Tim Cook: For iPhones, The Experience Is Key, Not Just a Larger Screen

[X5-599]

No.Bigger.Screen. Period! To anybody who thinks they want this: Just hold your iPad to your face until the urge passes. Done.

 

[AppleScruff1]

So you're opinion = everybody?

No. Apple's opinion = everybody. Even when it doesn't.

 

[TheShadowXX]

Tim Cook failed. People just want a larger screen. Smaller screen = poor experience, larger screen = good experience.

I bet you think bigger engine = better car. lol

 

[dontpannic]

"Aha" I need to open a new tab in Safari to make it unfreeze. "Aha" hold the power and home button to reset. "Aha" there is no automatic photo backup option on 3G. "Aha" I need another new adaptor (and "Aha" chineese knock-offs don't cost $30).
My aha moments lately.

"Aha" the toggles I have are in different places in landscape and portrait. "Aha" the Facebook app requires permissions to access everything on my phone. "Aha" there are no built for android accessories. "Aha" I have my gmail in two places. "Aha" my scrolling isn't smooth

Annoyances go both ways, dude. Plus - no airplay? Sucks to be Android.

 

[H2SO4]

I bet you think bigger engine = better car. lol

It does if it uses no more fuel or takes up no more space. Bigger screen does not necessarily equal bigger device. Let's see what they come up with.

 

[gstylez]

If you're "bored" with iOS and Apple in general and you're not getting the aha moment any more - switch to Android. You'll get that aha moment each time the device does what you want it to, if you can get it to do what you want it to.

Apple doesn't need to add animated icons or active weather lock screens - those kind of things are great if you're so bored you need your device to entertain you, but if you actually use your device these things seem rather pointless. Apple created such a simple OS that only takes a swipe and a click or two to get to things that can entertain you - and that's just too much work for people?

I'd hate to see how you act when it's time to open presents - and waiting for the microwave to heat up a bowl of soup must be physically painful. How can anyone be expected to wait 90 seconds for soup to heat up. But hey, while you're waiting you can stare at your Android device while it shows you it's raining outside with animated clouds and rain on the lock screen - because you don't have time to look out the window...

Awesome comment!!!

 

[mtek]

No.Bigger.Screen. Period! To anybody who thinks they want this: Just hold your iPad to your face until the urge passes. Done.

Yeah sure the surge is certainly oassing this year with all the flagship smartphones going to 5" form factor with retina crushing DPI's...

Wake up Apple!

 

[Zwhaler]

Experience is key, and honestly large screen Android devices are an amazing experience! Not for everyone to be sure, but man it's nice having a device that isn't restricted

 

[throAU]

Tim Cook failed. People just want a larger screen. Smaller screen = poor experience, larger screen = good experience.

Larger screen = won't fit in my pockets comfortably.

If i want a larger screen, i'll use my iPad.

 

[thleeal]

The truth is, iPhone (or smartphones for that matter) have entered maturity. Further component miniaturization and improvements, as well as new features and refinements can bring more revolutionary experience, but none as disruptive as the original iPhone announcement.

As such, I think next "aha!" moments will be outside Apple's existing product lines, such as watch and television. Successful launch of new category will be first real proving ground for Cooks and his team, not iPhone 6.

perfect explanation. my iphone is like a screwdriver. i dont need it to be fancy. i want it to perfect the things it does. i want 2 days out of a battery, i want siri and auto correct spot on 100% of the time.

when you guys say innovation... what do you mean? seriously, what are you looking for?

an Aha moment for me will be when my phone goes downstairs and makes me a cup of tea and some pancakes and brings it to bed for me.

the next innovation is going to be in the rumoured iwatch and apple tv... unless they have been working on something since jobs died that is going to be awesome.

 

[JGRE]

Right, the industry has spent year in miniaturizing the mobile phone to a size where it should be, and now everybody wants to go back that road to have a phone that does not fit in any pocket.

Please do not increase the screen size; I will buy a tablet if I need a bigger screen.

