I read that to say, "since the iPhone 5 outsells all the big phones then there is not that much market demand for big phones and therefore no reason to make a bigger phone".
So, as I said originally; Your argument then could logically be used to say; "since the 4 and 4S outsell all the big phones then there is not that much market demand for big phones and therefore no reason to make a bigger phone".
... but Apple did make a bigger phone.
I didn't say there was no reason to make a phone with a larger display other than market demand. I provided a few reasons for going widescreen a while ago without even considering the competition:
I haven't seen any reasons to justify why they should go bigger than the iPhone 5 besides people saying they want a bigger screen and citing great demand for this, which I countered by pointing out that the demand for larger screens isn't as high as people suggest if the iPhone 5 outsells all of them.
Apple has said many times that they specifically stuck with the same width because it's comfortable to hold and use with one hand so there has to be a good reason to go against that.
This comfort level argument you're using is pure speculation
I provided 3 videos where multiple Apple SVPs say that quite explicitly. You'd have to be speculating to suggest they all meant something other than what they are saying.
It sounds like that filing down your fingers bullshit argument against building a smaller iPad. That is unless you believe Ive and company of being inadequate and stupid and unable to solve any size related problems.
The iPad Mini worked because it retained a 1024 x 768 resolution like the iPad 2 so developers didn't have more work.
I firmly believe that if "Apple" built a bigger iPhone it would once again prove the naysayers such as yourself that it's iOS that people want and it would sell at least 15-20 million units per quarter.
What are those figures based on? You don't know the size of the device, the price point, the potential market but you believe that simply because it's bigger, that's the amount of customers it will get. That's what analysts do - more colors , more sizes, cheaper models, pick a randomly high number of potential sales.
I guess you haven't been following Apple for the last few years. They do a lot of things that they've never done before.
When they have good reason to do them. If they made a bigger iPhone with a higher resolution (like the iPhone 5), you could do more on-screen at a time but then developers have to do extra work (in this case, for a smaller audience). If they maintain the same resolution, as you suggested, you can't actually do anything more on-screen, it's just scaled up, which is equivalent to holding the phone a little closer.
Apple should make a bigger iPhone because:
- old people can't see very well
- some people are bigger
What other reasons were there?
That was about the iPad Mini. They sold the 3GS at the same time as the 4 and 4S too but the better models are always at the top. With gigantiPhone, the lower PPI model would be at the top, which they've never done.
My iPad mini feelings are that they won't make it Retina until it's technically feasible, which to means it doesn't hurt the usability by adding any weight, thickness, or drop in battery life -and- when the cost can still be reasonable with that 326 PPI display, which is the sample pixel density panels as the current iPhone.
My larger iPhone scenario was it being 4.904" as that would be the size of the display if you used the same pixel density panels as the 9.7" Retina iPad with the same resolution (1136x640) as the current iPhone, which is the same methodology they used with the iPad mini but in the other direction.
Even if the market is large enough I have no idea if that device would makes for a good user experience. For starters is going to 264 PPI on iOS for iPhone going to affect way it looks? Going smaller on the iPad mini made it all tighter as just 8 months earlier we had the 9.7" iPad at 132 PPI and the iPad mini is 163 PPI. I don't think anything less than a full scale working demo in Apple's labs would be needed to know for sure.
Finally, is there is a market. The Galaxy Note looks like it's popular, at least in shipping numbers. And there are other Android-based devices that seem to be popular at the large size. Anecdotally I can say that everyone I know with an Android-based phone has a big ass phone but what I experience does not a market make. Lets consider that that these huge Android-based phones only sprung up when LTE arrived and the large, power-hungry chips weren't going to work in the previous size device. Could this be a fad that sprang out of some "oh, that's different" desire like we saw with the now defunct netbook market that Apple so desperately had to get into or risk losing all Mac sales to competitors or is this something that enough people really want?
The link you're using is talking about OS market share based on web usage stats. That's not a fair estimate of current market share based on sales because there is an enormous established base of old PCs that people are still using. Current buyers are choosing Macs about 1/7 of the time. You might consider that a niche product, but I don't, especially when you look at the trend of increasing market share.
No, a niche product is one with specific appeal, usually giving it a small space (or a niche) in the market, but that doesn't mean it's specialized. Linux isn't specialized in any way, but it has specific appeal and thus commands a niche of the market. Windows Phone isn't specialized in any way, but it has specific appeal and thus commands a niche of the market. In the early 2000s Macs weren't specialized in any way, but they had specific appeal and thus commanded a niche of the market.
