Why does everyone keep saying that Apple needs to make a bigger iPhone?

[lordofthereef]

I wasn't saying you were naive. I was saying arguing with the assertion that "millions of people want larger screens" (larger than the iPhone) is. There have been at least 50 million large-screen Android devices sold. All it takes for "millions" is 2 million. I stand by my assertion that it is naive to think less than 2 million people in the world want larger screens.

By the way, wanting a larger screen and wanting other features are not mutually-exclusive. I wanted the battery life of my Note 2 but that doesn't mean I didn't also want a larger screen. I still count in that (at the very least) 2 million.




Michael

Well, I completely misunderstood your meaning then. My apologies.

Also, I didn't mean to imply that screen size and other features are mutually exclusive. It's just that people are pointing to the sales of a product, like the note 2, and saying "see? X number of people bought this because of the larger screen." In reality, there are a handful of reasons, outside of screen size, for which the decision to buy could have been made. Conversely it is like saying "everyone who bought an iPhone 5 purchased it because of its screen size and aspect ratio." That's a bold, and almost certainly incorrect, statement.

 

[chakraj]

I dont have a smart phone, but I play one on T.V. and I always say 3.5 inches is just what it takes to get the job done. Now my wife unfortunately doesn't agree, she says 3.5 inches is significantly smaller than the average 6 inches others have, and she seems pretty unhappy dealing with 3.5 inches or atleast thats what she always tells me when we are done.

 

[Stuntman06]

It is very difficult to compare the effects of screen size on how popular a phone is. There are no two phones that are identical in every way except the screen size. The bigger phone has a number of other differences compared to the smaller one. Even the iPhone 5 has a number of other differences to the 4S in addition to the screen size.

No doubt that there are people who like the iPhone, but want a bigger version of it. It is up to these people to decide if they want to stick with the iPhone and live with a screen smaller than what they want or get different phone with a screen size more to their liking.

I'm actually in the opposite situation when I was buying a phone last phone. I wanted a screen around 4", but ended up getting the 4.8" SGS3 because there was no 4" phone that is like the SGS3. I got used to the screen size and have little trouble using it one handed. If people really want an iPhone, they'll live with the small screen. If they are not so concerned about what type of phone to get and want to get a phone with a big screen, they'll get a non-iPhone.

I do think that Apple can capture part of the large screen market if they built a larger iPhone. There are a number of reasons why they don't want to offer devices in multiple sizes. Accessories, and apps would have to be flexible enough to take into account devices and screens of different sizes. They have had to do that when they came out with the iPad and then the iPad Mini. Perhaps they feel the trade-off of supporting an additional device of a different size was not worth it for them.

 

[Serelus]

It is very difficult to compare the effects of screen size on how popular a phone is. There are no two phones that are identical in every way except the screen size. The bigger phone has a number of other differences compared to the smaller one. Even the iPhone 5 has a number of other differences to the 4S in addition to the screen size.

No doubt that there are people who like the iPhone, but want a bigger version of it. It is up to these people to decide if they want to stick with the iPhone and live with a screen smaller than what they want or get different phone with a screen size more to their liking.

I'm actually in the opposite situation when I was buying a phone last phone. I wanted a screen around 4", but ended up getting the 4.8" SGS3 because there was no 4" phone that is like the SGS3. I got used to the screen size and have little trouble using it one handed. If people really want an iPhone, they'll live with the small screen. If they are not so concerned about what type of phone to get and want to get a phone with a big screen, they'll get a non-iPhone.

I do think that Apple can capture part of the large screen market if they built a larger iPhone. There are a number of reasons why they don't want to offer devices in multiple sizes. Accessories, and apps would have to be flexible enough to take into account devices and screens of different sizes. They have had to do that when they came out with the iPad and then the iPad Mini. Perhaps they feel the trade-off of supporting an additional device of a different size was not worth it for them.

It's not difficult at all... the point that needs to be made is that... no "WE" do not need a larger screen. When you say something like: "Apple really needs to make a bigger/larger screen." or "Apple really needs to step up their game or they wil lose to android." It means that you're projecting your own opinion onto a group of people that is none-existant.

 

[serega]

I want larger phone since I tried Nexus 4. There is very little hope for me that apple will come with one this fell. I guess in fall time, when my upgrade is up I will get something with bigger screen and return to apple when it will make something similar.

