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why is the iphone screen so small
- Thread starter utl768
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The screen size on the iPhone has never bothered me, but I guess it's because I was a Treo user for several years before the iPhone. The market has certainly changed since then. I'm not clamoring for a larger screen, but I know if Apple does it, they will do it in a way that won't compromise the user experience. A larger screen isn't a deal breaker for me and judging by typical iPhone sales numbers, it isn't to a lot of other people too.
The thing you seem to be overlooking is on Android, there is very little need to reach the upper portion of the screen in most use cases.
All the controls are at the bottom.
iOS has you going all over the screen in just about every application.
With Android, very few apps have you reaching to the top of the screen.
My SGS2 has a 4.5" screen and I personally have no issues being able to comfortably reach any part of the screen with one hand.
The solution is simple. If you have small hands, buy a phone with a smaller screen.
This is why I love Android... it's not locked into any screen size or resolution.
Contrary to SJ's thought process, one size does not fit all.
All phones are held firmly in my palm. Its not comfortable having to overstretch your thumb, plus it jeopordises the security of your grip on the device.
Unfortunately, this is one of the main factors behind Android's fragmentation problem.
Hey guys, I am open to looking at bigger phones, and am perfectly ok with being proven wrong. I recently went to the Verizon store and found that I couldn't reach a large portion of these phones while still supporting the bottom of the phone with my pinky. I want to be able to hold my phone upright and at any angle, I don't want to play the "Balance the phone with 4 fingers at a shallow angle" game with my $900 phone.
Consider this an open challenge
If someone can show me a picture or video otherwise, I might change my tune.
Some Androids have 5 inch screens
For many people it is not just a phone. It's a computer that fits in your pocket. I use mine for things other than phone calls most of the time, and I enjoy a larger screen with another device.
If it were just a phone, than a small dumb phone would be just fine right?
Where does the 4" screen limit come from? Your limit just happens to be what Apple may release this fall. What a coincidence.
Talk about following the herd.
Show me a high end, high resolution Android device with 4" screen then...
Unfortunately that's not the case. Browser tabs and options menu located in the top right hand corner.
http://gottabemobile.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/ICS-Android06.jpg
Buy what fits you dude. There is a phone for everyone.
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Will you say that if and when the new iPhone is larger? Probably..
Whats that I hear? bahhhh bahhh
HTC Droid Incredible II. Although it's at least 6 months old so it may have been put out to pasture by now.
Precisely!
It's a SMARTphone. Those of us who use it as such, find viewing the web on a 3.5" screen compared to a 4.3" size, very tiring to use.
Why has Apple failed to stay current? That's an easy one. First Steve Jobs brainwashed millions to believe only he knew what was best. Second, by retaining the same size profits skyrocketed as Apple saved a huge sum of money by recycling the same glass form factor for the 4S.
Further proving Apple can sell anything with little or no pushback from customers. Even more remarkably, sales increased as the masses had to have the hip phone.
It's a phenomenon created by the late Steve Jobs, never to be duplicated by any other hi tech leader.
Think about it, if Apple innovates they're worshipped, if they don't the Apple apologists appear to herald the great decision to offer only a few minor upgrades in the same old size. This is the brilliance of Apple. They've got everyone under control.
You already know what they are... There is plenty of them out there. Turn off that bright Apple light that is blinding you and see them!!!
I am tired of reading about how small the iPhone's display is. Try using all these Android and Windows Phones with those 4.7" displays. There are big and bulky. One hand operation is impossible.
The iPhone has the perfect size for a smartphone. The maximum display they could fit would be something between 3.5"-4.0". Anything more than that and you failed. That is why there are tablets out there you know! If you need bigger screens then get an iPad.
I really hope that Apple won't give in to all those that want a bigger display. Also do not forger that millions of people have no issue using the iPhone. It is selling like hot cakes. How outdated is that?
I wrote this post using one hand on my iPhone. Something I wouldn't do with a wannabe tablet Android phone.
The iPhone has the perfect size for a smartphone. The maximum display they could fit would be something between 3.5"-4.0". Anything more than that and you failed. That is why there are tablets out there you know! If you need bigger screens then get an iPad.
I really hope that Apple won't give in to all those that want a bigger display. Also do not forger that millions of people have no issue using the iPhone. It is selling like hot cakes. How outdated is that?
I wrote this post using one hand on my iPhone. Something I wouldn't do with a wannabe tablet Android phone.