If niche products were too specialized to have appeal outside a very specific group of people, their market share would never grow. We saw Macs grow in market share over the past decade. Windows Phone and Linux could (but probably won't) grow substantially in market share over the next decade, not because they're targeting specific groups of people, but because only a small group of people prefer them.
No. You people need to stop making up definitions for words.
Show me a dictionary that defines niche as a "small space." Niche means specialized.
Here's New Oxford English Dictionary's definition (the relevant one):
Quote:
• aspecializedbutprofitablecornerofthemarket: [asadj.] important new nichemarkets.
A possible solution to the whole "I want big" - no - "I want small" debate, is to do something like what Samsung is rumored to be coming out with:
A foldable phone. Closed, it could be the size of the current iPhone. Open, you'd get double the screen space. (Yes, this has been tried before, but with a huge seam down the middle. A tiny or no seam should sell better.)
(Some rumors say the Samsung foldable will have one large 5.3" flexible screen that folds in half. Some claim two such screens. The name is supposedly the "Galaxy Q.")
An iPhone with a retina screen, 5 inch? That's the dream of millions and millions of costumers, despite the BS that Tallest Skill and others are trying to say. (like if Apple wouldn't absolutely lose to have a third of the S3 users (together with current users) on the iOS ecosystem!!).
Millions and millions, huh? Says who?
Originally Posted by KDarling
Nice to see Samsung using Apple-owned icons in their concepts.
Young people and old people don't all see well. I've had eye surgery and have a hard time reading the screen from normal distances. Had Apple kept the original 3.5" phone for the small-handed and created the iPhone 5 as a higher-resolution, 4.5", wide-screen phone they would have been in better shape than they are now. Anyone who's used the Mini after using the iPad 3 knows that scaling up the iPhone resolution to a 5" phone is dumb. They are sticking hard to factors of their original resolution and have painted themselves into a corner. Come up with a resolution that will allow for 360-400 ppi on a larger phone, give developers time to update their apps, then release a new phone along with the 4" phone. Choice is good. I had a Droid X a couple of phones back and I miss the 4.3" screen.
Had Apple kept the original 3.5" phone for the small-handed and created the iPhone 5 as a higher-resolution, 4.5", wide-screen phone they would have been in better shape than they are now.
Why do people keep making out that they are doing badly? They sold 48 million phones last quarter vs 37 million in the same quarter last year = 30% growth. How can you get in better shape than having the best selling smartphone in the world? They make 60% more profit than Samsung while Samsung ships 30% more phones and Samsung sells TVs, printers, cameras, home appliances, medical devices etc which get lumped in with their revenue figures.
There are a couple of videos here directly comparing the iPhone 5 with the Note 2 and S3:
[VIDEO]
[VIDEO]
This guy has fairly large hands and the Note 2 is clearly not a one-handed device (2:40) so this size of device (5.5") would have to be marketed as a phablet. Apple has made it clear that software should be optimized for the screen size but it would be too small and the wrong aspect for iPad software and too large for iPhone software.
In the S3 video, when he puts the iPhone 5 on top of the S3 (0:30), the phone dimensions are very similar. At 8:58, he comments on one-handed use and at 11:06 you can see there's no way that top-left corner of the screen is easily reachable - that's not just for the back button.
[VIDEO]
The Samsung Galaxy - designed for humans... with giant thumbs, like Uma Thurman.
is your mom going to call you on Skype? And do you want another phone bill? Samsung and other Android vendors have been selling 7" phablets with GSM SIM card for a while: another market segment Apple has no exposure to.
Why is that every freaking time this story comes out some genius suggests adding phone features to a iPad mini. There is a huge difference between a 4" phone we find way too small and and iPad Mini that is far too large at 7.9". Has no one ever read Goldilocks and the 3 bears? There is a sweet spot in between those two extremes and most people would be satisfied with an iPhone in the 4.7" to 5.1" range.
Another thing I don't get is why are people that are happy with current iPhone so damned defensive and irrational about other people requesting a larger iPhone. How would effect any of you in the least. Does being an Apple super fan mean that any criticism at all is not to be tolerated and you must have a strong propensity towards schadenfreude?
