Next-gen iPhone rumored to arrive in fall 2012 with LTE 4G, 3.5-inch screen - Page 3

What phone bested Apple's 37m last quarter? If I recall Samsung shipped 35m. And when it comes to being profitable in the phone space no one comes close to Apple. Samsung, Motorola and HTC can throw a bazillion phones out there to obtain high market share but Apple will enjoy the lions share of the profits.

How is an OS demolishing a device? If you are going to compare OSes then why exclude iOS for iPad and iPod Touch. You're clearly including all Android activations so why be so disingenuous with your calculations. Bottom line: Apple is selling the most smartphones of any model on the market.

And it is no big surprise, that you will be again completely wrong about that matter. Only a fraction of a percent is interrested in a bigger screen. More people would even prefere a smaller iPhone. The overwhelming majority just loves the 3.5" display as you can easily see in every tech stat. So please give us a break and buy your galaxy something and be happy. No need that Apple is following this path.

Ok, let's bookmark this post and reveal it when Apple does it, I feel it would be much sooner than forever.

If Apple really were to keep the 3.5 inch screen that would make my decision making process easy. I would just keep my iPhone 3GS for ANOTHER year. I really thing a 4 inch screen in needed at this point. I used a Samsung Focus with a 4 inch screen and really enjoyed the larger display.

I guess Apple (if true) will just keep on trucking the way always does without listening to its customer base at all.

I've got that now. thing called the "iPad".

http://www.strategyanalytics.com/def...viewer&a0=7194


Existing smartphone owners in the US and UK seek larger mobile phone displays, compared to displays on their current phone. The Strategy Analytics Wireless Device Lab report, “Smartphone Owners Want Thin Devices with Larger Displays,” found that surveyed smartphone respondents prefer device screens in the 4.0-inch to 4.5-inch range, as long as the device is also thin.

“In order for smartphone owners to adopt larger devices, it is important for handset manufacturers to ensure that mobile devices are not too heavy and that the devices remain thin enough for purses and pockets.”
Some differences in size preference exist dependent on the segment. Females are more likely to consider slightly smaller devices than males. Existing Android owners are more likely to seek larger devices than existing Apple iPhone owners.

“Almost 90 percent of existing smartphone owners surveyed chose a prototype smartphone with a display larger than their current device,” commented Paul Brown, a Director in the Strategy Analytics User Experience Practice. “This trend is driven by increased mobile web browsing capability, as well as engaging video and gaming experiences.”

Kevin Nolan, Vice-President for the User Experience Practice at Strategy Analytics, added, “In order for smartphone owners to adopt larger devices, it is important for handset manufacturers to ensure that mobile devices are not too heavy and that the devices remain thin enough for purses and pockets.”

I think 90% is a pretty strong number. I would certainly be one of those. I can't imagine anyone preferring a 3.5" iPhone over one with a 4" to 4.3" screen if the phone itself is not that much larger. Remember that 3.5" was HUGE when the iPhone was released since most other phones only had about a 2.7" screen. It is time for Apple to get with the times and at least compromise with a 4" screen at a minimum.

This is actually likely (the same form factor with an edge to edge screen), but it's also very likely that they will keep the screen the same size as they've had ample opportunities to change it and they haven't yet.

In other words, if the next iPhone has an edge to edge screen, it's more likely that they will take advantage of that to make the phone smaller instead of larger. By my calculations, the iPhone could easily be a quarter inch smaller in width as well as height and still keep the exact same screen, if it were edge to edge instead of how it is now.

Consumers are fools for the most part anyway. When it comes down to it, they buy what they are told to buy and like what they are told to like. You just can't tell them straight out because then they will buy or like the opposite out of sheer contrariness.

Thus, advertising. \

People like big phones now simply because they have been marketed to them as the 'next big thing' (pun intended.)

If Apple defies all the critics and actually comes out with a *smaller* iPhone next time, everyone will go on about how cool it is and within a year or so Samsung will start to come out with smaller phones as well.

Apple may not listen to you, but they listen to where the money flows. And any sales statistic shows, that they are spot on. If people need a bigger screen on a mobile device, they use the iPad. An iPhone with a > 4" screen will not arrive until the humen species mutates to a >20% bigger and taller size.

