I wrote about this as a story comment on the main blog but thought that I might get some better discussion here.
How many of you refuse to get a 4" iPhone? I keep hearing from people who haven't upgraded yet saying that they'll never get the iPhone 6 because it's too big. My wife, many of her friends, and some geeky (and Apple loving) web guys I know at work. Even prominent Apple blogger John Gruber misses the 4" display. I'm likely going to downsize from the Plus to the 4.7" model myself.
In my opinion this would be the perfect iPhone lineup:
4" Retina HD 1704x960 - $199
5" Retina HD 2134x1200 - $249
6" Retina HD 2560x1440 - $299
In 32/64/128GB capacities with 2GB of RAM. Same camera in all with the larger models clocked slightly faster with better graphics chips to run the higher resolution displays. All Retina HD native @3X with no scaling, all rendering a consistent 489 PPI so that they can be manufactured and cut from the same display panels. Then you never have to change display resolution again and can lock developers in until iPhones are no longer being sold. That kind of resolution is well beyond what someone with the best vision can perceive and in late 2015 that resolution could easily run on an iPhone. Since it's all running @3X many developers won't have to change their graphical assets from the iPhone 6 Plus and will just have to modify some layout issues.
I would buy the hell out of the 5" model in this scenario. Having three clear and simple sizes makes decisions easier for the consumer and cover the widest possible audience within reason. Reducing the top and bottom bezels would also really help for the larger models.
Unfortunately since Apple just changed display sizes something like this probably wouldn't happen until the iPhone 7. But if Apple isn't willing to go with something like I've outlined above, they should at least compromise and always keep around a 4" model with the previous generation's specs for those who need a smaller device but still want it to be fairly up-to-date.
How many of you refuse to get a 4" iPhone? I keep hearing from people who haven't upgraded yet saying that they'll never get the iPhone 6 because it's too big. My wife, many of her friends, and some geeky (and Apple loving) web guys I know at work. Even prominent Apple blogger John Gruber misses the 4" display. I'm likely going to downsize from the Plus to the 4.7" model myself.
In my opinion this would be the perfect iPhone lineup:
4" Retina HD 1704x960 - $199
5" Retina HD 2134x1200 - $249
6" Retina HD 2560x1440 - $299
In 32/64/128GB capacities with 2GB of RAM. Same camera in all with the larger models clocked slightly faster with better graphics chips to run the higher resolution displays. All Retina HD native @3X with no scaling, all rendering a consistent 489 PPI so that they can be manufactured and cut from the same display panels. Then you never have to change display resolution again and can lock developers in until iPhones are no longer being sold. That kind of resolution is well beyond what someone with the best vision can perceive and in late 2015 that resolution could easily run on an iPhone. Since it's all running @3X many developers won't have to change their graphical assets from the iPhone 6 Plus and will just have to modify some layout issues.
I would buy the hell out of the 5" model in this scenario. Having three clear and simple sizes makes decisions easier for the consumer and cover the widest possible audience within reason. Reducing the top and bottom bezels would also really help for the larger models.
Unfortunately since Apple just changed display sizes something like this probably wouldn't happen until the iPhone 7. But if Apple isn't willing to go with something like I've outlined above, they should at least compromise and always keep around a 4" model with the previous generation's specs for those who need a smaller device but still want it to be fairly up-to-date.
