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Should the iPhone 5 have a larger screen?

  • Yes, Apple should make it larger

    Votes: 248 62.2%
  • No, it's just right the way it is

    Votes: 119 29.8%
  • I want a smaller iPhone with a smaller screen

    Votes: 3 0.8%
  • I don't care

    Votes: 29 7.3%

  • Total voters
    399
I'm just saying this is a phone, your not going to be able to write or read a novel on it without some compromise. Otherwise android or iPad u go lol.

So since we have to make some sort of compromise, it may as well be a lot of compromise? No thanks.
 
Nah. thumb length is never a real issue.

On Safari, even on a 5 inch screen, your thumb rarely need to go to the very top part of the screen except to touch the taskbar. When composing a text message, all you touch is around the bottom part of the screen using the keyboard even on a 6 inch screen device. There is absolutely no issue of feeling uncomfortable here IMO.

We're only talking about 4 inch screen, which is stil very small. It's ridiculous to call that a brick or a tablet. My son a small size early teen uses the Samsung Galxy s one handedly without any problem. The screen size is one of the things he likes most about it compared to his iPod touch.
Disagree, I have run into many instances where my thumb needs to access something that's in the top left of the screen such as going back through an app. Drill through the iPhone settings to see what I'm saying. I occasionally have trouble hitting that on my iPhone one-handed, let alone on an even larger screen.
 
I'm just saying this is a phone, your not going to be able to write or read a novel on it without some compromise. Otherwise android or iPad u go lol.

May I ask why can't iphone users also enjoy the screen size that Android users enjoy? Why force loyal iOS users to abandon a platform they love in order to have a more useable screen size ?

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Disagree, I have run into many instances where my thumb needs to access something that's in the top left of the screen such as going back through an app. Drill through the iPhone settings to see what I'm saying.

If I recall, the setting screen is such that most of what you touch is very far from the top part of the screen.

I have no issue doing it one handedly at all. Zero issue.

Further more, it is very natural to use it two handed if one handed is a problem for you, and you won't even realize that youve already switched several times between one and two handed use. Steve Jobs does all his demo with two hands if you notice. If using it two hands is such a crime, the you should'nt invent iPad, and SJ had been naughty breaking your sacred rule.

To be able to read the screen is a far far more important consideration than living out an arbitrary rule like this.
 
I have no issue doing it one handedly at all. Zero issue.

Further more, it is very natural to use it two handed if one handed is a problem for you, and you won't even realize that youve already switched several times between one and two handed use. Steve Jobs does all his demo with two hands if you notice. If using it two hands is such a crime, the you should'nt invent iPad, and SJ had been naughty breaking your sacred rule.

Congrats? I'm speaking for myself. My hands aren't large and my fingers aren't long. I never said using a phone with two hands is a crime. It's just an added inconvenience when it becomes mandatory to make the phone useable.

Edit: Once you drill down through the settings app to go back in your progress you have to press the arrow located in the far upper left of the screen.

And I can read the screen just fine.
 
It's not just eBook. Spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentation slides, web pages, RSS feeds. All these applications are not easy to use on the tiny 3.5 inch screen. I suppose you would also read the real newspaper rather than reading news off the webpages?

Anyway, there are lots of books that I read which are available only in soft copy. One series of books that I read cost a few hundred dollars and has to be imported in. I can get them downloaded free from the web. So, what do you say to that?

I just said that I'd welcome a bigger screen, as it would be better for pretty much every activity that you'd do on a phone.
 
Why are you trying to read books on a phone? Thats what tablets & computers are for.

I read, from start to finish, Game of Thrones on iPhone 4. I power read that thing before the HBO version came on so I wouldn't get spoilers.

I will say that after having done that I wouldn't do it again - so I'm asking my wife for a Kindle for Christmas. My eyes bled bad for a few weeks. I do read some comics on my iPhone though.

I would love a bigger screen.
 
I read, from start to finish, Game of Thrones on iPhone 4. I power read that thing before the HBO version came on so I wouldn't get spoilers.

I will say that after having done that I wouldn't do it again - so I'm asking my wife for a Kindle for Christmas. My eyes bled bad for a few weeks. I do read some comics on my iPhone though.

I would love a bigger screen.

This is just my opinion, but I reckon there are many things you can do on a phone. You can read PDFs, you can browse the web, you can play games, you can read newspapers... but I think that reading novels is best left to tablets at the very least. I don't know why its diff from reading other things on a phone, but it just doesn't feel right for me.
 
?.. but I think that reading novels is best left to tablets at the very least.

Everything is best done on tablets, not just eBook. But tablet is not portable. The thing is both has a role. When out and about, smartphone should be able to take over the role, be it web surfing, eBook, viewing spreadsheet, or whatever, and still reasonablely enjoyable user experience. The current 3.5 inch screen makes it less tha ideal for such role to be fulfilled. not everyone uses it only as a phone, radio, and MP3 player, which would not require larger screen.

As long as it remain highly pocketable, I'll always go for bigger screen. No doubt about that. Honest, even if that requires two handed use (although I'm sure it would not require such), I'll still prefer it over a tiny 3.5 inch screen. What we need is two models, to cater to more diverse user requirements, instead of forcing the majority (if is poll is any indication of the real world preference) to accept the preference of the minority.

