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Yes, that's you. You recognized you had a choice and moved on. As I said there are plenty of people buying 4"+ screen phones. But the overall iPhone growth trend is still on the upswing, not down. There is no huge demand for a larger screen by the general public or the iPhone 4S would have never sold 4m at launch -- the most of any cell phone ever, and keep breaking sales records today.

Moreover, Apple introducing a bigger phone could alienate current iPhone users who find the size/weight perfect, and, honestly, I think most Android users use Android bc it's not Apple or cost of entry is less. So bottom line Apple net loses market share w/ a bigger phone, not gains.

This assumes that there can be only ONE size of iPhone. Why? There are different sizes of Macbooks. No doubt if Apple gets into the TV market they will make more then one size of television too. So why does there have to be just one size of iPhone? Why can there not be several different sizes on the market just as there are for other products?

Going up in size just makes no sense whatsoever.

It makes sense if you need more room for a larger battery to feed the battery hungry LTE. Unless people want the battery life on the next iPhone to SUCK bad.

I see the screen size staying the same... Most android phones are just getting too large to comfortably carry and are just doing it because their battery life is poor so they need more space internally.

I carry mine quite comfortably. They aren't all too large. Some have form factors barely larger then the iPhone. Just because the SCREEN is larger doesn't mean the form factor has to increase in the same proportions necessarily. That being said, do you not think that an LTE iPhone will need more space internally for a battery as well? I sure do. What do you think battery life would be with the current iPhone if LTE was on it?
 
While I like the 3.5" screen, I think a 4" screen would allow a larger body and more battery room which is what they're going to have to do to have LTE in the new iPhone. Just like the new iPad is a little bit thicker in a little bit heavier the battery is 70% larger that is how to get the same battery life using LTE it's simply a battery hog and needs more power.

I have a 4.3 inch Droid Razor and I personally think it's too large although it does fit my pocket. I like the screen when out and I'm using it but it's almost like a tablet versus a phone it's simply too big I think 4" would be the max that I would want.
 
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Your analysis is totally wrong. The bottom line is NOT that Apple will lose market share. In fact I think they would gain market share from those power users that will defect from android and new users that see this as a new fresh product. But otherwise their share is basically saturated. The bottom line is that a 4"+ screen will cannibalize the ipad sales.

I'm not sure how you can definitively conclude my analysis is wrong when you show zero hard evidence to the contrary. My analysis might be wrong in your mind b/c you are biased toward the 4"+ screen, but actual sales data of iPhones vs 4"+ screens does not bear out an overwhelming pent up demand for them. Again, iPhone 4S, which has a 3.5" screen, had the most popular sales launch in the history of cell phones and continues to break sales records at a time when tons of 4"+ "iPhone killers" are on the market. That does not suggestion people are tired of 3.5" screens.

I'm not saying anything that looped in people like Jim Dalrymple and John Gruber aren't saying, and when it comes to forecasting future Apple product they are more right than wrong. But even more importantly, Apple knows a little something (like $100 billion and growing somethings) about how to maintain and gain market share. So obviously they either can't do it now and preserve everything else that is good about the iPhone (size, weight, battery life, etc), or a 4" does nothing to grow sales.

This assumes that there can be only ONE size of iPhone. Why? There are different sizes of Macbooks. No doubt if Apple gets into the TV market they will make more then one size of television too. So why does there have to be just one size of iPhone? Why can there not be several different sizes on the market just as there are for other products?

Phones are more complicated though.

Already we have:

3 size choices x 2 color choices x 3 U.S. carrier choices. And then Apple would ask retailers to stock up to another 18 SKUs?

Macs are different because while there are more size options they do not require as many SKUs. There is two or three sizes of each model, with exception of the Mac Pro, which can be CTO.
 
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New "micro dock" connector? Does this mean I also get to upgrade all my cables too?! Awesome way to milk your customer base apple. Don't worry, all the fanboys will gobble it up and not even bat an eye.
 
This thread is absolutely hilarious.

Look folks - the writing is on the wall. Consumers who buy smartphones today overwhelmingly prefer 4"+ screens - this is simply a fact. Add up all the smartphone sales in the US (and around the world), and the vast majority of these devices have screens larger than the iPhone 4, making the iPhone the minority with it's 3.5" screen.

Apple is not stupid.

Arguments about it being "too big to hold in one hand" and "too large to be pocketable" are absolute nonsense and based on nothing but the most egregious Apple brand fanaticism that infests this forum. Millions of those of the fairer sex with smaller hands have no issue handling these behemoth 4.0"+ phones. As someone who switched from an iPhone 4 to an Android device, it was an adjustment of a few days --max.

