Other We need to have a discussion of the ergonomics of a flat sided iPhone 12.

[VertPin]

As it appears, there has been a tremendous amount of posts all over social platforms regarding how the new iPhone will have flat edges, akin to the iPhone 4 through iPhone 5s. The reaction is normal, and honestly excited, however, what’s peaked my curiosity is the idea that “iPhone with flat edges would be the best iPhone ever”.
Has anyone noticed a resurgence in these sorts of posts over the last few months? I figured it would go away, but it’s a really active conversation to me. This would be totally fine, however, some people are taking it to the extreme and making claims like

“If the next iPhone doesn't have it, I WON’T be upgrading” or, “as long as it has flat edges, I’ll be upgrading”, or “the rounded edges promotes a new design language that means I have to upgrade”

To me, this is all just too silly. I can understand wanting to upgrade for a new design, but the design change is quite minimal at most. And most importantly, it’s not a good design change. The flat edges themselves looked cool, but they are unwieldy in today’s smart phones. As phones have gotten larger, the need to curve the sides of the shell were made so that the phone does not cut into your hand or feel rough over extended periods of use.

Based off of current leaks, it appears that all the new iPhones this fall will have flat edges. In the long run, this won’t be a big deal, however, I am curious to see how some consumers react after holding their large phones with flat edges for a long period of time (albeit it’ll be a small fraction that won’t make a big deal out of it.

I understand that a majority of you likely won’t read this and make drive by posts. However, could you at least share some perspective as to why it’s better than the curved sides we currently have in terms of ergonomics, and not aesthetics?

 

[TechLord]

I've always used cases so the round/flat corner debate has always been completely irrelevant to me and I won't notice a difference either way. A reduction of the notch/bezels is way way more important in my mind.

I can't think of an ergonomic reason to favour flat edges, surely if the phone is dropped naked there'd be a higher chance of the sides chipping?

 

[GhettoMrBob]

For me personally, curved edges have always been harder to hold. The iPhone 4 & 5 series were so easy to hold (not because they were smaller). The squared edges give it more bite and I've never found them uncomfortable.

 

[TechLord]

For me personally, curved edges have always been harder to hold. The iPhone 4 & 5 series were so easy to hold (not because they were smaller). The squared edges give it more bite and I've never found them uncomfortable.

Did the original 2016 SE have the squared-off design?

 

[VertPin]

Did the original 2016 SE have the squared-off design?

Yes.

 

[TechLord]

Yes.

Interesting; I had that phone but sold it a long time ago so couldn't remember. Always used a case so never noticed a difference when holding, but looking at renders of the 12 with the squared edges it does look much nicer than the rounded edges of the 11 IMO.

 

[now i see it]

The super slippery "bar of soap" design of the iPhone 6 onward is an abomination. A more non hand friendly design could not be made. It's the absolutely worst hand held grippable device ever inflicted on the world.

The sharp corners of the 5 series gives the fingers something to grab on to. Its superior in every way.

All Hail square edges!
To Hell must go the bar of soap.

 

[dcpmark]

The super slippery "bar of soap" design of the iPhone 6 onward is an abomination. A more non hand friendly design could not be made. It's the absolutely worst hand held grippable device ever inflicted on the world.

The sharp corners of the 5 series gives the fingers something to grab on to. Its superior in every way.

All Hail square edges!
To Hell must go the bar of soap.

Yep. The rounded corners (and thinness) allows it to roll too easily in your hand......my 6 rolled and fell out of my hand many times. Couldn’t wait for the OG SE, and I probably will not get the 12 5.4 if it has rounded edges.

By the way, my opinion is based on phone usage..... as quaint and old-fashioned as it seems, I still use my cell phone as a phone and hold it up to my ear. Try doing that with a round-edged thin cell phone, and you’ll understand the ergonomics of it. I dare say that many people never take a call this way, or don’t even use their phone as a cell phone, or use Bluetooth earphones instead, and 99.99% of the time have their cellphones flat in the hands while staring at the tiny screen.