You can cite all the reasons you like why it isn't a good idea but I can say this with certainty. If they do not make a larger iPhone, I along with my two other iPhone owning friends will get an Android phone. All my other friends already have an Android, and although very anecdotal. I usually ask friends or people I engage in conversation that I see using these large Android phones why they chose them and inevitably they always say the screen size. Many even said they would prefer an iPhone if it had a larger display.
There is a huge difference between a 4" phone we find way too small and and iPad Mini that is far too large at 7.9". Has no one ever read Goldilocks and the 3 bears?
It's the "way" on the low end with which most people take issue.
…most people would be satisfied with an iPhone in the 4.7" to 5.1" range.
Except they quite evidently aren't.
How would effect any of you in the least.
Apple does worst when it gives people exactly what they think they want.
Why is that every freaking time this story comes out some genius suggests adding phone features to a iPad mini. There is a huge difference between a 4" phone we find way too small and and iPad Mini that is far too large at 7.9". Has no one ever read Goldilocks and the 3 bears? There is a sweet spot in between those two extremes and most people would be satisfied with an iPhone in the 4.7" to 5.1" range.
Yep. There's a big difference between a 5" phone and an iPad mini...
What's ridiculous is that this kind of argument comes up every time there's a rumor of a change in screen size. And when change does happen, the changed size always sells pretty well... because it's perfect for a certain group of people. Everyone needs to remember that we're each not the only people in the world, and what we like, might not be what others like.
2. People who own the iPhone and want a larger device. These people will be attracted to the larger iPhone.
Yep! There is no way I will go from a 4-inch phone and "upgrade" to another 4-inch phone! Duh! And please don't give me that crap about "one-hand" operation. Nobody can hold the iPhone and "pinch-to-zoom" with ONE hand.
Bring in the 5-incher please. Just today a friend showed me his Nexus 4 and the size, about 4.7 inch, is just about right. I could not believe the price, unlocked! I'm already using Gmail, Google Maps, Youtube, etc., so there is no issue as far as "eco-system" goes. There is no service provider crapware on it and Google will provide the OS upgrade directly so... Wake up AAPL.
And lets look at McDonald's. Where is the $40 filet mignon or the fresh lobster tail? McDonald's has the money and there is a market for those dishes so according to you they should be doing it except for the fact they are conceited and arrogant.
That reminds me. does McDonald's still sell lobster rolls in New England?
Wendy's has had some expensive (~$16) limited time sandwiches in Japan... such as lobster and caviar, and lobster and steak. They helped put Wendy's in people's minds.
Quote:
Surely you see how foolish a suggestion that is and hopefully by now you can see that just because a company (or a person) can do something that it means they are required to.
True, a company is not required to do everything it can.
Still, doing something just because you can, sometimes makes sense. Like the way car companies sometimes make special vehicles designed to draw in customers.
Still, doing something just because you can, sometimes makes sense. Like the way car companies sometimes make special vehicles designed to draw in customers.
It sounds like you're talking about a promotional loss-leader product that is used to attack buyers to a brand. That falls under marketing. I would bet that car companies also use such projects as R&D. Do you think Apple should produce 500 5" iPhones at $100,000 each where they still take a huge loss? In CE what marketing can be gained? When it comes to Apple what marketing can be gained?
If they do not make a larger iPhone, I along with my two other iPhone owning friends will get an Android phone. All my other friends already have an Android, and although very anecdotal. I usually ask friends or people I engage in conversation that I see using these large Android phones why they chose them and inevitably they always say the screen size. Many even said they would prefer an iPhone if it had a larger display.
Ok but even here you have people asking for a 4.3", 4.5", 4.7", 4.8", 5". What size and price do they go with to keep everyone happy? If they make a 5" phone, people will complain that it's too big and that they want a 4.5" phone. If they make a 4.5" phone, people will complain there's nothing to compete with a Galaxy Note.
People are suggesting it would be the same price but Apple has never sold a larger display device at the same or lower price as a smaller one. Even Samsung sells the S3 Mini with the same size as the iPhone 5 at a lower price:
[VIDEO]
It has a lower spec too but they do what Apple does, which is tie the spec to the display size.
when change does happen, the changed size always sells pretty well... because it's perfect for a certain group of people.
You can't use that argument alone though because without considering why they sell well, it justifies making dozens of sizes (and colors and price points for that matter). It's not about restricting choice, choice is good but issues need to be addressed.
How are they are going to sell a more expensive, lower PPI device to people?
If they enter the phablet category and increase the resolution, how do they convince developers to make compatible apps for a minority of people? It's bad enough with the iPhone 5.
