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So, after three years, how practical is a Plus to carry around?

N

NewBench

Cancelled
Original poster
Jun 24, 2010
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I know this has been asked lots before in the past, but now the 'Plus' size iPhones have been around now for 3 years, it might be better to see what people's views are after that amount of time.

I like the larger screen size of the Plus, and previously bought a 6S+ at launch but after a month or so I just found it so hard to 'live with' for the following reasons:
  • If I'm not wearing a jacket, and try and put my phone in my pants/jeans/shorts pocket it's too big and hangs out/falls out
  • If I'm wearing pants/jeans/shorts whatever and put the phone in my pocket and then sit down, the pocket becomes too tight and I'm worried about the phone breaking/bending/cracking
  • It's just not practical to 'carry around' in my hands all day
  • It's just awkward as hell to use with one hand, even with the 'reachability' feature it doesnt feel natural.

HOWEVER

Saying all that, I still love the larger screen size and would love to be able to use a phone day to day that doesn't hinder my life in the way a Plus does...I mean when I had mine I was constantly worrying about whether it would fall out/break/snap/bend. I guess the main problem is keeping it in a pants pocket, and moving/sitting with it. Remembering to take it out each time before I sit is just not practical.

Those of you that have had a Plus for a long period of time - how do you live with it?

I guess this is mainly aimed at guys, or at least those that don't have the convenience of a bag to put their phone in all day.
 
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Been rocking an a 7+ for a year. No issues whatsoever.

Only you know if it’s right for you based upon how you carry a phone and how big your hands are.

I personally don’t have any interest in going back to a smaller device.

My Galaxy S8+ has a 6.2” screen. That works great for me too.
 
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I'm starting to believe the issue is with having tiny hands for a guy. I'm 6'0" and 190lbs but my hands are the size of a petite female.

Wish my experience with a plus was as easy as others, love that screen size.
 
bounce08 said:
I'm starting to believe the issue is with having tiny hands for a guy. I'm 6'0" and 190lbs but my hands are the size of a petite female.

Wish my experience with a plus was as easy as others, love that screen size.
Click to expand...

No point in being miserable with a larger device if it doesn’t work for you.

If my 7+ offered a poor UX, I’d go with a 4.7” and not lose any sleep over it.
 
The lack of one handed use is annoying, but unless you are wearing very tight pants carrying it in your pocket is not an issue. Since my wife doesn't like to carry a purse I often end up carrying two pluses, it's not a big deal.
 
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I have had a 6 Plus since launch day. The older version that was prone to bending (supposedly) In all that time my 6 Plus have never bent, warped or had any malfunction to speak of. It's a good phone. I never had a problem finding a pocket to fit it in, but I'm not wearing any trendy skinny pants either.

My only real complaint has been single handed operation. Normally I can get around this by using the reachability function but some times i find my self straining to hit an element on the top left of the scree. And now that iOS11 is out i find eve more UI elements have been moved from the right side to left exasperating this inconvenience.

Ultimately I felt as if I would go back to standard size phone on my next upgrade cycle assuming there wasn't much of a sacrifice when it comes to camera quality. As it turns out the iPhone X is a little slimmer than the plus and has the best camera of the bunch. So that pretty much sealed the deal for me.
 
It's not for me and I've always known it. The problem isn't use. It's transport. Even the regular sized 6/7 is sometimes too tall in the front pocket of my pants. And I wear standard pants.
 
6plus for 2 years, no issues at all, reachability works great when using one handed.
Thought I would hate it, and in the beginning I questioned my choice, but now I can’t imagine a smaller phone, even the X is too small, probably go 8plus if I upgraded.
 
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Shanghaichica said:
I’ve had every plus model and I’ve never had any issues with carrying them around with me.
Click to expand...

It used to be where I hated caring cell phones in my pocket, where I resorted to an external belt holster. But I finally moved away from those and I carry my iPhone Plus in my pocket. I look forward to seeing how the iPhone X will carry as well.
 
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Relentless Power said:
It used to be where I hated caring cell phones in my pocket, where I resorted to an external belt holster. But I finally moved away from those and I carry my iPhone Plus in my pocket. I look forward to seeing how the iPhone X will carry as well.
Click to expand...
So I've decided that I will attempt to pre-order the X next month. If the wait is too long I might just get the 8 plus this year. However as I have a handbag the size of my phone doesn't matter.
 
Shanghaichica said:
So I've decided that I will attempt to pre-order the X next month. If the wait is too long I might just get the 8 plus this year. However as I have a handbag the size of my phone doesn't matter.
Click to expand...

I plan on pre-ordering, but I agree, I think the biggest concern will be shipping dates and how much available stock they have come November 3.
 
I was extremely tempted by a 7 plus on a good deal however the pocketability was a massive factor.

I’d be ok if I had big pockets or a bag bit I wear skinny jeans like a woman and have small hands!
 
I've had the 6 Plus, 6s Plus, 7 Plus, and am picking up an 8 Plus on Friday. I love the physically bigger screen and better aspect ratio. I have no problems carrying it, but then again i'm not a skinny-jeans-hipster who couldn't fit a cigarette paper in my pockets without it cutting off my blood circulation.
 
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bounce08 said:
I'm starting to believe the issue is with having tiny hands for a guy. I'm 6'0" and 190lbs but my hands are the size of a petite female.

Wish my experience with a plus was as easy as others, love that screen size.
Click to expand...

I doubt your hands are smaller than mine.. a 5'3" asian guy, 120lbs.
I've been using a Nexus 6p for the last 2 years, size and bezels are identical to the 8plus so that's what I bought. No problems with the phone in my pocket. One handed is doable but I use it 2 handed most of the time.
 
I put it in the cargo pocket when wearing scrubs or the cargo pocket when wearing pants.

Not much to it, really.

At the gym it goes in my bag.

A coworker of mine is more fashionable than I am and he elected for the 6/6s size model

To answer your question though, it's very practical.

I chuckle when I think of the past with all the "only women will like the Plus size because they can put it in their purses."

It's a non issue.
 
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I have only had mine since the 7, but I haven't had many issues with it. I just think it's a little too big and hard to use in some scenarios, but haven't had a problem carrying it around or anything. I am looking forward to the X though primarily because of the screen and more compact form factor. Think it will be the best of both worlds.
 
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I've had all the plus sizes and never really have a problem with it in my front pocket. I mostly use two hands anyway. The smaller bezels on the X will be perfect....
 
I've had been the 6 Plus, 6s Plus and now the 7 Plus. I must admit I love the larger display especially for web browsing but the phone is too big to be comfortable in my pants pocket especially when sitting down.

For that reason I'm looking forward to the X as it's shorter and narrower in size with virtually the same screen size. I agree the dimensions and the notch as well as the virtual home button at the bottom are not ideal.

However I'm willing to compromise for the smaller form factor, OLED screen and face ID. My hands tend to perspire a lot and Touch ID doesn't always work for me. I won't have that problem with face ID.
 
bounce08 said:
I'm starting to believe the issue is with having tiny hands for a guy. I'm 6'0" and 190lbs but my hands are the size of a petite female.

Wish my experience with a plus was as easy as others, love that screen size.
Click to expand...

I have pretty small hands too, so when I have to reach something at the top I either shift the phone in my hand, remove pinky and hold it towards the middle of the hand, or I just use it two handed. As for fitting in my pants, it usually does although it can look a bit odd at times and with some shorts it doesn’t work well. In those instances I just wear a button down(casual) with a pocket and put it in there.
 
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