This I can see coming. It wasn't all to long, when all the pre smartphones became smaller and smaller.
Well I hope the iPhone never get's significantly smaller than the actual 3.5" display. Just saying.

I predict Apple to add only an extra 0.2 of an inch to the screen.

Shifting from a 3:2 ratio to a 16:10 with the same width would give a 1024x640 resolution, and add exactly a centimetre to the height of the screen.

It would be really easy to implement software changes, would be a good standard for manufacture, and would leave space for camera/speaker, home button on the front.

But would it be enough?

To get a 4-inch screen at 16:10, for example, they'd have to make space 8mm top and bottom, 2mm each side (I think?). This could be edge-to-edge on a slightly smaller iPhone.

The screen, to minimise developer impact to height, would presumably be at 302ppi.

Hmmm....

Keep the phone the exact same dimensions (L and W) as they are perfect. Make the phone thinner, but not a teardrop design as it is too hard to hold onto (I feel like I will drop my iPod touch all the time). Then, extend the screen to the edges of the phone, reducing the unused space to maximize screen area.
And make it gorilla glass (not aluminum)

The potential buyers say they want a larger iPhone display, the stated opinion of over 86% of respondents to the 9to5 poll on what size screen they would prefer on the next iPhone.
http://9to5mac.com/2012/01/25/poll-w...bigger-screen/

That is a lot of votes for a larger iPhone. I hope Apple is listening. Whatever they produce will sell very well, but when only 13% are happy with 3.5" it might be time to go larger.

You mean "trendy screen size."

If Apple was all about following trends, they'd be selling crap like 7" Android tablets and 5" smartphones and every size in beween. And plastic netbooks at rock bottom prices.

No he means what he said. I have an iPhone and am not happy with the screen size. Look at the poll above, only 13% agree with you. Just because we buy the current iPhone doesn't mean most of us wouldn't be happier with a larger sized screen. It baffles me that anyone would be against a larger screen if the phone itself would be about the same size.

To be fair, 9to5 isn't exactly a source of Apple fans. And you'd only get a slightly more accurate result doing the same poll here.

Which is why Apple doesn't do any outside polling. People don't know what they want until you show it to them.

9to5mac.com is not a source of Apple fans? Since when. The whole site is dedicated to Apple news. In any case, I would assume Apple is trying to sell the iPhone to all consumers and not just Apple fans so all votes are valid. Over 65,000 votes in a few hours is pretty impressive. That is more votes than in many states in the Republican primary. Other recent surveys have shown very similar results. Apple can choose to ignore those results and often do and I am sure another 3.5" iPhone would sell well, but I am pretty sure a lot of them will simply settle with a tinge of regret. I did with the 4S but won't again. Either a 4" or larger iPhone or back to Android.

Ha!


I feel certain it's mostly a set of fairly vocal nerds who give the impression on forums that there's this vast hunger for "Phablets" out there in the real world. Otherwise people would be standing in line to buy Samsung's version of them..... ...I mean it's certainly a real niche market, but not the sweet spot by any means.

Not that real evolution including new mutant species will quit happening in the iOS world, but not to the next main model this year. (I don't utterly rule out an expansion of the line, but will be mildly surprised. The iPhone 4 at $0-49 and 4S at $99 should hold the fort for another year.)

My vote's for 3.7-3.8 in 2012 - same pixels - narrower but not non-existent bezel - and so bits of a millimeter added here and there to accommodate new radios, more battery and maybe upgraded cam optics - and to give just a nod to the "bigger screen/better" crowd - but mainly sold by a fresh sheet Johnny Ive do-over and pleasant surprises in iOS 6.

Not sure if it'll get the A5X, bigger, hungrier and the iPhone already runs retina graphics. Maybe a new (A6-ish?) CPU on a smaller die process??

Still and all, Apple's got every mainstream display size from 9.7 to 27" well enough covered and it seems unlikely the world's largest and best funded company will forever eschew playing in any size and form factor from 3.5 to 9.7" forever. That's a lot of niches to cede.