 

[BeK]

Because people (including myself) want a bigger phone. I would definitely purchase a 5" iPhone without hesitation. I'm 6'2" with long fingers so a 5+ inch display would suit me just fine.

 

[Lancer]

bigger iPhone means watching netflix or iTunes movies with closed captioned.

Yes I want to sit for 2 hours hunched over a small screen

It might be good for a short clips or sitcoms but anything more and your battery life will suffer.

 

[Fouracre44]

Critics and reviewers think bigger always means better. What you need to remember is that these people believe they speak for everyone. Many drones will jsut follow what is written in reviews.. or what they are told to like.

Truth of it is, tablets exist, there's no REAL fleeting need for the larger screens and the OS of the iphone is good the way it is, it's funny how so many people talk about how good the samsung galaxy is with all it's superior hardware, I must admit I don't enjoy using android or any screen bigger than 4" it's too big for a personal phone.

Just do your own thing, let the reviewers and critics do their own thing. Awesome little nokias that are great phones today would get horrible reviews because they are compared to iphones, and media consumption devices rather than actual phones.

 

[Zerilos]

It's not difficult at all... the point that needs to be made is that... no "WE" do not need a larger screen. When you say something like: "Apple really needs to make a bigger/larger screen." or "Apple really needs to step up their game or they wil lose to android." It means that you're projecting your own opinion onto a group of people that is none-existant.

The fact of the matter is that "we" do not need smartphones, we want them. Just because a person's position on screen sized is their 'opinion" does not make it wrong or invalid. An opinion Can be based on fact. Your position is no less an opinion than that of the other side.

 

[takeshi74]

Why does everyone keep saying that Apple needs to make a bigger iPhone?

Everyone doesn't. There are plenty that are happy with current iPhone screen sizes. You're confusing "popular topic on Macrumors" with "everyone".

For those that do, it boils down to several reasons. You have the "analysts" that always assume that one company has to mimic another company's successes to remain relevant in the market. You also have users that want a bigger screen and assume that sufficient market demand exists for an iPhone with a larger screen based solely on the individual's preference (and maybe other posts on Macrumors). There are certainly other reasons but those two seem to be the most common IMO.

You certainly also get those that think that having more choice is always a good thing.

Does it really matter? If Apple thinks it needs to it will. If it doesn't it won't. We can debate all we want based on whatever reasoning but none of it will change Apple's course in the end.

That means that phablets (Samsung GS3, GS4, Note, Note2, LG Optimus Pro, HTC Butterfly, HTC One S, One X, One, Xperia Z, etc) PLUS all the 7" tablets (Galaxy Tab 7, 7 Plus, 7.7, Nexus 7, Archos, Asus, HP, Acer, Sony etc) combined make up just 5.7% of the entire Android installed base. Its probably reasonable to assume that phablets alone constitute somewhere less than 5% of all Android devices. This sure sounds like a niche category to me.

Properly interpreting statistics is a tricky thing. I'm no statistician but I don't think looking at numbers for a fixed point in time are going to help the argument one way or the other. It's the change in market share that matters. In other words, how quickly is this market share growing?

You also have to consider the overall size of the Android market. IIRC they're selling more devices overall. Even if 5% is correct, it's 5% of what? The niche could still be significant enough to make money. I can't speak to what criteria Apple uses to enter into a niche.

 

[Stuntman06]

It's not difficult at all... the point that needs to be made is that... no "WE" do not need a larger screen. When you say something like: "Apple really needs to make a bigger/larger screen." or "Apple really needs to step up their game or they wil lose to android." It means that you're projecting your own opinion onto a group of people that is none-existant.

It is not my opinion. There are people who own or want an iPhone who have said that they want an iPhone with a larger screen. Yes, there are a lot of people who are happy with the existing size of the iPhone screen, but not everyone does. There are even people who have said they got a different phone because they wanted a bigger screen. I think that if Apple made an iPhone with a bigger screen, some of these people who bought other phones might have bought the bigger iPhone instead if they had a choice.

 

[spacemnspiff]

iPhones feel "stale". What needs to change is the look of the phone and it's UI. It needs to re-wow people. It's all about feeling fresh, and being marketed as such.

