Why does Apple decide to stay with a small screen?

[kdarling]

Why is Apple retaining the small screen size when Android users get the luxury of indulging a big screen?

If Apple really is just extending the length, then it's legacy app issues. They're afraid of breaking hundreds of thousands of apps.

When people talk about "polished apps", they usually refer to them being designed specifically for just one screen size. This was seen as a huge advantage over other systems supporting multiple sizes. And it is, until you want a different size screen or denser PPI. Then you end up with non-expandable methods like pixel doubling.

Basically, Apple's gotten themselves stuck in much the same situation that some other phone manufacturers were in for years. They're going to have to start a huge push towards resolution independent apps if they want to break free.

 

[onthecouchagain]

If Apple really is just extending the length, then it's legacy app issues. They're afraid of breaking hundreds of thousands of apps.

When people talk about "polished apps", they usually refer to them being designed specifically for just one screen size. This was seen as a huge advantage over other systems supporting multiple sizes. And it is, until you want a different size screen or denser PPI. Then you end up with non-expandable methods like pixel doubling.

Basically, Apple's gotten themselves stuck in much the same situation that some other phone manufacturers were in for years. They're going to have to start a huge push towards resolution independent apps if they want to break free.

Apple's attempt to keep things as un-fragmented as possible holds them back from truly improving software and hardware. It's a big weight to carry, to make sure 3 year old devices can update (and still not have all the features of the latest OS, and can cause slowdown due to hardware limitations; what's the point?). It's becoming a crux.

And those that argue it's worth it because look at the fragmentation on Android's side.... Well, that's what the Nexus line is for. The Nexus nullifies this argument. Google is able to make drastic improvements (think Gingerbread to ICS) because of this.

 

[entatlrg]

I ended up switching to my Galaxy Nexus because I wasn't happy with the battery life on my 4S and I wanted a bigger screen with more resolution. At this point, it's more than obvious that Apple is the leader in mobile phones and after having a 'droid for a month I'll still give the overall nod to the iPhone. It seems reasonable that they would have more than one model of the iPhone at this point (beyond carrier and memory capacity) just as other phone manufactures give different options. I would certainly be pre-ordering the 5 if it bumped in both directions and went to a 1280x720 (or 800) resolution.

There is a market for larger screen phones. The GNex is quite confortable in my pocket and in my hand but I do have fairly big hands.... again, some size model variation would be a nice thing to see. Perhaps it goes against Apple's marketing model to have multiple models, but I do think there is a market out there for significantly larger screened iPhones (more than just a length bump). Anyway, wish in one hand.... right?

You're right. The ultimate solution for Apple is to make the iPhone in at least two screen sizes. It is odd they don't and no doubt costing them market share to some degree.

Could be a larger market for two sizes of iPhone's than two sizes of iPads.

 

[wmmf]

Also, people's opinions change as they come to grips with technology.

Nice joke in a conversation about the hand-feel of the iPhone!

 

[thewitt]

You doubt cost is part of the equation? Apple is all about maximizing profits. We're talking here about a company that settled with 256 MB of RAM for the first generation iPad because 512 MB of RAM would cost them $0.50 more.

I know a little about how Apple deals with suppliers and it's not all about cost. The difference on screen size costs would not have been an interesting part of the equation for the last few years.

They have stayed with this size screen by design, not simply because of costs.

 

[SR45]

Just because many android phones are wider does not mean Apple has to follow them. I prefer the same width and would go elsewhere if than went wider. You have a choice. If you want wider, please go. Many to chose from right now.

 

[sectime]

You doubt cost is part of the equation? Apple is all about maximizing profits. We're talking here about a company that settled with 256 MB of RAM for the first generation iPad because 512 MB of RAM would cost them $0.50 more.

First your comment about profit is just odd. Is any company not profit driven??Second I don't recall any threads about Ipad users running out of memory, could you link to them? When does hardware specs become just a marketing ploy? The Galaxy 3 2 gig ram as an example. Sounds great, how many will need it? Android apps are very tight in size and newer Android builds are very good at memory management. Great for marketing though. For me a 4 inch retina screen is the sweet spot. Oh yeah a Apple TV and big screen too

 

[mpossoff]

I like the size of my 4S. A little bigger would be ok. I'm fine with the rumored size of the next iPhone. Too large and I'd have to pass.

I used to own a Droid Pro and that, too, was a nice size. I believe it is a little bigger than the iPhone.

