Darth Tulhu
macrumors 68020
It's not like Apple has a track record of replacing products with non-equivalents...
Hopefully, they'll keep large while introducing small.
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Upcoming Fall 2020 5.4-Inch iPhone Will Be Similar in Size to iPhone 8
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Hopefully, they'll keep large while introducing small.
Fair enough. Yeah, that was a bit of hyperbole. But I still bet there are lots of users, particularly younger ones, who consume most of their content on their phone b/c they don't necessarily have the luxury of multiple devices in a variety of sizes. Of course, some prefer to consume on their phone regardless, as you say.
I'm more interested in how you fit anything larger than the SE in a front jeans pocket (and still be able to sit and move normally) (?) My first (and last) big iPhone was the 6, which I returned the day after purchase b/c I couldn't sit down without putting pressure on it and I had to stand up to take it out. With my (current) SE, I can take it out of my front pocket while seated easily (not to mention the numerous other features that make the SE better for me than any other iPhone). And, as I said, price is not an issue - if there were a 4" model with current internals, camera, etc. at a price premium, I'd be all over it.
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Agree 100%. I literally don't know what I'll do when my SE no longer functions. Same as you, I've thought about "opting out" of smartphones if it comes to that. I've looked at options like Blackphone for the privacy issues, but then you still have a big phone. I don't think there will be another decent-sized phone after the SE
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After having had the SE, I would be very happy with the 5.4".
With such a small difference in features between the XR and XS as well as between the 11 and 11 Pro, I would not mind at all that it's non-Pro and this is after having a XS for the past 15 months. I would have the XR or 11 if they were not so big and bulky.
It will have 4GB RAM just like the XS, the A14 processor and OLED screen in a body between the 6/7/8 and the SE in size. What's not to like?
For me it's looking like my perfect smartphone!
With such a small difference in features between the XR and XS as well as between the 11 and 11 Pro, I would not mind at all that it's non-Pro and this is after having a XS for the past 15 months. I would have the XR or 11 if they were not so big and bulky.
It will have 4GB RAM just like the XS, the A14 processor and OLED screen in a body between the 6/7/8 and the SE in size. What's not to like?
For me it's looking like my perfect smartphone!
I’m with you in that minority. Increasing the screen size beyond 4”, regardless if the overall size of the device stays the same, will only make it harder to reach all corners of the screen with your thumb, thus making it less of a one-handed device. (See Apple’s iPhone 5 commercial.)
I use my phone when I’m out of the house to communicate, listen to music, navigate (audio), take pictures, and look up quick info—that’s it. None of that benefits from having a screen bigger than 4”. (Heck, none of that benefits from having a screen bigger than the original 3.5” size.) But because the overwhelming majority of the consumer market live on their phones and want their screens to envelope their eyes, I can no longer buy a true one-handed phone. Normally I say, “to each their own”, but it’s gotten to a point where it’s affecting me, so I’m very irritated.
There is a piece today here on MacRumors that's headlined about the coming 6.7" iPhone and how it'll be thinner. But here is a snippet from that article:
Notice that the "5.4-inch model's height would be between the iPhone SE and iPhone 8." Doesn't that recast all this discussion in terms of size? I haven't gone through all the comments on that thread, but the first page of them no one made any mention of it. So something "between the SE and 8"...if it's even midway that would make it one-handed capable for some of us, I would expect. With cameras the same as the iPhone 11? With OLED and Face ID? There are some things on there that aren't what I wanted, but there are things on there that I WOULD want.
There's no discussion of price in the item; I assume this would be one of the flagship iPhones.
Notice that the "5.4-inch model's height would be between the iPhone SE and iPhone 8." Doesn't that recast all this discussion in terms of size? I haven't gone through all the comments on that thread, but the first page of them no one made any mention of it. So something "between the SE and 8"...if it's even midway that would make it one-handed capable for some of us, I would expect. With cameras the same as the iPhone 11? With OLED and Face ID? There are some things on there that aren't what I wanted, but there are things on there that I WOULD want.
There's no discussion of price in the item; I assume this would be one of the flagship iPhones.
Much closer to iPhone 8 size than SE. But even if it were SE sized, a 5.4” screen would make it unsuitable for operating one handed. Sure, you could hold it in one hand easily, just like the SE. But operating it one-handed is an entirely different story.
I had a 5s, great one-handed phone. Replaced with a 4.7” 6s; mostly unusable one-handed. Holding it is not really a problem. But my thumb can’t go from the lower left to the upper right without changing my grip.
A 5.4” screen exacerbates that problem, even if the body is SE-sized. You’d be using reachability all the time. Actually 3.5” was even better than 4” in this regard, and it’s why Jobs thought 3.5” was the perfect size, and that iPhone shouldn’t get any larger screen than the “perfect” 3.5”.
The only users who would be satisfied would be those who like small due to “pocketability”, not usability.
btw the 5.4” isn’t really a flagship, it’s the smaller of two models at around $700-800. The flagships are priced around $1,000-1,100 and are rumored to have three rear cameras and a new time-of-flight depth sensor.
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That's an excellent point about the screen size, I agree.
Though you're right in your nomenclature about "flagship," to anyone using an SE (or considering the one in March that, let's say, is essentially an iPhone 8 with an A13 chip), ALL of the ones discussed here seem like "flagship" phones; at least, they seem like "real" new iPhones.
Yeah, it does suck that you don’t even have the option of buying a phone with a 4” screen anymore, regardless of brand. Your only option is buying a used iPhone SE that was originally released 3 years ago.