I am confident that this rumor of a 3.5" screen is just as absurd as the one last week that stated the screen would be 4.6"; my guess is that the final product will sit between the two sizes.

There are many, many Android users who are sick of dealing with Android and are just waiting for the next iPhone to bring them the two features that they've been holding out on: a larger screen and true 4G LTE. I would bet a fortune that the next iPhone will have both of those things; failure to include them would be incredibly stupid on Apple's part and Apple doesn't make big mistakes like this....at least not any longer.
 
New "micro dock" connector? Does this mean I also get to upgrade all my cables too?! Awesome way to milk your customer base apple. Don't worry, all the fanboys will gobble it up and not even bat an eye.

i'm sure apple cares what the haters think hehe :D
 
No one's going to switch from the iPhone if it increases to 4''. There will be switches if it stays at 3.5. That's pretty much the bottom line and I'd be surprised if Apple took that risk. I know the 4S had great sales, but keep in mind ICS wasn't even unveiled yet. The alternatives will be better and people less forgiving a year later.
 
No one's going to switch from the iPhone if it increases to 4''. There will be switches if it stays at 3.5. That's pretty much the bottom line and I'd be surprised if Apple took that risk. I know the 4S had great sales, but keep in mind ICS wasn't even unveiled yet. The alternatives will be better and people less forgiving a year later.

nah. while the 4s did have a head start on sales as compared to the galaxy nexus, it's not like nexus sales have gone through the roof in the current quarter. most people dont even know what ics is hehe :D

apple will be fine.
 
To each their own

We all have our own priorities. All the items below would STOP me from buying a new iPhone:

- the overall form factor increases
- battery life declines
- it doesn't have LTE

A change in the connector would slow me down but isn't a deal breaker.
 
because the phone will probably be thinner....A LOT thinner.
The UBS wire we're using now will probably be too thick for the upcoming phone.

The current port for the wire is already really, really thin. I don't get it.
 
Yes, that's you. You recognized you had a choice and moved on. As I said there are plenty of people buying 4"+ screen phones. But the overall iPhone growth trend is still on the upswing, not down. There is no huge demand for a larger screen by the general public or the iPhone 4S would have never sold 4m at launch -- the most of any cell phone ever, and keep breaking sales records today.

Moreover, Apple introducing a bigger phone could alienate current iPhone users who find the size/weight perfect, and, honestly, I think most Android users use Android bc it's not Apple or cost of entry is less. So bottom line Apple net loses market share w/ a bigger phone, not gains.

I wasn't commenting about larger screens as you suggest above. I was making the point that the iPhone is getting tired and other phones are certainly as good if not, depending on personal opinion, better.

iPhone growth is indeed on the upswing, but if the sales start to drop it'll be very hard to get them back (think Nokia) and Apple could be forced to overreact.
 
I am confident that this rumor of a 3.5" screen is just as absurd as the one last week that stated the screen would be 4.6"; my guess is that the final product will sit between the two sizes.

I don't know why you'd talk so confidently when the "fact" is against you. It's very likely that Apple will not drop "Retina" from their marketing as it's now very well trenched there. Also we know Apple is extremely proud and obsessive about its ecosystem.

If you put those two together, we can conclude that the resolution won't change to keep the app compatibility, which means the iPhone won't be bigger than 3.84" or so at most due to the Retina requirement. Thus the talk of a 3.5" is much more likely than a 4.6" which was based on an extremely dubious Korean newspaper article yet many internet reports bought it.

Add up all the smartphone sales in the US (and around the world), and the vast majority of these devices have screens larger than the iPhone 4, making the iPhone the minority with it's 3.5" screen.

Although it seems the "vast majority" of phones sold in the world seem to be big 4.3"+ monsters, I don't think that's true. It does seem that way when you read online forums but in the real world sales, if you count all the low cost Android phones, Blackberrys, Symbians with small screens, I don't think the balance is as drastic as you seem to suggest.

To give you a quick example of how perception is different from reality, look at Samsung's sales mix for example. Based on all the talk of Galaxy S2 selling extremely well, you'd think Galaxy S2, the flagship, would represent the majority of Samsung's smartphone sales. Right?

However the reality is that Galaxy S2 sold "only" 20 million between April 2011 - Feb 2012. For the year of 2011 Samsung sold over 90 million smartphones. Even if you count the first Galaxy S, that still leaves more than half to the cheap Androids and BADA Wave phones.