And, I agree apple could add a larger phone to their line up. I gotta believe they have looked at it. Maybe their research showed that adding a larger phone wouldn't bring in enough additional buyers to cover costs. You know, not simply just split the existing customer base between the two options.

The size and form factor of the 4S is perfect. A 4 inch screen can be squeezed into the current size and form factor.

 

[7thson]

"Why is Apple retaining the small screen size when Android users get the luxury of indulging a big screen?"

Because Android phones need the extra screen real estate to draw people like you, or at least tempt, to jump ship from ios.

"What's the point? And why are people saying it's going to boost sales?"

Only Apple truly knows this, we can only speculate. Saying it's going to boost sales is like saying that they sun will rise in the East. It's going to sell very well, even if it's only a modest upgrade from the 4s.

"Don't iPhone users also want a bigger screen?? Is there something I'm missing?

"

Some do and they tend to be the most vocal about the screen size issue. Dissatisfaction leads one to question the motivations of those whom they have largely been happy with. I think that it's largely due to Apples profit margins and their fastidious adherence to maintaining them. To build the product that they want to you to buy, they have a tight margin to stay in and still meet their goal. Building the bigger phone that you want, that they would feel good about producing, would require they charge more for it and right now, that is not something that the vast majority of people would be very happy about. Yes, the polls asked people if they want a bigger screen on the next iphone and the majority said yes, but did the poll ask how much more were they willing to pay for it? Apple isn't competing with Android on features, we all know that many Android phones can "do" more than an iphone, they are competing in quality. They still own that distinction and probably will for some time to come. I hope you can come to some peace over that which you cannot change.

 

[BiggAW]

Why is Apple retaining the small screen size when Android users get the luxury of indulging a big screen?

What's the point? And why are people saying it's going to boost sales?

Don't iPhone users also want a bigger screen?? Is there something I'm missing?

3.5" is the best size for a phone screen in terms of human anatomy for most humans. Some people with small hands might be better off with a 3.2", although that gets pretty small, and there are no good phones with that.

 

[gta50419]

Lol @ the people who fake like 3.5 is perfect...

You all must have hands of a 10 year old girl & wear super tight nut hugging jeans, ****ing pathetic.

4.3-4.5 would be perfect, nothing under , nothing over

 

[Gibonz]

4" at the current aspect ratio would be perfect IMO

Anything bigger would be a bonus...

 

[lazard]

rumor is that Steve Jobs kept with the small screen because he had small hands.

 

[willmtaylor]

Why is Apple retaining the small screen size when Android users get the luxury of indulging a big screen?

What's the point? And why are people saying it's going to boost sales?

Don't iPhone users also want a bigger screen?? Is there something I'm missing?

Interesting point. This has never been brought up, discussed, or debated on these forums before.

Never...ever....

 

[daechi]

tiny screen

ugly design

hurts my eyes

 

[ThatsMeRight]

First your comment about profit is just odd. Is any company not profit driven??Second I don't recall any threads about Ipad users running out of memory, could you link to them? When does hardware specs become just a marketing ploy? The Galaxy 3 2 gig ram as an example. Sounds great, how many will need it? Android apps are very tight in size and newer Android builds are very good at memory management. Great for marketing though. For me a 4 inch retina screen is the sweet spot. Oh yeah a Apple TV and big screen too

He says that cost is not part of the equation. I tell him it is. Apple is more about maximizing profits: there where other companies would immediately have put in 512 MB RAM in the first generation iPad, Apple decided to put in 256 MB of RAM to save costs.

Use any first generation iPad. You'll find out it runs out of memory all the time. You can barely load two or three pages without them refreshing automatically all the time. And multitasking? At best a few apps that will stay in memory.

Hardware always stays important. Of course manufacturers use it for marketing. "Super AMOLED Plus Extreme" sounds great... because it's super AMOLED... the plus variant... and the extreme variant. But at some point we'll have more power processors in our smartphones - not just for marketing, but because the Operating Systems become more demanding. Apps become more demanding (think about more advanced games, or augmented reality becoming even more advanced).

RAM is one of the critical things for iOS to run smooth. An iPhone 4S with 256 MB of RAM would run terrible. Apple gave the first generation iPad just 256 MB of RAM - the device was released in April of 2010. At that point, they were long aware that iOS 4 would get multitasking. At that point, they knew an iOS device with more RAM would be able to deal better with multitasking (after all, the iPhone 4 did get 512 MB of RAM).