Yeah, actually close to 4 years ago. But thankfully, it still performs well. Personally, I’ve been on an SE for the last 3 years; aiming to get another 3 out of it. I’m just hoping against hope that there are options by then.
Over 4" sure, but not a huge overall size. See the difference? I'm managing with my XR, love its capabilities, larger screen and battery life, but not loving its heaviness and largeness. It's very difficult to use one-handled, very awkward. The SE that it replaced was far superior in that regard.
You have the group that loves smaller iPhone SEs because they dont want to do these all these things, they dont want to be productive on it or a little less productive on it.. All they need the phone for is for messaging, phone calls, a quick shot now and then..
Many people stare at screens all day at work every day and pretty sure they would like to take a break from there poor little retinas constantly burning, the SE is the perfect for this.
Anything bigger is toilsome as it is heavier and rather nagging for constant attention. It is also perfect for people that need single handed use, in scenarios such as extreme sports, I do a lot of rock climbing a snowboarding and would never ever think of taking an iPhone 7 with me as in my use case that is way too big! Im also working quite a bit on film productions lately where I only have use of one hand....
There are many use cases for iPhone SE..... for me personal speaking it doesnt work to have a big phone. The digital layout setup combo for me is an iPhone SE, an iPad mini and Macbook Air, then 27inch Monitor on the desk at home or office... Now Im truly mobile without sacrificing comfort in any scenario or space
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I've never said that no one wants to have a really small phone. It's just clear that it's not what the majority of the market wants, so Apple isn't going to pour a lot of R & D into it. Therefore, any SE models will probably just be using up parts that they need to get rid of anyway. For the original SE it was 5s bodies. Sounds like for this one it will be 8 bodies.
thas pure bs; how can you get them when they are not available; I'm sure at least 1/3 of iPhone users would go for smallest phone available if they had it...maybe even over 50% I'n confident; many of us hate th brick size in out pockets and inability to use it with one hand
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yeah they started copying samsung and it seems like they don't want to pull away from those brick sized phones; many of us do not watch many videos or stick outr heads into phone all day plus we need a device that is easy to use with ONE hand and doesn't feel like a book in pant pocket. SE was the best ever iPhone and with edge to edge screen would be awesome thus this 12 5.4 seems close to it and maybe it is usable with one hand, will see when it comes out but I will only buy it if it has squared edges not slippery round edges
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Just my anecdotal evidence-
Dozens of people have asked me about my SE over the years. NONE of them had heard of it, by the way—they all thought it was a 5 or older. About a quarter responded that they wished Apple still sold small phones. About half were bemused or intrigued but just seemed to accept their own big phone as a given. The remaining quarter were gungho about bigger phones, and some of them ridiculed my SE.
Dozens of people have asked me about my SE over the years. NONE of them had heard of it, by the way—they all thought it was a 5 or older. About a quarter responded that they wished Apple still sold small phones. About half were bemused or intrigued but just seemed to accept their own big phone as a given. The remaining quarter were gungho about bigger phones, and some of them ridiculed my SE.
The real problem is that the user interface is designed in a way that many of the controls you need often are on the top of the screen and thus hard to reach. Same with the bottom, it's just not ergonomic. Ideally the controls should be in the middle. The movable split keyboard on the iPad is pretty well done to be honest.
I think a touch-sensitive strip on the side (with maybe a couple bumps for haptics) would work great. Press them lightly and the hotkeys appear on screen. Kinda like the volume display when you press a volume button. This way you can even more space for actual content in apps without having buttons taking screen space all the time.
Absolutely. I've posted similar comments in the past. This rumored 5.4" iPhone may be close to the perfect size for a device, but without a complete rethink of the UX, it will be difficult to use one-handed. Maybe one day someone will come out from nowhere with an entirely new smartphone/UI that keeps the device fairly small, maximizes the screen size as much as possible, but is still easy-to-use one-handed because everything is easily accessible within the radius of where your thumb will naturally rest.
I can't imagine Apple doing this, since the iPhone will come in so many different sizes, with the larger ones being designed for two-handed use, where this would be a non-issue. But if we're dreaming, perhaps the smaller phone will sell so well that they'll decide to spin off the OS, similar to what they've done for the iPad OS, and have a small-phone-optimized OS/UI specific for it.
Just my anecdotal evidence.
Everyone I know thinks the iPhone 5 / SE (original) is way too small. Nobody I've met in the last 2 years has expressed any interest at all in a 4" iPhone. The only ones I know that are using phones of that size are the kids who got hand-me-downs from their parents... because their parents got bigger phones.
P.S. We have both an iPhone 5 and an iPhone SE (original). The hand-me-down SE is being used by our 5 year old as an iPod, but my 7 year old has a hand-me-down 6s. The 5 is never used by anyone.
Anyhow, Apple has left 4" phones in the dust already. While iOS 13 still runs on the iPhone SE (original), the UI is definitely not suited for it. There simply isn't enough screen real estate on the phone for ideal support of iOS 13 and some of Apple's own apps. They are effectively being built with the 4.7" iPhone size in mind.
Granted most have willingly moved to larger phones, I think there are some people who only passively moved to larger phones because small phones simply don’t exist anymore. Out of sight, out of mind— their thoughts are on other things. Just my theory.
In exactly what ways is iOS 13 designed for bigger phones? Bigger phones can fit more into the screen of course, but that’s just simple logic, it doesn’t mean the software isn’t designed for it. Apple still sells the 4” iPod touch and there are no signs or rumors that it will be discontinued in the foreseeable future. I don’t see Apple continuing to sell a product they don’t plan on continuing optimizing software for.