Thus the vast majority of smartphones sold in 2011 worldwide by Samsung, contrary to what many online seem to believe, aren't the new shiny expensive Galaxy S2 model but the cheaper models. With that kind of example, it's hard to buy your argument that the vast majority of smartphones sold in the world have large displays on its face value. I'd argue it's the opposite.
 
OH! Thank goodness.

If a larger screen would have resulted in a larger phone, I would not have wanted it.:) What would thrill me is if they could make it thinner like an iPod touch.
 
Phones are more complicated though.

Already we have:

3 size choices x 2 color choices x 3 U.S. carrier choices. And then Apple would ask retailers to stock up to another 18 SKUs?

How does this differ from the iPad situation? (Assuming the rumors of a smaller version of iPad are true).

We all have our own priorities. All the items below would STOP me from buying a new iPhone:

- the overall form factor increases
- battery life declines
- it doesn't have LTE

A change in the connector would slow me down but isn't a deal breaker.

And just HOW do you expect to have all of those? Guess you aren't getting the next iPhone then. Cause something has to give. You cannot have LTE without either a decrease in battery life or an increase in form factor. The situation with "the new iPad" should tell you that.
 
What would thrill me is if they could make it thinner like an iPod touch.

I'm not the only one! Whenever I carry an iPod Touch, I love how it slides so easily in and out of my pocket yet the screen size is still the same as the iPhone. Unfortunately I just don't think Apple will be able to pack enough battery into an iPod Touch casing to make it phone-worthy. :(
 
Since we are seeing a real push for Airplay and the new AppleTV with 1080p and iPad 3 supporting a higher resolution display it seems natural that the next iPhone would support a better screen, and my hope is a 4" screen. A small bump by .5" is NOT going to make the phone unusable and will be hardly perceptible either in the pocket or the hand when using it. It will however allow them to put a bigger battery in because even with 28nm LTE chips just by adding LTE (along with Siri) they will see serious battery drain and its already a complaint by iPhone 4S users.

So my hope is 4", LTE and bettery battery management. If it is 3.5" with LTE then I will skip this one and wait it out. I do miss LTE.
 
I think the title is missing a question mark... Right now, it looks like it's official news, instead of the speculation that it actually is.
 
What Is better?

The specs on these new models below, blow iphone out of the water in my book. Some of them are pretty sleek looking too. I'm not going back to Windows, but I might be tempted by one of these otherwise for what I do on a phone.

http://www.androidauthority.com/best-android-phone-2012-42303/

Fascinating! Who will win this year customer satisfaction of the year? So far we all become winners of a race for better choice. Is a combination of who are those that preferred size & perfromance. Since my issue was the Iphone keypad therefore I suggest A.I, needs to be improve and heat dissipation factor along with the apps interaction with daily basis uses besides what we already "USED TO" know. I mean that in another year "used to know" is what challenge the champion. Apple fans and Google fans will need to welcome others. And they are outhere to be seen to prove it otherwise what may challenge the user experience. Yes Apple is in danger, danger! And who wants to become a babysitter club for RIM? Everyone needs to earn what Apple had earned and to get to the top Android is close to the summit. The only thing is that we have many phones making for Android and solely Apple facing all of them. Is Amazing..
 
I wasn't commenting about larger screens as you suggest above. I was making the point that the iPhone is getting tired and other phones are certainly as good if not, depending on personal opinion, better.

iPhone growth is indeed on the upswing, but if the sales start to drop it'll be very hard to get them back (think Nokia) and Apple could be forced to overreact.

Fair enough. But if it's not size you were commenting on iOS 6 preview is a couple months or so away.

How does this differ from the iPad situation? (Assuming the rumors of a smaller version of iPad are true).

Well there has to be a 7" iPad first. Right now the 7" iPad is just as mythical as the 4" iPhone, and there only exists one screen size each of the iPad and iPhone.
 
How does this differ from the iPad situation? (Assuming the rumors of a smaller version of iPad are true).



And just HOW do you expect to have all of those? Guess you aren't getting the next iPhone then. Cause something has to give. You cannot have LTE without either a decrease in battery life or an increase in form factor. The situation with "the new iPad" should tell you that.

iPad has a bigger battery mostly due to the screen and not LTE.
 
A microdock connector? Nothing like making all those spare docking cables we have bough over the years useless. Thanks Apple.

You must be new to Apple products. I've got a drawer full of devices that used to work with iPods and then support was dropped for no reason.
 
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