 

[naturalstar]

First, every year, there is the "if the next iPhone doesn't have (insert whatever missing feature), then I won't be upgrading!!!"

As for the flat edges, I admit that I was wondering how the experience will be since I have always had curved or contoured phones.

However, when I think about it more, I don't really hold my phone all that much. When on calls, I usually have my AirPods in, the phone is on speaker while laying flat on the table/desk/couch, or it's on Bluetooth while in my car. When I am holding it to surf the web, access an app, or message or post a reply, I'm holding my phone either with two hands or I have it balanced on my pinkie finger with the other 3 fingers supporting the back when using it one-handed. None of these cases would make the phone uncomfortable to hold because I hardly ever have a heavy hand grip on the phone. Actually with the flat edges, the pinkie-balance will be easier - nope, I don't use a Popsocket or ring either.

This may be a case of depends on how you hold your phone. For me, since I never owned the "candy bar" iPhones, but always liked the design, I do hope that's what is revealed later this year.

 

[eyoungren]

Grip. Flat sides are easier to grip.

I don't hate the round edges, but @VertPin there are other ridiculous reasons people (such as myself) checked out from buying later versions of the iPhone. For me it's that damn fugly camera bump that gets bigger and bigger with each new model.

Anyway, I liked the 5 (I have one) in part because of the chamfered edges. I'll admit that at a certain point it would start to bite into the hand, but at that point I'd been staring at my phone screen for an hour or more. That kind of use is now reserved for my iPad.

Anyway, my insane and uniformed hope would be that if we get flat sides again there is a chance that the camera bump will eventually become flush again with the rear housing. In my thinking, the round sides have contributed to this abomination.
[automerge]1589474655[/automerge]

The super slippery "bar of soap" design of the iPhone 6 onward is an abomination. A more non hand friendly design could not be made. It's the absolutely worst hand held grippable device ever inflicted on the world.

The sharp corners of the 5 series gives the fingers something to grab on to. Its superior in every way.

All Hail square edges!
To Hell must go the bar of soap.

In all fairness, the iPhone 5 and 5s sides were chamfered. It's small, but it's there. But it's not round.

 

[johnnylarue]

The super slippery "bar of soap" design of the iPhone 6 onward is an abomination. A more non hand friendly design could not be made. It's the absolutely worst hand held grippable device ever inflicted on the world.

The sharp corners of the 5 series gives the fingers something to grab on to. Its superior in every way.

All Hail square edges!
To Hell must go the bar of soap.

I don’t disagree—the iPhone 6 chassis is a design that had to be at least partially inspired by a wet fish—but I consider placing the power button opposite the volume buttons an even more egregious offense against the basic tenets of product design. No way in hell Jobs would have signed off on that.

Speaking of whom, I still consider the OG iPhone to have the most comfortable and ergonomic chassis of any smartphone. Perfect shape to fit virtually any human palm, one-handed use was a breeze, no software tricks required. If only the masses hadn’t decided a smartphone screen should be large enough to allow for a critical viewing of Citizen Kane...

 

[danmart]

Flat sides herald the move to USB3 in my opinion...

I’m fine with that, except that the phone cradle in my car is a Lightning one.

 

[NickName99]

I have to admit, I’ve often compared curvy edged iPhones to bars of soap. I pretty much put each of my iPhones straight from the box into an Apple leather case.

The square edged iPhone 4 was much easier to hold.

Either way, it would be nuts not to keep your iPhone in a case. It’s like a motorcycle - it’s not a question of if you’re going to drop it, it’s a question of when.

 

[johnnylarue]

I have to admit, I’ve often compared curvy edged iPhones to bars of soap. I pretty much put each of my iPhones straight from the box into an Apple leather case.

The square edged iPhone 4 was much easier to hold.

Either way, it would be nuts not to keep your iPhone in a case. It’s like a motorcycle - it’s not a question of if you’re going to drop it, it’s a question of when.

Can you please post a link to your portable motorcycle?

 

[NickName99]

Can you please post a link to your portable motorcycle?