Not having a four inch screen is the main reason I'm not buying 4S. I love iOS to dealth, but this year, I'm likely to buy a Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Say whatever you like, I much prefer its screen size. Of course another reason I'm going for it is to educate myself on what Android 4.0, a vastly improved OS, has to offer. If I see a 4 inch screen iPhone 5 next year, I'll definitely come back. If not, I hope Android 4 can be good enough for me.
 
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Now, you tell tell me which screen you would prefer to use? The uncovered portion of the iPad screen having 960x640 pixels left, or the iPhone screen which also has 960x640 pixels count?

To be honest if there is one thing I can fault my iPad on it is resolution. As I now have both and iPad and an iPhone 4S I can say for sure that resolution is everything. the complete lack of aliasing on the iPhone screen is just beautiful and effortless to use.

The iPad is definitely better and more natural at many things than an iPhone but the iPhone screen wipes the floor with the iPad one. Give me a an iPad with something close to iPhone 4/4S resolution and that would be sweetness manifested.
 
This is just my opinion, but I reckon there are many things you can do on a phone. You can read PDFs, you can browse the web, you can play games, you can read newspapers... but I think that reading novels is best left to tablets at the very least. I don't know why its diff from reading other things on a phone, but it just doesn't feel right for me.

Reading PDF files is a chore on these things. Having to scroll back and forth or deal with overly tiny text is annoying. Hence the reason I just made a thread asking if there is a way to format it to make it more iPhone friendly. It would be awesome if you could put them into reader or something.
 
Apple offers laptops with different size screens. Why can't Apple release different screen sizes for the iPhone lineup (and yes there is a lineup: 3GS, 4, 4S)? I don't buy the idea that there is a perfect size for a smart phone. People are too variable in size themselves, and not everyone has the same needs or interests. Just going to something like an iPhone standard size and an iPhone HD (or whatever) makes a lot of sense to me.
This.

I'd like the iPhone 5 to have a form factor more like the iPod Touch (and older iPhones): Curved back. I've never been a fan of the iPhone 4's sharp edges and flat back (though I upgraded to the 4 and then 4s because of the other improvements). Beautiful to look at, but less comfortable to hold. So I'm hoping those mock-ups that surfaced in various rumors turn out to be based in reality.

Back to screen-size...there's no reason Apple can't make both groups happy. Just come out with an iPhone 5 with the 3.5" screen-size and an iPhone 5XL with a larger screen. Done.

And to the one person who complained about battery life...the larger screen-size means a larger casing as well, so the 5XL could contain a larger battery.

I'll also say that I think that Apple is leaving money on the table by not offering smaller iPads (around 6-7" screen-size): one with a color screen and one with an e-ink touchscreen. At that screen-size, Apple would need a new resolution standard which developers would design around, so that the tappable buttons would be of a physical size similar to those on the iPhone and iPad, but I think the market is big enough to support a 3rd resolution.

I bring this up because I personally like the idea of going all digital for books, but neither the iPhone nor iPad are ideally sized for that purpose, and both devices screens are not well-suited to reading in sunlight. So that means that I'd need to give my money to Amazon for a Kindle, which is a shame since Apple could produce an e-ink smaller iPad without too much effort on their part. They already have a book store and it's in their interest to keep their customers firmly engrossed in their ecosystem.
 
4 incher is the best size for me, and keeping the same form factor size as well. Anything larger, and the phone becomes too big in my opinion, a little more challenging to place on ones person. Had a 4.5 incher, and did not like it after a day.

The iPhone just seems just right, but another 1/2 inch in size would be the sweet spot. ;)
 
I would like to see a bigger screen. When I see my friends phone's with giant screens, I kinda wish that my iPhone had the same size screen.
 
4 incher is the best size for me, and keeping the same form factor size as well. Anything larger, and the phone becomes too big in my opinion, a little more challenging to place on ones person. Had a 4.5 incher, and did not like it after a day.

That's what she said. :D
 
I'd vote yes and I don't mind even at 4.3 inches instead of just 4.

But many Android OEM's were forgetting that increasing bigger screen without increasing resolution meant the pixel density got lower. Perhaps batt life would become an issue for higher res and PenTile doesn't help either.

Captivate vs Galaxy S II (AT&T)
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=3408&idPhone2=4130


Put the Captivate with its 4-inch screen vs SGII (AT&T) with its 4.3-inch screen on each hand and compare their overall size. We are talking about a difference of less than 4mm in height and 2mm in width and the GSII is thinner. I don't mind a having an extra 2mm-4mm in dimensions to get another 0.3 inches. I just don't get how 4-inches is a "phone" and then 4.3 inches becomes a "mini-tablet" to some people when you actually compare their overall dimensions. Not all phones at 4.3 inches will feel bulky depending on how they use their real estate. The HTC Sensation can feel wide to some others while the GSII is perfect to others and both have the same screen size. I think over 4.3 inches is starting to push it though after holding the Samsung Fuse which is taller than the SII by 6mm. But we will see if the Galaxy Nexus at 4.65 can change my mind.