I've wanted a larger screen on the iPhone for quite some time. This is a sentiment felt among many current iPhone users.
The 3.5" screen was perfectly suitable on the iPhone for a few generations. I think a larger screen would have been perfect around the time the 3GS came to the market. Certainly by the time we got the iPhone 4 a 4" retina display would have been ideal.
Now I feel it's simply long overdue. Apple is still making a serious killing with a device at 3.5", so clearly there isn't a need per se. Hell even if you keep the screen at the current size and slap on LTE with good battery life you'll have a killer device this fall.
But personally, and I've felt this way for a long time, it is long overdue to give the consumer a larger retina display. Nothing less than 4". It's enough of an issue personally where I'm seriously contemplating getting an unlocked GSM Nexus to tie me over until we see what the next iPhone/Nexus brings to the table.
The 3.5" screen was perfectly suitable on the iPhone for a few generations. I think a larger screen would have been perfect around the time the 3GS came to the market. Certainly by the time we got the iPhone 4 a 4" retina display would have been ideal.
Now I feel it's simply long overdue. Apple is still making a serious killing with a device at 3.5", so clearly there isn't a need per se. Hell even if you keep the screen at the current size and slap on LTE with good battery life you'll have a killer device this fall.
But personally, and I've felt this way for a long time, it is long overdue to give the consumer a larger retina display. Nothing less than 4". It's enough of an issue personally where I'm seriously contemplating getting an unlocked GSM Nexus to tie me over until we see what the next iPhone/Nexus brings to the table.
The iPhone 4S was released over 6 months ago and still has the fastest CPU/GPU of any smartphone to date. Android has yet to release a phone that beats it in any CPU/GPU benchmark.
It is literally the most technically advanced phone on the market.
Going by this thread, I fully expect the iPhone users who say that "top-screen-reachability" is more important than all the benefits combined of a larger screen to complain when/if Apple releases a larger than 3.5-3.7" iPhone this year. And I expect mrochester to maintain that it's not worth the trade offs.
Can't wait.
Can't wait.
No, I really don't, I've looked and looked. Show me them!
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As long as its usable one handed, I don't personally care what size the screen is
Well..many of them are big, but not all of them are bulky. I left Apple only because of the small screen they insist on producing. Sure many like the screen size, but many do not as well. Apple will sell that they think will sell the most. My screen is 5.3", and it suits me just fine. I guess for some people being able to use the phone with only hand is important, but to many it is not. Lets suppose you are using the phone for something other than a phone call. Can you really tell me that a 3.5" screen is more enjoyable to watch a movie on, or play a game on, or surf the web on than a much larger screen? Are smaller tv's more enjoyable to watch than larger tv's?
If all we are talking about is a phone, then yes I agree that smaller is better, but we are talking about a device which someone uses throughout their day for many different tasks, and sometimes looking at a larger screen is more preferable.
I've got a house full of Apple products and I love them all, but after seeing and actually putting my hands on a smartphone with a much larger screen, I was hooked.
Now go ahead and disagree with everything I have said just because.
Also...many of the larger phones with ICS have settings that allow you to set the phone for left hand or right hand, making single handed use much easier. Imagine that... a large screen and one handed use.
Motorola Atrix 4G... getting ICS next quarter. (Yes, they are still being made and sold)
4" qHD screen.
The LG Optimus 2x
http://phone-size.com/?s=1,99,42
As for the reaching, I said "very little need". Not "never".
I'm beginning to think a lot of people here have abnormally small hands.
These hands will magically grow once Apple releases a bigger iPhone.
Just a quick google away and I found numerous phones that fit your need. In fact, I was shocked at how many Android phones DON'T have large screens. None are big sellers, but hey, they have small screens. Also a quick look on VZW showed the same. Not that you would want any of them, but they are there and available for purchase.
I have no trouble either. At worse, it's slightly cumbersome; nothing more.
It's literally a few millimeters away. This hardly renders any device "un-usable" by one hand.
This isn't even about iOS vs. Android. A larger iPhone would be just as glorious.
Exactly! An iphone with a 4.3" screen would be the cats meow. It would make a great product even better. And while Apple is enjoying huge success now with the 3.5" display, they need to look to the future and realize that Android is nipping on their heels and pounding the whole screen size thing into consumers heads. It is becoming more and more of a selling point. The worst mistake Apple could make is to let screen size become an issue by taking a reactive instead of a proactive stance.