Motorcycle riders refer to it as “dropping” your bike when it ends up sideways, just common lingo. 😉

 

[eyoungren]

Either way, it would be nuts not to keep your iPhone in a case. It’s like a motorcycle - it’s not a question of if you’re going to drop it, it’s a question of when.

Not to turn this into yet another case/caseless discussion (there are endless threads here on MR on that topic), but the last time I dropped my caseless iPhone was a long time ago. I own six iPhones (3GS, 4, 4s, 5, 6s, 6s+) and none of them have cases. My current phone (an Android) also does not have a case. Since 2009 when I started carrying smartphones I have cracked a grand total of one screen from a drop. None of my current phones have cracks or dents.

My 6s+, which I've had caseless since late September 2015 is still in good shape. Over the years I've just learned how to handle and protect the device with my hands.

I'm not saying you're wrong or that I disagree, just that there's another side to this.

 

[NickName99]

Not to turn this into yet another case/caseless discussion (there are endless threads here on MR on that topic), but the last time I dropped my caseless iPhone was a long time ago. I own six iPhones (3GS, 4, 4s, 5, 6s, 6s+) and none of them have cases. My current phone (an Android) also does not have a case. Since 2009 when I started carrying smartphones I have cracked a grand total of one screen from a drop. None of my current phones have cracks or dents.

My 6s+, which I've had caseless since late September 2015 is still in good shape. Over the years I've just learned how to handle and protect the device with my hands.

I'm not saying you're wrong or that I disagree, just that there's another side to this.

I mean that’s great that you haven’t dropped a phone for a while, but one person’s anecdotal evidence doesn’t count for much. I drop my phone once every year or two, so if you took the average of my wife and me, that’s about twice per day total. 😂

My only point was that the shape of an iPhone is irrelevant to the 95% of the population who keeps their phone in a case. I feel like it’s really just about marketing at this point: a bold new square edged design would spark lots of interest. I’ll probably buy one, if I still have a job. 😷

 

[Motionblurrr]

I remember when I went from the iPhone 5S to the 6 Plus, how comfortable the rounded edges felt in my hand.

 

[freeagent]

No flat edges. They were good on the 5S but those days are long gone.

 

[Fuchal]

Square edges are what I'm looking forward to the most.

 

[bevsb2]

I prefer the look of the round edges. I have the 1st generation iPad Pro and it's a great device, but I don't care for the square edges. In my opinion it looks clunky compared to the sleek design of the other iPads.

 

[44267547]

I prefer the look of the round edges. I have the 1st generation iPad Pro and it's a great device, but I don't care for the square edges. In my opinion it looks clunky compared to the sleek design of the other iPads.

I just prefer how the rounded edges actually feel grasped in your hand. It’s so much more comfortable than ‘squared edges‘ like that 2016 iPhone SE, which My experience was with that, a great little form factor for comfortability without fatigue in hand, but the sharp edges were not very pleasing for holding the phone for a longer duration. (Yes, I realize that’s extremely minor effect, but other members have mentioned something similar to my thoughts.)

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

To be honest if I’m spending the best part of £700-800 on a phone, I’m going to put a case on it. The case therefore dictates the grip of the phone for me. I’ve got a ‘Supcase’ on my iPhone 8+ and plan on getting the same brand when I get the iPhone 12.

 

[SalisburySam]

For me, I love the design appearance of the rounded edges. But since I actually hold and use the damn thing, the flat edges of the original SE, and all my earlier iPhones were far, far easier to hold. My latest iPhone7 got better after using a case that adds flat sides. Just me.

 

[lkalliance]

I recently upgraded from the original SE to the new SE. This is my first experience with these contours. Like others, I have a case on mine, so the grip isn't the issue, nor is the camera bump. But I do like the way the glass curves away at the edge, that's a new feeling for me and I find it quite comfortable.

I've had several iPhones from the 5-and-earlier form factors, and I found the 5 series the LEAST comfortable to hold. When they thinned it out from the iPhone 4 series, it made the corners too "sharp." Not painfully so, but uncomfortably so.

I've said it before: the very best, most comfortable, grippiest iPhone ever was the 5c. The perfect phone chassis.