HTC Rezound has the perfect ppi and resolution for a screen at 4.3. It should be 720p res as a minimum for that screen size and not 800x480 that many other high-end Android phones have.
 
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It's pretty simple, a phones a phone? Did u not see the droid nexus, if u like that badass 4.6" screen go get it, but they skimped on the amoled each pixel isnt rgb, it's not "retina".

The point it there is downfalls to everything, developers on android have to develop differently for each phone sprecification, apples have to develops for 1 maybe two max! This is why u have apps that run across the whole iPhone system the same. Droid doesn't have that, quit whining incessantly for something that your not even taking the time to understand the reasoning behind.... If u don't like it go to droid and you'll have a longer list
 
If you're having thumb reach problems you must be holding the phone in some weird way. I have small hands and I can easily thumb the opposite top corner of the phone (not the screen, the phone). I had my 13 yo, 5' 4" daughter demonstrate and she was able to easily reach the opposite top of the glass. I really don't see how a larger screen could be a problem for anyone. Not saying it isn't, I just can't imagine how.
 
Bigger screen needed

There is a reason:

Image

I think it could stand to increase a few tenths of an inch if the device doesn't get any/much larger... but the phones that are coming out with specs of 4.5" screens are a bit on the ridiculous side imo. I have smallish hands and if I'm holding my phone with 1 hand, my thumb can just barely cover the screen comfortably.

Our Android smartphone has a 4.3" screen compared to the iPhone's 3.5".
Height of ours is 4.7" while the iPhone is 4.5"
Width of ours is 2.5" while the iPhone is 2.31"
Thickness of ours is .45" while the iPhone is .37"

Not much bigger is physical size with a very much improved screen size. No wonder my wife is happy with our current phone & doesn't want an iPhone. When one gets older size does matter. We;re small people & we do not feel that our phones are too large.

I liked the idea of 2 sizes of iPhones. But being a long time Mac User I know that I find it hard to believe that Apple actually sells 3 different memory sized iPhones, iPod Touches & iPads. Other companies that sell far fewer smart phones by model can make more than 1 size but for as smart as Apple is One Size Must Fit All. Apple could lose a penny or 2 profit per phone if we were given a choice.
 
More sizes needed

Increasing the screen size without changing resolution is downgrading since it reduces the pixel density. Apple will NEVER do that. Moreover anything more than 3.5" is huge, look at those Android phones, they are barely portable.

Any screen size larger than the iPod Nano. Now for our 256 GB iPhone Nano as we all know that anything bigger is too big to get our hands around. In fact we are really waiting for the Super Micro iPhone Nano. But then that may be too small to have around babies as they will be able to swallow one or two.

Size is a relative thing. What is too big for you is still too small for others. When is just right for you is huge for others. Size is such a relative thing.

When cell phones were just about making 2 way audio conversations smaller always seemed to be better or at least we were told. Now some people only need 10 minutes of air time a month on their so called smart phones as they are really using them as a mini computer. This means that a larger size is needed by some or probably many. But how large does one need to be. We could say that the iPad & its competition in the 10" range is best. But 10 inches is a little large to hold to our ears. So maybe a headset attached to one of this sized would be best.

Next comes the requirement that they fit into our pockets or something in that size range. With the correct design that size may be as big as 5". For kids under 6 that may more be in the 2" range. My wife & me have fairly small sized hands for an adult & we have no problem holding or storing our 4.3" screened smartphone. But we have reached our mid 60's now & a larger screen is really nice. Even without this added need for a larger screen comes the need for a larger screen for all of the work that we do on our smart phones. The more we want to do & dod do the easier it is witha larger screen. But as we know text size, screen size & total smart phone size is a relative item. For you 3.5" is the right size because that is what Apple makes. To others 5" is the right size because they want a lot of information on their screens at the same time in a large enough font to be able to easily read it. To others they know that anything larger than 2" is too large.

On e reason that there will always be so many different smart phone models is that everybody's just right size is different. Some of us would still like to use an iPhone while having a larger sized screen. We just wish that Apple could figure a way to make more than one sized model of iPhone.
 
Yes, but not by making the phone more than a few mm larger in size. I'd gladly pass on a thinner phone to keep battery life reasonable as well.
 
If you're having thumb reach problems you must be holding the phone in some weird way. I have small hands and I can easily thumb the opposite top corner of the phone (not the screen, the phone). I had my 13 yo, 5' 4" daughter demonstrate and she was able to easily reach the opposite top of the glass. I really don't see how a larger screen could be a problem for anyone. Not saying it isn't, I just can't imagine how.

It's a problem if it makes the phone bigger. I can barely fit my iPhone in my pocket now. I certainly don't want a bigger iPhone. If they can keep the form factor the same but increase the screen size then fine. I hope they don't increase the size of the phone just to make the screen bigger.
 
Don't really care as long as the form factor of the phone doesn't increase that much. I mean the main reason I chose the iPhone 4S over the Samsung Galaxy S2 and Nexus Galaxy is because of how small it is compared to them. I don't want to be carrying around a big phone.
 
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