I would definitely buy a 5.1" iPhone if they sold one. My point is that this has never been the rumor, so I'm not sure why people would be surprised about this today.
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Upcoming Fall 2020 5.4-Inch iPhone Will Be Similar in Size to iPhone 8
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I would definitely buy a 5.1" iPhone if they sold one. My point is that this has never been the rumor, so I'm not sure why people would be surprised about this today.
I'm not talking about a few people on a forum. It doesn't make sense to develop, scale, and cannibalize sales of other iPhones people will buy.
Ultimately it comes down to whether enough people want it to justify making it. The fact that it doesn’t exist would suggest that Apple’s market research thinks the answer is “no”.
I believe this is the correct answer. Obviously some people do want it. The question is whether Apple believes that enough people want it to justify the cost of R&D. At this point the answer appears to be "no".
There could always be other reasons that aren't directly linked to consumer demand... but this appears to be the most likely answer.
Says who? Tech and options have moved on in a big way from when he was in charge
It depends on the economics of producing such a device. Not the opinions of a few macrumors forum posters.
Since when is what Apple are deciding to do 'proof' of what more people want?! I never hear people these days say they want a larger phone ,quite the contrary, there is always a strong call for a choice of small phone once again... with a chassis the size of the iPhone 5.
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I don't agree at all... it's simply the only CHOICE people have these days. If they brought out an iPhone 5 size phone but with an edge to edge screen it would be a HUGE seller.
I think I'd rank them similarly, but it's close. Your point on Reachability is a good one: it feels like a kluge. I look at the current iPhone 8 size, and I find it already reasonably pocketable, but it's difficult to hold. (BTW, I would be using a case as well, as I am not comfortable with the curved edges and the materials and I'd worry about a drop all the time...so it's not just the size of the phone held in the Apple Store.)
I already do some trickery to move the icons on the home screen downwards; I feel OK that I could make that work at least. But UI elements within apps are an issue. For me, this issue (one-handability) is the biggest one. Once you've lost that, then further embiggenings are of less concern. If I've lost that physical capability, then I might as well get something even bigger.
My favorite iPhone ever was my trusty 5c. When I got the SE I was able to add Touch ID, 64-bit chip and Apple Pay, but at the cost of other things. Now I'd be giving up even more:
From 5c to SE:
--Gained Touch ID, Apple Pay, 64 bits. Significantly better camera including slow motion video.
--Lost comfort, weight (I liked that the 5c was just a little heaver in my hand), and grippability. I used my 5c with no case. The plastic wasn't slick, it felt secure in my hand, the corners were curved and the design was clean. Now with my SE I use a case.
From SE to 8-type device:
--Gain (significant) improvements to processor and camera, as well as larger screen area
--Lose one-handedness, even LESS grippable and comfortable (well, more "comfortable" than the 5S but the loss of grippability makes it less psychologically comfortable). Camera bump as well (further requiring a case). Remember when we didn't have to deal with those?
Though the tech is better, I feel I will be a lot less happy than I was with the 5c.
Since so many people are expressing their pie-in-the-sky wishes...I'll say mine would be a 5c with reduced bezels, no Face ID needed (I prefer Touch ID), best camera that can fit in there (I do most of my "important" shooting with my DSLR) and an A13 chip. And a price at $500 would be fine. Lower would be better of course, but I'd be happy at $500.
I can’t wait to come back down from a XR to the iPhone 7 size once again! 2020 is going to be an amazing year for small iPhone users.
I guess the reason is for battery, with all the tech inside the phone cannot last long enough on charge with smaller capacity battery.
Price means practically nothing if it's a product I want.
If Apple released an iPhone in the physical dimensions of the iPhone SE that contained the hardware of the iPhone 11 Pro I'd buy it without a second thought, even at $999.
That "corrected" diagram still features the current-day rounded bezels that are heavily rumored to be replaced this year by a squared off style similar to the SE. Not only could that fact shrink the bezel size a little bit by itself, but the black area of the today's iPhone bezels could also get a bit narrower with incremental improvements to the design of the next iPhone. Those two factors could very well nudge the size of the 5.4" iPhone 12 more toward the size of the SE than what the diagram you posted depicts.
As others have pointed out in this thread and previous threads, the rumored slight increases in screen size for the two larger iPhone 12 models could very well be owed to narrower bezels on an iPhone lineup whose overall dimensions stay essentially the same as today's iPhone 11 Pro. If you then apply what would be the resulting bezel size of such phones to the new 5.4" model, you end up with an iPhone that is basically smack dab in the middle of SE in 8 in size.
Right. Someone else posted this as well.