How about a simple answer to this question: Couldn't Apple have - or couldn't an aftermarket company - offer a higher capacity charger to keep the charge time at last year's rate - without undue wear and tear on the battery?

You'd think they would've preserved the vaunted quality of the "user experience" in this area if they could have easily. Or is it just another of those maintain the $499 entry level AND maintain the margins things?

However if technically feasible, the only downside I can see would be few extra ounces on the charger (and the sad fact Apple DOESN'T offer it, so a whole new charger to buy, with the only consolation that a spare charger for an iDevice can come in handy - as I know from experience.)

Since the actual Apple fans that read and comment there perpetually get downvoted 1. for ever questioning Apple ever for any reason AND 2. for not wanting Apple's devices to turn into Android devices, no matter how idiotic and impossible the story claiming new features is.


Better start picking one out, then.

Then you're crazy. My wife's 4S runs circles around my 4. Imagine the difference in the next version. You have to be kidding.

Ah, welcome to the other side! See, over here, that stuff just doesn't matter. It's all about a single feature: having the idea put in your head that you want the feature, demanding that feature, not getting that feature, being furious at Apple because you were "entitled" to that feature, finally getting the feature in a future product, and then being furious with Apple because the feature has inherently changed how other features worked or doesn't work very well because you didn't want a different, actually important feature.

Right now it's "a larger screen". Before it was the vague thought of "a better camera", but that has mostly died down now.

It's absurd to compare Apple to just one single Android maker. The only comparison that matters is the amount of all iOS phones vs all Android phones, and in the case of the latter that obviously must include every Android device sold by Samsung, Motorola, HTC, LG, Sony, Sharp, etc. The only Android devices you could reasonably leave off would be the Amazon and Barnes and Noble ones.

The point I was making originally is that when you look at the state of Android phones now, big screens dominate. Manufacturers wouldn't do that unless they believed that big screens increase sales, and therefore justify the cost of including them. Apple are still shipping very small screens in the iPhone, so they will have to weigh up the potential extra sales a big screen would give them, versus the increased costs.

I'd be shocked if Apple didn't conclude that larger screens equal more sales, but then again, Apple are pig headed and may well do their own thing regardless.

If potential buyers from Henry Ford's new venture were asked what they want, their reply would have been that they want a faster horse.

Apple has never really cared what their buyers want. Apple gives its buyers what they SHOULD want. And after people start using their new Apple device, they realize just how correct Apple always is. Customers would skate to where the puck used to be. Apple skates to where the puck is GOING to be.

Apple will never cave in to uninformed consumer wants. When Apple lets the unwashed masses dictate every design move, they will cease to be the same company. They would have released the iPad with OSX, for example, and it would have sucked shit. If Apple increases the screen size it will be because Apple knows best what is best for us. If Apple keeps the screen size that they determined is best, it will not be a surprise. Soon after using it, everyone except iHaters will realize that Apple Knows Best.

Let me get this straight. Comparing platform to platform is unfair. Comparing manufacturer to manufacturer is unfair. But comparing manufacturer to platform makes sense to you?


What is a big screen? 4.5"? Of the 850k activations per day how many of those are over 4.5"? I'm guessing very few because most of these activations are from cheap "feature phones" running Android.


Let's look at why they went with larger displays for their flagship phones (which sell less than their cheap phones). For starters, they invest much less in engineering so they can't pack as much stuff into the same space as Apple so a larger display has allowed them to pack in more stuff with less technical savvy. Second, Apple has completely eaten their lunch so they had to try to find a gimmicky angle to exploit.

It's the same thing with tablets, but reversed. When Apple made the iPad 10" they knew they couldn't compete head to head so they made a 7" tablet (which reduced their costs yet still cost the same or more than the iPad) and marketed it as being much more portable than the iPad. That hasn't worked out well for them either.


if 5.65"^2 is very small then what is small, very medium, medium, very large and large. Surely you must has detailed the how and whys of each device based on display area user interests and needs. I'd like to know how to came to the conclusion that the iPhone simply isn't less than ideal for you, but less than ideal for everyone to the point that it's not the perfect size, a little small, or small... but very small.

How does it make any sense to compare only one iOS phone to all Android phones?