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perfect explanation. my iphone is like a screwdriver. i dont need it to be fancy. i want it to perfect the things it does. i want 2 days out of a battery, i want siri and auto correct spot on 100% of the time.

when you guys say innovation... what do you mean? seriously, what are you looking for?

an Aha moment for me will be when my phone goes downstairs and makes me a cup of tea and some pancakes and brings it to bed for me.

the next innovation is going to be in the rumoured iwatch and apple tv... unless they have been working on something since jobs died that is going to be awesome.

Right, screen-size is no innovation for a smart phone

 

[Bezetos]

Another meaningless truism from Apple.

I can't believe they're that naïve to think that people are moving away from the iPhone only because of the screen size.

 

[manu chao]

You can just keep the browser window open, in a different Space if you want to. I guess that's not as "clean" as a widget, but IMO it's easier. I can see widgets being useful on the desktop, but they're only (officially) on Dashboard. It's a matter of personal preference, but it seems like all the people I know in real life don't like Dashboard.

Yeah, well, if I keep my four main Dashboard widgets as browser windows in a different space and then navigate to and from it with a key press or a gesture, I would have just created a clone of Dashboard that likely does not look as clean (widgets tend to look cleaner and more compact than web pages) and that does not automatically refreshes when switching to it like Dashboard widgets do.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Larger screen = won't fit in my pockets comfortably.

If i want a larger screen, i'll use my iPad.

You might be in luck... Apple kept the original screen size for 5 years. They didn't change it until 2012.

Using that logic... we won't see a larger phone until 2017. That should tide you over for a while.

But the other guys are figuring it out now:

Slightly larger body (still pocketable)

MUCH larger screen

 

[Nahaz]

The Samsung Galaxy S3 fits into pockets fine. Apple can save some size by reducing the bevel on top and bottom. They could also make the glass front go edge to edge almost.

To me 4.5 - 4.7 inch is the Goldilocks zone for a phone screensize.

The "aha" factor is now coming from other mobile phone manufacturers because Apple likes to hold back on some technologies for their next release.

Classic example is the standard screen on the iPad mini. The majority of us are expecting retina in the iPad Mini 2. iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s. The 4s guys can have Siri but the iPhone 4 cannot.

 

[F1 Fan]

I don't care how long iOS has been around for or how little it's changed. It's incredibly easy to use and is very reliable. Don't get me wrong, I like looking at pretty tech as much as the next geek but ultimately, I want it to allow me to achieve things. Whether I'm communicating, working or being entertained, I want my tech to enable me to do it quickly, easily and predictably. That's what Apple is great at.

On the size issue, I want my iPhone to fit comfortably in my hand and in my pocket. If the screen gets much bigger, the first issue will be using it with one hand (something I do a lot). After that, it will result in the overall device growing to a size that makes it difficult to get in and out of my pocket which makes it an annoyance rather than an enabler.

If the OS is changed to add functionality without sacrificing usability then great, otherwise it's best left alone. If the screen gets a little bigger that might be ok but 5" is too much IMHO.

 

[spazzcat]

You are correct, Tim. Experience is everything.....and I want to experience a larger iPhone or I'm likely to switch when I'm due for another upgrade.

EDIT: Wouldn't mind the ability to customize more as well. I have my Macbook Pro very personalized without sacrificing anything the OS has to offer. You couldn't pry that thing from my hands if you tried. Don't feel that way about my phone.

I don't understand how making pretty themes makes my phone more useful. Even when I JB, I don't do it for theming.

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Yeah sure the surge is certainly oassing this year with all the flagship smartphones going to 5" form factor with retina crushing DPI's...

Wake up Apple!

Phones should not be 5". I haven't upgraded to a iPhone 5 yet, because I don't want a bigger phone. I don't want to carry it, and I don't want to use it. I have a friend that has a Note2, I laugh at him every time he uses it as a phone, it looks stupid.

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Because Apple makes more products than just iToyz? I've been using macs since my powerbook g3, and I love my current MBP.