I have read this plenty of times that iOS feels stale, I have a hard time understanding it. The only way I can relate to this comment is that a color used in a particular scenario is boring or old, other than that I dont see any merit to the comment. I dont know any OS in the past 2 years that has 'wowed' or added so called 'freshness' to the feel. And for me to like an OS I dont need marketing to tell me what/why I should like it or not.

Care to explain 'freshness' and 'stale'? Are we talking about features here?

 

[SILen(e]

People want a change like Windows 7 -> Windows 8 so they can bitch how nobody wanted those changes and how everything was so much better and less complicated in the past.

Did people really say "Oh, Aero has become so stale and boring, gimme some tiles and a completely different way to interact with the interface"?

People reject change, because it means they have to change too.

If Apple changes only the color scheme of iOS, people will complain how the revamp was nothing more than a paint job - and if Apple changes major concepts and designs, people will complain that they aren't able to use the OS like they did before, that they have to adapt.

Damnit, that is one of the main reasons why Android manufacturers are unable to release updates for their older phones to Android 4.0, because Android 4.0 AND manufacturer modifications won't run on satisfiyingly but pure Android 4.0 looks completely different that what people are used to.

Google changing the look and interaction concepts of Android every 6 months prior to Android 4.0 was one of the best jokes iOS users could laugh about.


Or look at Windows Phone 7 and 8 adoption - people are used to desktop style operating systems, with application icons, wallpapers etc... they didn't (and don't) understand tiles and nobody bought Windows Phone 7 (and few buy Windows Phone 8).

 

[Bacong]

a 5 inch screen on a phone is really nice, but I'm a big and strong man with man sized hands.

I really do like the 4 inch screen of the iPhone 5, though. I love how it's easy to use with one hand. It's about perfect, for me.

This is irrelevant though, because Apple won't be changing the size of the iPhone for awhile now.

 

[syd430]

The average size of an adult human hand has increased by 1.5" since 2007. This is why 3.5" was acceptable in in 2007, whereas obviously 5" is the standard today. Evolution people, look it up.

 

[serega]

The average size of an adult human hand has increased by 1.5" since 2007. This is why 3.5" was acceptable in in 2007, whereas obviously 5" is the standard today. Evolution people, look it up.

And at same time people's eyes got smaller so its harder to see......

 

[Luuthian]

People call iOS stale because it's static. It hasn't felt different for some time. And we're not talking about features so much as we are appeal. When you press the power button you get the same lock screen you've been getting for nearly five years.

Consider Android. It added widgets to the lock screen. It changed the "tray" at the bottom of the screen. It added better widgets. It has a fantastic task manager. It changed its icons. It added animated wallpaper. It has scrolling wallpaper. It has better folders. Etc. etc.

Why listen to me? Go here: http://www.androidauthority.com/android-2-3-gingerbread-vs-android-4-0-ice-cream-sandwich-37742/

The point is that each version of Android has been a progressive, noticeable change. It felt fresh and better every single time, and each time it received new visual cues.

iOS hasn't had this in a very, very long time. Partially because it was ahead of the curve, yes, but they're now the ones behind. iOS just needs that boost in the arm visually. Absolutely nothing is wrong with Apple's hardware... It's the core aesthetics of iOS itself that feel mundane. It's just not exciting any more.

 

[SprSynJn]

I think that the people on websites like these are tech heavy people and therefore want "bigger is better" with their technology. The same thing with those who love cars. I personally love the iPhone 5 screen. If I wanted something bigger, then I'd get an iPad Mini. Simple as that.

 

[everythingfun]

i know quite a few ppl, mainly above 40, heavy user, switch to bigger screen so that they can see the text clearer.

 

[ImpKali]

Honestly, the size of the iPhone has never bothered me, not when it was 3.5", and I feel that the move to a 4" screen was a natural progression that was just right. I can't stand how big Android phones are getting. It's a freaking smartphone, not a tablet, companies! I found my Galaxy S3 to be a bit too big to be comfortable and can't fathom a 5" screen on the S4, much less the rumoured 6.3" screen on the next Galaxy Note phone.