This makes sense, but my point still stands. The 5.8" iPhone is pretty "similar in size" to the iPhone 8. The 5.4" iPhone would also be "similar in size" to the iPhone 8.
The point is, there is no new information here, since "similar in size" is relative. It's going to be a smaller phone than what is currently available, although not as small as an iPhone SE. We already knew this.
Like I say above, that's accurate for a theoretical 5.4" iPhone using the same enclosure as today's iPhones. That phone is not likely ever to exist. A 5.4" using an all new enclosure with the improvements I describe could be closer to the size of the SE than the 8.
I recall someone doing this exercise before, but if you take an iPhone Pro 11 and iPhone Pro 11 Max silhouette similar to those in the diagram you posted, and stretch the screens to 6.1" and 6.7" inches, you can see just how small the bezels on this year's phones might very well be. Sure, we don't know yet that this is genuinely what's happening, but I suspect that these screen sizes have been chosen carefully. Something like: "What's the biggest screen size we can fit on phones the same size as we have this year? Ok great, fans of the X and 11 Pro lineup will love that. Now, what size screen do we need to provide to create a new smaller iPhone that will satisfy all of the requests we have for more compact device? 5.4 inches is the biggest we can do and still please those folks? Ok, that's what we'll do then."
I agree with this. Thanks for putting it more eloquently than I was.
"Similar in size" to an iPhone 8 is basically meaningless at this point. They aren't returning to the iPhone 8 form factor, and there are too many unknowns to make accurate renderings.
Is it going to be bigger than an iPhone SE? Of course it is. The iPhone SE body is less than 5.4" diagonally... but it will also likely be at least a bit smaller than an iPhone 8 (unless this rumor is suggesting larger bezels, which seems pretty unlikely).
Bottom line, the 5.4" version of the phone is going to be smaller than the iPhone 11 Pro and bigger than an iPhone SE. Suggesting it will be "similar in size" to an iPhone 8 adds almost nothing to the rumors we already knew about.
The idea is, the 5.4" iPhone most closely resembles the iPhone 8 in size. It is nowhere near the size of the iPhone SE. Some people thought it might be, but it clearly won't be.
5.4" iPhone
Height = 5.25"
Width = 2.61"
iPhone 8
Height = 5.45"
Width = 2.65"
iPhone X
Height = 5.65"
Width = 2.79"
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Squared off edges won't reduce the thickness of the bezels. If anything, the bezel thickness has already increased from iPhone Xs to the iPhone 11 Pro.
In order for the 5.4" iPhone to be "similar" in size to iPhone SE, the bezels would need to be thinner than anything available on the market today. And that's pretty unlikely, especially given that Apple is contracting Samsung, LGD, and BOE for OLED panels this year.
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Where are you getting those 5.4" iPhone numbers?
I just did some math, and if we are just scaling based on the current iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max sizes, a 5.4" version would probably be somewhere around:
Height = 5.28"
Width = 2.65"
That's pretty freaking close to the iPhone 8. Which is my point. Further optimizations by Apple should be able to make it a bit smaller... but it was never going to be the size of an iPhone SE. So my point is that this rumor doesn't add any new information - in spite of the fact that people seem to be sad about it.
You are right that it won't reduce the size of the bezel, but we are talking about overall dimensions of the phone. Squaring off the phone with a metal band (as is rumored) could easily shave mm off of the overall phone size.
We are talking about degrees here. It's going to be larger than the iPhone SE. Is it going to be the same exact size as the iPhone 8? Incredibly doubtful. So we are arguing over the word "similar" - which seems like an exercise in futility.
This rumor doesn't mean much, unless the suggestion is larger bezels (which I suppose is possible if they eliminate the notch... but seems unlikely in this particular iteration of the phone).
Anyone remember the recent patent drawings of what appeared to be an iphone 8 type, but expanded screen with no home button and "large" bezels? Any chance they would do something like that? Keep similar form, 'hide' face id in a forehead and have an equal chin?
Are you referring to the rumor about the "notchless" iPhone? If so, yes... that is a possibility. It seems like getting all of that FaceID equipment in the bezel would require a slightly larger bezel. If that's the rumor here, I would argue that it is good news overall, because I was expecting that feature to only be for the larger higher end phone(s).
By taking the dimensions of a 5.4" display and adding iPhone X bezels. The iPhone 11 Pro bezels are thicker than iPhone X or iPhone Xs.
I don't see how having flat edges would reduce the overall size of the device. The side button, volume rockers, and mute switch still need the same physical space in the frame to operate.
The iPhone X has the same side bezel width as the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 5. The top and bottom bezels are virtually the same as the side. There's way to suddenly shave off mm from the overall size.