My 4s is my second iPhone and every time I turn it on I have "damn, why didn't I switch to Android" moment. I'm just waiting until the galaxy s4 comes out so I can escape this iOS garbage. But, I'm on this forum and I'd make the choice to buy another MBP in a heartbeat.

Even recently iOS 6.1 broke the 4s, but you can't "upgrade" back to 6.0 or 5.x to fix it? Everything about iOS is a joke, the control freak nature of Apple is killing it even for the most die hard. And no, I didn't get nailed by the bug. Ever since the iTunes release that helpfully reformatted your hard drive about 8 years ago, I wait for the suckers to betatest for me.

What is so great on Android?

 

[Azathoth]

Apple doesn't need to add animated icons or active weather lock screens - those kind of things are great if you're so bored you need your device to entertain you, but if you actually use your device these things seem rather pointless.

You're talking about the company that added twitter and FB integration into the OS (Mountain Lion). Apple ads all kinds of crap. "Nobody" wanted a larger (say 4" or 4.3") screens until the iPhone 5 - right?

For me the HTC Desire (3.7") and the HTC One S (4.3") where way better devices than the iPhones at the time, due to screen size, even as someone with small hands.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Phones should not be 5". I haven't upgraded to a iPhone 5 yet, because I don't want a bigger phone. I don't want to carry it, and I don't want to use it. I have a friend that has a Note2, I laugh at him every time he uses it as a phone, it looks stupid.

If only it was possible to make a screen somewhere between 4" and 5.5"

If only...

 

[orfeas0]

iOS's UI was created 6 years ago for a device that had significantly less processing power (ARM 11@412 MHz, 128MB RAM) than Apple's latest (ARMv7 dual-core CPU@1.3 GHz, triple core GPU, 1GB RAM).

Add to this that the original iPhone back then had a very limited feature set compared to what smartphones (including iPhone 5) can do today, and what consumers expect.

It's more than about time for a new UI.

The fact that the specs increase, doesn't mean you should use them all the time.
That's why iOS is so fast, because it's as simple as 6 years ago, with 10 times faster devices.

I switched from an iPhone 3gs (quite old technology) to an asus padfone, which has a dual-core S4 processor with 1gb of ram, and it doesn't even feel faster.

Android is full of bloatware and is a ram&cpu-eating OS which slows down your blazing fast device.

Also, most people want a simple OS, even if it doesn't have all the customisation like android (which I don't even care about).
Why do you need widgets when you can open up an app in less than a second in iOS?
To check your widgets you need to swipe to another desktop anyway (how many can a desktop hold?), and it's pretty much the same as tapping on the app icon, plus guess what! It doesn't consume your battery the whole time!

 

[BvizioN]

Yeah sure the surge is certainly oassing this year with all the flagship smartphones going to 5" form factor with retina crushing DPI's...

Wake up Apple!

Could you explain to me the benefits of higher DPI's then the one in the retina displays?
This DPT thing kind of remind me the megapixel resolution of the cameras. The difference of 5 Mpx image with a 20 Mpx image on a 17" screen! None whatsoever!!

So yes... having it for the sake of having the highest, regardless if there is any benefit from it.

 

[mscice]

having bigger screen would benefit users experience in my opinion... we will see what happens... I had a iPhone for ages but recently switched over to Galaxy Note 2... and soon will be getting Note 3...

I never liked the tablets but the Note gives me a in between field of Phone and tablet world...

Yeah it looks stupid to make a call with it, hence why i use bluetooth heaphones

 

[Digital Skunk]

He's 100% correct albeit the screen size is part of the experience. Also, with the Note 2 at least, the experience is far more useful and exciting.

 

[MacDav]

My brother bought the S3. I have to say that big screen is very enticing. I can see things a lot more clearly on it, and there's plenty of room for my big fat fingers.

 

[GermanyChris]

I think Mr. Cook needs to be quiet now please remember you're in California and not Alabama any more. Just hush and tell about stuff on stage.