A 4.3", maybe even a 4.5" model could sell at a $100 premium with a small hit to the PPI - people pay $100 for 16GB extra storage - but if it doesn't make sense from a manufacturing point of view, it won't happen and I seriously doubt that will stop everyone's friends buying Android phones with bigger screens that are cheaper or the same price as the iPhone 5.
This isn't a case of us trying to stop other people getting what they want. If someone came in asking for a neon pink or brown iPod, the answer would be the same: it's not that the desire is nonexistant, it just has to make sense for Apple to do it. There is clearly some demand for bigger but that demand is spread over a range of sizes and still doesn't match the demand for the iPhone 5 size.
Comments
I didn't say there was no reason to make a phone with a larger display other than market demand. I provided a few reasons for going widescreen a while ago without even considering the competition:
http://forums.appleinsider.com/t/112805/iphone-4w-widescreen
I haven't seen any reasons to justify why they should go bigger than the iPhone 5 besides people saying they want a bigger screen and citing great demand for this, which I countered by pointing out that the demand for larger screens isn't as high as people suggest if the iPhone 5 outsells all of them.
Apple has said many times that they specifically stuck with the same width because it's comfortable to hold and use with one hand so there has to be a good reason to go against that.
I provided 3 videos where multiple Apple SVPs say that quite explicitly. You'd have to be speculating to suggest they all meant something other than what they are saying.
The iPad Mini worked because it retained a 1024 x 768 resolution like the iPad 2 so developers didn't have more work.
What are those figures based on? You don't know the size of the device, the price point, the potential market but you believe that simply because it's bigger, that's the amount of customers it will get. That's what analysts do - more colors , more sizes, cheaper models, pick a randomly high number of potential sales.
When they have good reason to do them. If they made a bigger iPhone with a higher resolution (like the iPhone 5), you could do more on-screen at a time but then developers have to do extra work (in this case, for a smaller audience). If they maintain the same resolution, as you suggested, you can't actually do anything more on-screen, it's just scaled up, which is equivalent to holding the phone a little closer.
Apple should make a bigger iPhone because:
- old people can't see very well
- some people are bigger
What other reasons were there?
My iPad mini feelings are that they won't make it Retina until it's technically feasible, which to means it doesn't hurt the usability by adding any weight, thickness, or drop in battery life -and- when the cost can still be reasonable with that 326 PPI display, which is the sample pixel density panels as the current iPhone.
My larger iPhone scenario was it being 4.904" as that would be the size of the display if you used the same pixel density panels as the 9.7" Retina iPad with the same resolution (1136x640) as the current iPhone, which is the same methodology they used with the iPad mini but in the other direction.
Even if the market is large enough I have no idea if that device would makes for a good user experience. For starters is going to 264 PPI on iOS for iPhone going to affect way it looks? Going smaller on the iPad mini made it all tighter as just 8 months earlier we had the 9.7" iPad at 132 PPI and the iPad mini is 163 PPI. I don't think anything less than a full scale working demo in Apple's labs would be needed to know for sure.
Finally, is there is a market. The Galaxy Note looks like it's popular, at least in shipping numbers. And there are other Android-based devices that seem to be popular at the large size. Anecdotally I can say that everyone I know with an Android-based phone has a big ass phone but what I experience does not a market make. Lets consider that that these huge Android-based phones only sprung up when LTE arrived and the large, power-hungry chips weren't going to work in the previous size device. Could this be a fad that sprang out of some "oh, that's different" desire like we saw with the now defunct netbook market that Apple so desperately had to get into or risk losing all Mac sales to competitors or is this something that enough people really want?
Quote:
Originally Posted by wakefinance
The link you're using is talking about OS market share based on web usage stats. That's not a fair estimate of current market share based on sales because there is an enormous established base of old PCs that people are still using. Current buyers are choosing Macs about 1/7 of the time. You might consider that a niche product, but I don't, especially when you look at the trend of increasing market share.
http://www.macrumors.com/2012/10/10/apple-hits-new-high-with-13-6-share-of-u-s-pc-shipments-in-3q-2012/
No, a niche product is one with specific appeal, usually giving it a small space (or a niche) in the market, but that doesn't mean it's specialized. Linux isn't specialized in any way, but it has specific appeal and thus commands a niche of the market. Windows Phone isn't specialized in any way, but it has specific appeal and thus commands a niche of the market. In the early 2000s Macs weren't specialized in any way, but they had specific appeal and thus commanded a niche of the market.
