accidentally touched the screen 3 or 4 times and that was probably within the first week or so.

The other question is, "isn't it awkward that the frontfacing camera is at the bottom rather than the top?" My Answer: I've only taken 2 selfies in my life. It wasn't a problem.

 

[1Zach1]

Probably so.

I have a Sharp Aquos Crystal... 5" Android phone with no bezels on 3 sides. I prefer a 4" screen on a traditional smartphone, but the lack of bezels makes the larger screen acceptable... and enjoyable.

I obviously have no evidence, but I believe that if Apple really wanted to, they could make the 7 within 10% of the size of the 5s and the 7+ within 10% of the 6s while only getting slightly thicker (and I don't even know if that would be needed if they had some advanced battery tech). I wouldn't personally have an issue with an asymmetrical design, but I'm not sure Apple would go that route.

 

[Leonard1818]

I was a reluctant switcher. I loved my iPhone 5 and envied my wife's 5s with it's better processor and touch ID. When I heard the 6 would be bigger, I was a bit disappointed at first. But I quickly got used to it. My huge monkey hands helped along with my penchant for not using a case.

I just had some problems with my 6 (self-inflicted) and I had to do a LOT of restoring from backups, pulling pics, re-restoring, etc. and I had to go back to my 5 for a day. I gotta say, I love the size in-hand and in-pocket but I HATE the screen size now that I'm accustomed to a larger screen.

I'm almost afraid to go to a "plus" size phone next because I'll grow used to that and it's not as easily pocketable if you will. I can certainly see how people are electing to hold onto the smaller screens for portability reasons alone.

We shall see what they come up with for the next iterations. My wife has moved onto a 6s with her little girl-hands and she gets by. I don't think she'd be going back to smaller but if she wanted to, I'd take that 6s off her tiny hands

 

[floling]

the word still makes me think that everybody SHOULD use a bigger phone.. i'm not into the bigger sizes; the lock button on the side makes it impossible to take a picture with the volume nobs;
i'd like to get a brand new iphone with all the cool features but in a nice handy 4 inch size. could be even smaller ... the iphone 4 imho. was the prettiest and most durable iphone...

 

[Zaft]

What kind of jeans do some of you wear that an iphone 6 cant fit? I can get a 6 Plus but I am just interested in the brand.
I am wearing buffalo right now and my 6 Plus fits fine with room to spare on the sides. It barley sticks out the top.

 

[nsayer]

Hilarious. Gather up 10,000 iPhone owners, including my dad. He and two other folks will have models older than an iPhone 4 (he has a 3G).
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What kind of jeans do some of you wear that an iphone 6 cant fit?

You're not a girl, are you?

 

[0007776]

Hilarious. Gather up 10,000 iPhone owners, including my dad. He and two other folks will have models older than an iPhone 4 (he has a 3G).

I wouldn't want to use one that old still, but the 3G and 3GS were the most comfortable iPhones to hold, I would love a modern phone with that design.

 

[Mac 128]

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"

Why do you assume that a person currently using a 4" iPhone bought it the year it was released? The 5c and 5s were both sold as mid-priced iPhones, and then entry-level iPhones. If someone bought an iPhone in the last 4 years they didn't have to pay the premium prices for the larger phone. In fact it was reported that Apple sold more 5S & 6 phones over the holidays than the 6S. Granted, I believe Apple will eventually sell a 4.7" phone for $450 ($0 on contract), but at the moment, the 6S is expensive for someone who bought a 4" phone for less in the last 4 years, especially if they aren't interested in a larger screen, or the new features.

You've been around long enough to know that people around here change the narrative to suit their needs/comments

Oh she's familiar. You'd think she invented the concept.

Just thought I'd let you know:
The reason your home button doesn't have a square in it anymore is because it has a fingerprint reader... ergo, you DO have Apple Pay.

Ahhh... thank you!
I stand corrected.

I guess it technically CAN work, if you have a linked Apple Watch - but, honestly... I really did think 5S could use Apple Pay as a standalone.

I'm not following your point at all. The original comment was about not caring about having Pay, and considering how few places it's available it's understandable why. You point out, incorrectly, that the 5s has Touch ID and therefore Pay. When it's pointed out to you it doesn't, you then offer the Watch (which likewise extends to the 5 & 5c which don't have Touch ID as well) as work around. So, to the guy who doesn't have Pay now, and doesn't care, you offer a minimum additional purchase of $350 to gain that functionality? Nothing about that train of thought makes any sense.

 

[Zaft]

Hilarious. Gather up 10,000 iPhone owners, including my dad. He and two other folks will have models older than an iPhone 4 (he has a 3G).
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You're not a girl, are you?