Apple is in no way holy to me. They make great products, but I do believe that sometimes Apple prefers to bring down the price of a product with $1 instead of making a product run (even) smoother.

EDIT
And oh, the links you asked for.

- https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/914175/
- https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/904353/
- https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/898131/
- https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/967493/
- http://www.ifans.com/forums/threads/stop-safari-auto-refresh.306343/
- https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/889756/
- http://www.mactalk.com.au/57/83140-256m-ram-not-enough-ipad.html
- https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1031798/
- http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1719147

 

[Sedrick]

Why is Apple retaining the small screen size when Android users get the luxury of indulging a big screen?

What's the point? And why are people saying it's going to boost sales?

Don't iPhone users also want a bigger screen?? Is there something I'm missing?

Don't you know that every single iPhone user uses every aspect of their iPhone with one hand and that hand is child-like in size?

I can't figure it out either. I've got short stubby fingers and thumb, and I can reach well beyond the left edge of the screen with ease (where another stack of icons might be). And guess what? Most things on the phone require two hands anyway. Yes, this dogged determination by the faithful to live in the past is very frustrating.

Best I can figure is that it's what Steve told them to think several years ago and now everyone repeats this nonsense ad-nauseum.

Another trick they'll use is to exaggerate by comparing a larger iPhone to a 747 jumbo jet. Don't be fooled!

 

[tjb1]

Why is Apple retaining the small screen size when Android users get the luxury of indulging a big screen?

What's the point? And why are people saying it's going to boost sales?

Don't iPhone users also want a bigger screen?? Is there something I'm missing?

Because its a phone, dont like it then go to android.

 

[kaielement]

I like a phone that can fit into my pocket. I mean have you seen the galaxy note.... Forget about putting that in your pocket..... And I don't like to put phones in my bags because I tend to miss calls and text messages.

 

[jmpnop]

You doubt cost is part of the equation? Apple is all about maximizing profits. We're talking here about a company that settled with 256 MB of RAM for the first generation iPad because 512 MB of RAM would cost them $0.50 more.

Its not because of cost, they intentionally crippled the first gen. to force people upgrade. Same thing with the crap cameras on iPad 2.

 

[aneftp]

Its not because of cost, they intentionally crippled the first gen. to force people upgrade. Same thing with the crap cameras on iPad 2.

People barely use cameras on tablets especially rear cameras. Smart people know performance day to day tasks iPad 2/3 are very to no difference.

Yes Apple cripples features to upsell newer products.

 

[lordofthereef]

I hate the phones with bigger screens. They're too large and I can't operate them with one hand. The market is there for people that crave the larger screens and they can enjoy the droids. I prefer the smaller one that fits into my front pocket that has better battery life.

Recently there has been a lot of concern with large screened Androids and their poor battery life. It seems to me people have forgotten that battery life was one of the biggest concerns of Android phones even when the only options were ~3.5" screens. In short, I don't think screens size is the Achilles heel in the battery depertment, especially since batteries have grown in size (due largely to more physical space being available) alongside those screens.

As far as there being a market for bigger screens, yes and no. There is a market if you are willing to pass up iOS for a bigger screen. Clearly what people (here) are asking is to have the benefit of a bigger screen AND iOS, all at the same time.

 

[kevink2]

A long time iPhone user, decided to give an Android phone a try. Unlocked, so it can be used on either TMobile or ATT, and I wanted at least 4.0, so bought the Nexus. And at least the Nexus was cheaper, unlocked, than most of the phones available with 4.0.

Screen is noticeably bigger than the iPhone, and some stuff I was used to doing one handed with the iPhone doesn't work anymore

2 days is hard to decide. I like mail better on the iPhone, having to split my email accounts over several APPs on the Android to get better support for each type.

Since I bought my phone unsubsidized, I can still buy the next iPhone unless it REALLY disappoints. I'm missing out on a few apps that I frequently used on the iPhone without equivalents, and another APP that just works better on IOS.

 

[pear21]

Because they dont want you to have to use both hands to use the device. And a bigger screen would mess up their perfect OS and make all the square apps look weird.

 

[lordofthereef]

Another trick they'll use is to exaggerate by comparing a larger iPhone to a 747 jumbo jet. Don't be fooled!

This made me LOL at work with some weird looks from clients. Thanks!