If niche products were too specialized to have appeal outside a very specific group of people, their market share would never grow. We saw Macs grow in market share over the past decade. Windows Phone and Linux could (but probably won't) grow substantially in market share over the next decade, not because they're targeting specific groups of people, but because only a small group of people prefer them.
No. You people need to stop making up definitions for words.
Show me a dictionary that defines niche as a "small space." Niche means specialized.
Here's New Oxford English Dictionary's definition (the relevant one):
Quote:
• a specialized but profitable corner of the market : [as adj. ] important new niche markets.
Got it?
A possible solution to the whole "I want big" - no - "I want small" debate, is to do something like what Samsung is rumored to be coming out with:
A foldable phone. Closed, it could be the size of the current iPhone. Open, you'd get double the screen space. (Yes, this has been tried before, but with a huge seam down the middle. A tiny or no seam should sell better.)
(Some rumors say the Samsung foldable will have one large 5.3" flexible screen that folds in half. Some claim two such screens. The name is supposedly the "Galaxy Q.")
Originally Posted by pedromartins
An iPhone with a retina screen, 5 inch? That's the dream of millions and millions of costumers, despite the BS that Tallest Skill and others are trying to say. (like if Apple wouldn't absolutely lose to have a third of the S3 users (together with current users) on the iOS ecosystem!!).
Millions and millions, huh? Says who?
Originally Posted by KDarling
Nice to see Samsung using Apple-owned icons in their concepts.
Apple should give the customer the option. Choice is king
Young people and old people don't all see well. I've had eye surgery and have a hard time reading the screen from normal distances. Had Apple kept the original 3.5" phone for the small-handed and created the iPhone 5 as a higher-resolution, 4.5", wide-screen phone they would have been in better shape than they are now. Anyone who's used the Mini after using the iPad 3 knows that scaling up the iPhone resolution to a 5" phone is dumb. They are sticking hard to factors of their original resolution and have painted themselves into a corner. Come up with a resolution that will allow for 360-400 ppi on a larger phone, give developers time to update their apps, then release a new phone along with the 4" phone. Choice is good. I had a Droid X a couple of phones back and I miss the 4.3" screen.
Why do people keep making out that they are doing badly? They sold 48 million phones last quarter vs 37 million in the same quarter last year = 30% growth. How can you get in better shape than having the best selling smartphone in the world? They make 60% more profit than Samsung while Samsung ships 30% more phones and Samsung sells TVs, printers, cameras, home appliances, medical devices etc which get lumped in with their revenue figures.
There are a couple of videos here directly comparing the iPhone 5 with the Note 2 and S3:
[VIDEO]
[VIDEO]
This guy has fairly large hands and the Note 2 is clearly not a one-handed device (2:40) so this size of device (5.5") would have to be marketed as a phablet. Apple has made it clear that software should be optimized for the screen size but it would be too small and the wrong aspect for iPad software and too large for iPhone software.
In the S3 video, when he puts the iPhone 5 on top of the S3 (0:30), the phone dimensions are very similar. At 8:58, he comments on one-handed use and at 11:06 you can see there's no way that top-left corner of the screen is easily reachable - that's not just for the back button.
[VIDEO]
The Samsung Galaxy - designed for humans... with giant thumbs, like Uma Thurman.
Another thing I don't get is why are people that are happy with current iPhone so damned defensive and irrational about other people requesting a larger iPhone. How would effect any of you in the least. Does being an Apple super fan mean that any criticism at all is not to be tolerated and you must have a strong propensity towards schadenfreude?
You can cite all the reasons you like why it isn't a good idea but I can say this with certainty. If they do not make a larger iPhone, I along with my two other iPhone owning friends will get an Android phone. All my other friends already have an Android, and although very anecdotal. I usually ask friends or people I engage in conversation that I see using these large Android phones why they chose them and inevitably they always say the screen size. Many even said they would prefer an iPhone if it had a larger display.
Originally Posted by gwmac
There is a huge difference between a 4" phone we find way too small and and iPad Mini that is far too large at 7.9". Has no one ever read Goldilocks and the 3 bears?
It's the "way" on the low end with which most people take issue.
…most people would be satisfied with an iPhone in the 4.7" to 5.1" range.
Except they quite evidently aren't.
How would effect any of you in the least.
Apple does worst when it gives people exactly what they think they want.