I totally forgot about that lol.

 

[lkalliance]

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

I would like to know this too.
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man I miss the 3GS, THAT was a comfortable to hold design

Though my preference is for the 5c, it's very much for the same reason you're mentioning here. I remember going to the Apple Store that year and weighing the choice between a 5S and a 5c: the 5S clearly had better tech, but the 5c was way more comfortable to hold, and better looking. In the end I decided that I would likely upgrade again in two years; I counted on the 5c line to continue and that by then it would have acquired the 64-bit chip, Touch ID and better camera. Clearly I was wrong about that, lol.

I have to stop and think about why I want a 4" screen. I don't use my phone one-handed anyway. I have always, since the very first one, held the phone in my left hand and touched with my right. It just feels right, in all dimensions. I'm disappointed in the 6/S/+ design. Too thin (thickness helps in more than just battery), too light, besides being unattractive to look at. Gosh I would love a 6c with the rumored specs of the 5se.

 

[kb12252004]

Let's see how the 6s compares to my 5s

• 3D Touch: don't care
• Apple Pay: don't care
• Live Photos: don't have a clue what that is, and thus don't care
• Battery life: no better in the 6s
• Screen size: would like it, but I have a nice battery case on my 5s and don't feel like buying another one for the 6s

Apple hasn't given me a compelling reason to upgrade. From what I've seen of the iPhone 7 rumors and the elimination of the headphone jack, they are actually doing the opposite.

Allow me to add a few:

• 5s handles iOS 9 well: check
• 5s works just as well as newer iPhones as a music/podcast player: check
• 5s camera is still very good: check

• 5s camera is flush with exterior casing: check

• 5s is 64 bit, likely to receive iOS upgrades for the foreseeable future: check

• 5s has a co-motion processor: check

• 5s has no discernible "real world performance" in wi-fi or LTE connectivity: check

• 5s is fully paid for; money otherwise spent on 6s is in savings/retirement: check

 

[e93to]

I've met people who complain about phone sizes, and they usually tend to be active outdoor people. Carrying around large phones while hiking, etc wouldn't be logical.

However, almost everyone among my friends, friends' parents, etc prefer larger phones. Especially older people tend to like them because reading texts can be easier when larger fonts are selected. Furthermore women carry purses/handbags. So they don't care how large their phones are as long as hey fit in their nice bags.

This leads me to speculate that people holding onto 4" phones may have different reasons for not upgrading other than size. Maybe it's the price of newer phones. Or maybe they don't want to learn to use newer iOS. Or maybe it's the mobile carriers' data plans (I used to pay $60 for 3G for 6gb data and unlimited call+text, but now it's $110 before all the discounts and promotions applied to my account). Or maybe they just don't care... Yes, I'm sure there are people not upgrading due to size, but as far as general consumers go, I doubt they make up large percentage of those with 4" iPhones

 

[ScooterComputer]

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?

Took until the 2nd page to find a comment that made the lightbulb go off in my head. Glad I wasn't the only one to be puzzled by the numbers, and a little ashamed I wasn't reading into them enough. But @toddzrx you answered it. Cook's comment was ONLY for "older-generation iPhone users", I just totally space over that not taking into account Android switchers to the current larger screens. Still some math to be done though, it seems. Wouldn't that then imply that the Android switchers number be the difference between 2/3 times the 4" and smaller totals and the new 6/6+/6s/6s+ numbers?
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Especially women.

Oddly enough, women are the ones I –most– see getting the +-sized screens. Mainly because many already carry a huge purse. I'm talking maybe like 4-to-1 or more to the men I know who have gotten the +. In fact, I think I only know (know, versus "someone on Twitter said") of two guys with a +. So it is likely even much greater than that.


Also, I've been seeing a LOT of +-sized devices in commercial environments, though not as many as I'd like. This was something I had been pushing for back before the iPad mini…except I wanted a 6" iPad with a 4:3 aspect ratio and a cellular chipset where the phone worked. I think the 9:16 aspect ratio is just not a great fit for commercial use, it is too narrow. ("Commercial use" think waitstaff, FedEx drivers, warehouse workers, truck drivers, etc.) Apple OEM'd the Newton out to Symbol Technologies and it was actually a TREMENDOUS success; in fact Newton lived past its Apple life commercially for several years in that tech. That Apple has eschewed that market puzzles me. 9:16/16:9 is too narrow when oriented vertically, and too short when horizontal for data-dense commercial apps. The iPad mini is too big, and when equipped with a cellchip you still can't use the phone. There is definitely a niche to be filled. Which goes to my deeper point: Apple should be using its superior supply-chain "intellect" to broaden their offerings. This whole argument over 4" or 5.5" would be moot if Apple would just sell ANYTHING a user wants. (OK, within reason. Certainly I don't advocate for the Samsung model, with 20+ handsets and sizes.) In Apple's case, the more likely they are to provide a device with a form-factor that is PERFECT for the customer's use case, the better chance they have of increasing iOS marketshare. Like with Windows, the argument can no longer be Apple vs Samsung…it is truly iOS vs Android. And right now, with iPhone sales leveling and iPad sales plummeting, Android is winning that. Once Apple goes below 20% global marketshare, we will very much be right back into the WinXP vs Mac scenario, developer/software-wise. Apple cannibalizing itself, between models, just is NOT a problem as long as they GROW market share. Right now, all signs point to the + models cannibalizing iPad minis, but without the necessary commensurate marketshare increase.