Things are just getting a bit crazy. If I want a larger screen to play or watch movies on, I reach for the iPad, not a smartphone that's too big and bulky to use. My mom was once an Android user, but when she saw that the Galaxy S3 was 4.8" and that the S4 is 5", she opted to wait for the upcoming iPhone 5S. Not all of us have basketball player hands; smaller phones such as the iPhones and the Nexus 4 are perfectly fine.

 

[Zerilos]

i know quite a few ppl, mainly above 40, heavy user, switch to bigger screen so that they can see the text clearer.

That's kind of the situation I'll be in. I hate the idea of carrying around a larger phone since I love the size of my 5, but those letters are getting blurrier and blurrier as time goes on. Maybe glasses will solve the issue.

----------

Honestly, the size of the iPhone has never bothered me, not when it was 3.5", and I feel that the move to a 4" screen was a natural progression that was just right. I can't stand how big Android phones are getting. It's a freaking smartphone, not a tablet, companies! I found my Galaxy S3 to be a bit too big to be comfortable and can't fathom a 5" screen on the S4, much less the rumoured 6.3" screen on the next Galaxy Note phone.

Things are just getting a bit crazy. If I want a larger screen to play or watch movies on, I reach for the iPad, not a smartphone that's too big and bulky to use. My mom was once an Android user, but when she saw that the Galaxy S3 was 4.8" and that the S4 is 5", she opted to wait for the upcoming iPhone 5S. Not all of us have basketball player hands; smaller phones such as the iPhones and the Nexus 4 are perfectly fine.

Agreed. I really find the one handed usability of the iPhone to be an asset. Sure you can do it with the s3, but it's nowhere near as comfortable and easy.

 

[3rd Rock]

The average size of an adult human hand has increased by 1.5" since 2007. This is why 3.5" was acceptable in in 2007, whereas obviously 5" is the standard today. Evolution people, look it up.

Oh ya ! You got that info from the internet, right ? "No one can put anything on the internet unless it was true" Reminds me of that auto insurance commercial.

1.5 inches is huge for only 6 years. Or was that centimeter not inches. Still huge. Just think for a moment, in a few more years, your hands are going to be so large over the rest of your body that you will look real funny

 

[Droidrage729]

The smaller screen size is part of the reason i switched to iphone from my galaxy nexus. For me the 4 inch screen size is perfect i dont need or want a bigger iphone i have a tablet already.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

Apple doesn't need a bigger phone. If you haven't noticed, the physical shape and size of the iPhone has NOT changed that much in 6 years. Sure it got thinner, more rectangular, flatter, etc. But the length and width dimensions have stayed relatively the same. This is in stark contrast to some Android phones which have changed so much. Tim Cook's words at the recent earnings call refers to the fact that Apple FIRST introduced retina resolutions THEN increased the size while keeping a retina resolution. Android smartphones? Other way around. The first "large" screens on smartphones had relatively low resolutions. Then recently we start seeing 1080P 5" displays and similar. Many Android phones with large screens made the tradeoff of screen resolution for larger screen size. Apple didn't.

 

[SILen(e]

People call iOS stale because it's static. It hasn't felt different for some time. And we're not talking about features so much as we are appeal. When you press the power button you get the same lock screen you've been getting for nearly five years.

Consider Android. It added widgets to the lock screen. It changed the "tray" at the bottom of the screen. It added better widgets. It has a fantastic task manager. It changed its icons. It added animated wallpaper. It has scrolling wallpaper. It has better folders. Etc. etc.

What you miss to recognize is this:

The look of Android has been changed so much over the years, because the earlier versions looked and worked really bad!

Earlier Android (<4.0) looked cheap in comparison - and Android may have had some features earlier than iPhone OS - but their implementation was ridiculous.

Just remember how folders on the homescreen were created in earlier versions of Android - like you would on a Windows PC.

iOS got folders later than Android - but later Android adopted the way you create folders in iOS.

The same with Copy&Paste.

Or think of Android 4.0 and later Project Butter - all those efforts only to get the OS as responsive as iPhone OS has been from 2007 on and Windows Phone 7 from 2010.


The reason why iOS hasn't changed as much in the past as has Android was mostly because Apple likes to get things right the first time.

And they did in many aspects of iPhone OS/iOS.

Apple won't change the look and functionality of iOS just for changes sake.

They will change things if they are broken or if they find a much better way to do something.