Yea, it's buy an iPhone or dont. No one is forcing you to buy one. I think they are doing fine if you don't.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gwmac
Why is that every freaking time this story comes out some genius suggests adding phone features to a iPad mini. There is a huge difference between a 4" phone we find way too small and and iPad Mini that is far too large at 7.9". Has no one ever read Goldilocks and the 3 bears? There is a sweet spot in between those two extremes and most people would be satisfied with an iPhone in the 4.7" to 5.1" range.
Yep. There's a big difference between a 5" phone and an iPad mini...
What's ridiculous is that this kind of argument comes up every time there's a rumor of a change in screen size. And when change does happen, the changed size always sells pretty well... because it's perfect for a certain group of people. Everyone needs to remember that we're each not the only people in the world, and what we like, might not be what others like.
Quote:
2. People who own the iPhone and want a larger device. These people will be attracted to the larger iPhone.
Yep! There is no way I will go from a 4-inch phone and "upgrade" to another 4-inch phone! Duh! And please don't give me that crap about "one-hand" operation. Nobody can hold the iPhone and "pinch-to-zoom" with ONE hand.
Bring in the 5-incher please. Just today a friend showed me his Nexus 4 and the size, about 4.7 inch, is just about right. I could not believe the price, unlocked! I'm already using Gmail, Google Maps, Youtube, etc., so there is no issue as far as "eco-system" goes. There is no service provider crapware on it and Google will provide the OS upgrade directly so... Wake up AAPL.
Originally Posted by toysandme
Nobody can hold the iPhone and "pinch-to-zoom" with ONE hand.
Just did it. But you don't care because you already know that's not what we talk about when we say that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
And lets look at McDonald's. Where is the $40 filet mignon or the fresh lobster tail? McDonald's has the money and there is a market for those dishes so according to you they should be doing it except for the fact they are conceited and arrogant.
That reminds me. does McDonald's still sell lobster rolls in New England?
Wendy's has had some expensive (~$16) limited time sandwiches in Japan... such as lobster and caviar, and lobster and steak. They helped put Wendy's in people's minds.
Quote:
Surely you see how foolish a suggestion that is and hopefully by now you can see that just because a company (or a person) can do something that it means they are required to.
True, a company is not required to do everything it can.
Still, doing something just because you can, sometimes makes sense. Like the way car companies sometimes make special vehicles designed to draw in customers.
It sounds like you're talking about a promotional loss-leader product that is used to attack buyers to a brand. That falls under marketing. I would bet that car companies also use such projects as R&D. Do you think Apple should produce 500 5" iPhones at $100,000 each where they still take a huge loss? In CE what marketing can be gained? When it comes to Apple what marketing can be gained?
Don't know, but there is root beer in France:
Totally off topic!
Ok but even here you have people asking for a 4.3", 4.5", 4.7", 4.8", 5". What size and price do they go with to keep everyone happy? If they make a 5" phone, people will complain that it's too big and that they want a 4.5" phone. If they make a 4.5" phone, people will complain there's nothing to compete with a Galaxy Note.
People are suggesting it would be the same price but Apple has never sold a larger display device at the same or lower price as a smaller one. Even Samsung sells the S3 Mini with the same size as the iPhone 5 at a lower price:
[VIDEO]
It has a lower spec too but they do what Apple does, which is tie the spec to the display size.
You can't use that argument alone though because without considering why they sell well, it justifies making dozens of sizes (and colors and price points for that matter). It's not about restricting choice, choice is good but issues need to be addressed.
How are they are going to sell a more expensive, lower PPI device to people?
If they enter the phablet category and increase the resolution, how do they convince developers to make compatible apps for a minority of people? It's bad enough with the iPhone 5.
A 4.3", maybe even a 4.5" model could sell at a $100 premium with a small hit to the PPI - people pay $100 for 16GB extra storage - but if it doesn't make sense from a manufacturing point of view, it won't happen and I seriously doubt that will stop everyone's friends buying Android phones with bigger screens that are cheaper or the same price as the iPhone 5.
This isn't a case of us trying to stop other people getting what they want. If someone came in asking for a neon pink or brown iPod, the answer would be the same: it's not that the desire is nonexistant, it just has to make sense for Apple to do it. There is clearly some demand for bigger but that demand is spread over a range of sizes and still doesn't match the demand for the iPhone 5 size.
I think that they want to be seen as a trend setter rather than a trend follower for brand related reasons.