 

[nick42983]

"still have 4-inch screens"? Apple has only offered larger screens for less than a year and a half. Most markets don't have subsidized phones so they start at $800 for new models. Apple not only needs an updated 4" iPhone but an iPhone that more people can afford. 40% profit margins aren't doing much good sitting in a pile of overseas cash. Convert new customers Apple, make a $299 4" iPhone.

 

[Zaft]

Took until the 2nd page to find a comment that made the lightbulb go off in my head. Glad I wasn't the only one to be puzzled by the numbers, and a little ashamed I wasn't reading into them enough. But @toddzrx you answered it. Cook's comment was ONLY for "older-generation iPhone users", I just totally space over that not taking into account Android switchers to the current larger screens. Still some math to be done though, it seems. Wouldn't that then imply that the Android switchers number be the difference between 2/3 times the 4" and smaller totals and the new 6/6+/6s/6s+ numbers?
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Oddly enough, women are the ones I –most– see getting the +-sized screens. Mainly because many already carry a huge purse. I'm talking maybe like 4-to-1 or more to the men I know who have gotten the +. In fact, I think I only know (know, versus "someone on Twitter said") of two guys with a +. So it is likely even much greater than that.

Same experience, i am a guy but I see women with the + more often then men.
I also noticed a good amount are older folks who I assume like the bigger screen due to vision.

 

[driceman]

Personally I love my iPhone 6s Plus. It's really great for video and using on my dashboard for turn-by-turn directions in the car, where a smaller screen would be less than optimal.

However, I recently spoke to a customer at T-Mobile who had a very valid reason for wanting a smaller phone back (and she was on the 6s, not the Plus). For her job she's typically holding a clipboard or paperwork or some such thing in one hand and her phone in the other, and she found that it's far easier to text one-handed on her old 4" phone than even a 4.7" screen.

It's all dependent on how you want to use your phone. It seems like Apple is looking to do three screen sizes going forward on their mobile devices (4, 4.7, 5.5 on iPhone, 7.9, 9.7, and 12.9 on iPad, and, if I had to guess, 12, 14, and 16 on future MacBooks given the size of the "new" MacBook). Seems like a good way to cover all their bases.

I used to be of the opinion that Apple should stick to only top of the line, high-end stuff, and that the less expensive devices like the iPhone 5s right now and the iPad Mini were cheapening the brand. I still think they shouldn't sell outdated products as "new" to the degree that they do, but I'm starting to realize now that even cheap Apple products are typically far higher-end (and higher-quality) than the cheap side of their competitor's lineups. To Apple, a low-cost iPhone is $450; to Samsung or LG, a cheap smartphone is $100.

 

[nt5672]

I love larger screens but it all comes down to use and preference. I bought the 6 but returned it for the sole reason of how I personally use it. I'm on the go, I take it to the gym, hiking etc. I don't like carrying anything too bulky or unnecessary in my person. I hate carrying my wallet if I can do without it.
So for "me" the smaller phone works best. I have an iPad when I need a bigger screen.
Choice is good. We're all different.

Exactly, a phone should be a phone, not a big clunky computer masquerading as a phone. The fact that I can use my phone as a computer when I must is an advantage, but not an advantage that I want to optimize for.

 

[ScooterComputer]

I also noticed a good amount are older folks who I assume like the bigger screen due to vision.

That's probably the OTHER use case I see most often for the +. I lengthened my initial post to talk about a 6" iPad "nano" with phone capabilities. Many of the older folks I see buy the + as a "big button phone" AND in lieu of an iPad. In the end, it seems not to work out very good. The + is too narrow for reading web pages with larger fonts, and they never want to rotate the iPhone because a) nothing seems to work (Apple is inconsistent in their landscape code compliance) and b) in landscape mode you can only ever read a line or two and then scroll…read, scroll…read, scroll…it is frustrating.