Either compare the iPhone to one Android phone, or else compare all iOS devices with all Android devices. There are only two possible choices here. You need to pick one.

Good point. If he uses any descriptor at all, he must precisely define every possible descriptor. And he must have detailed knowledge of the hows and whys of every device based on display area and user interest.

That is the only thing that makes any sense at all. Not less than ideal sense, not a little small amount of sense, not small, not very medium or very large or medium large! That's just crazy talk!





/s

I don't understand the hatred towards 16:9 displays, especially on a phone. I can see why you would be aganist it on a tablet, but on a phone, a 16:9 display makes the most sense.

Why? Because phones are naturally taller than they are wide; any other design would seem awkward. The iphone itself is 115.2 x 58.6 mm, about 2:1 or a 16:8 ratio. On a device dominated by a screen, you'll want the screen to mirror the physical dimensions of the device itself, and considering the physical dimensions of the iphone, a 16:9 screen is a much better fit than a 4:3. With a 4:3 screen, you either have to redesign the device to be square-ish, which would be awkward to use, especially with 1 hand, or you end up with a lot of under utilized space on the top and bottom, as is the case with the iphone.

So what purpose does a 16:9 serve in a phone? Better use of the physical space. For the same device dimensions, you get more vertical screen space, which can be useful for a bunch of reasons (less scrolling, dock taking up less of the screen to name a few)

so we all know you are the Brad Pitt type and understand you not wanting to 'look bad' with a 'big' phone up to your ear. really, no one gives a s*** how you look. get real.
you do have a point with 'using' the phone. 4" is about as big as apple will probably go unless they can work miracles with the size of the housing. very hard to work the big screen with one hand.

the reason most here are anti 16:9 is because apple hasn't done it yet...when they do it will be proclaimed insanely great and 'revolutionary'

No, we don't like 16:9 because it's a size designed around media alone. 16:10 will always feel better to me, and that's just for computers, even.

We have proof positive 3:2 is good for phones.

Correlation != causation.

Unless Apple listens to overwhelming customer feedback requesting a screen bigger than the current 3.5" display, then i guess a lot of people will sticking with their old iPhones.

A larger display say 4" or 4.5" is easily doable without needing to change the software. The only difference between an iPhone with such a display is that it gives you more screen real estate, it would require minimal software changes and apps wouldn't need to be redesigned.

The other nice change would be a thinner form factor. which might be doable if the device was wider and taller. I guess last year's mock ups were too good - they gave us unrealistic expectations.

The difference between a 16:9 and a 16:10 computer screen, keeping all other factors equal, is additional vertical display estate.

Given that, what is your objection to a 16:9 screen on a phone if implemented in such a way that the only difference between it and a 3:2 screen is additional vertical display estate?

That real estate is exactly the problem.

Wait, so you'd rather have a bunch of black glass on the front of your phone instead of a larger display?

I'd rather have a meaningful resolution that is visually appealing and doesn't relegate buttons and features to the rim.

Large screened phones dominate because it's the no-brainer way to get decent battery life out of reasonably functional Android phone without making it 2" thick. Why is that? We know Apple's reasons for sticking with their design-- they think it works best. But Android is supposed to be all about "choice"? Where's the choice?

Try to find a marquee Android phone that has a 3.5" screen. Now tell me there's no market for same, that each and every Android user simply craves a big ass phone. Or is it because a full featured Android phone with a 3.5" screen and reasonably thin would get about 4 hours of battery life?

And you can't make correlations between sales numbers and features with Android, because it's become the de facto feature phone OS. If Samsung, HTC, LG and Motorola decided that the next wave of Android phones needed to have shark fins, then you'd be arguing that Apple must acknowledge the necessity of same. Because Android phones are what's for sale. Dumb phone due for a replacement? Walk into a Verizon store, that's what they have. Sure, they have a few iPhones, but that's not what they want to sell you.

Just look at tablet sales to get an idea of what the market actually responds to, sans the world of carrier subsidies and hard-sell.

Keeping the iphone the same size, a 16:9 screen will leave just over 13mm on the top and bottom of the phone for your buttons and features, hardly "on the rim."

What do mean by "meaningful resolution"?