Over the years not one of Digitimes predictions that I have read (and there have been dozens), have come true. In fact in most cases there so far off from the truth, its actually humorous. There good for a laugh nothing more. Just to add any article that quotes them is not worth reading either.
A few additional sizes are nice for giving people more options, but what I'm really anxious to see from Apple is something completely *new* - as in not just a iWatch in the form of a shrunk down iPhone, or iTV in the form of iOS on a TV. Something entirely new.
It's going on 7 years since the iPhone came out, and all they've done is make it in different sizes and colors.
Lets see. iPhone, iOS, Siri, 4 complete redesigns of iPhone, iPad, iPad Air, iPad Mini, A series custom silicon, audience noise cancelation tech, A7 worlds first 64 bit mobile processor (ARMv8), ios7 worlds first 64bit mobile os (by the way iOS7 shares the code base from OSX 10.9 Mavericks so that it is now very possible to run desktop apps with minor changes in iOS, not a small thing by itself either), Retina display, Battery technology to allow thinner devices, iTouch fingerprint authentication (fingerprint tech that is actually useable and not junk like the moto atrix (I owned an atrix), and numerous other refinements to touch display tech to allow for thinner devices by integrating the digitizer with the lcd and hosts of other memory advancements to numerous to mention.
Those are just a few. There are many more. You really should read a bit more. Not everything is apparent by just looking at the outside of a device. Some of the biggest advances in the industry from Apple occur on the inside and will continue to happen from Apple.
I really hope this rumor is true because Apple needs to fill more niches with different iPhone models. It is crazy to have just one size for all users. I would really love to see Apple go in the other direction and offer a tiny iPhone built around Siri.
Sure, Apple revolutionized the phone and tablet industries, no question. But the iPad is *still* just an enlarged iPhone. And if they come out with an iWatch and/or iTV, and they're just shrunk and/or enlarged iPhones, their revolutions are going to be less and less impressive.
And not to counter with the one example most likely to get your panties in a twist, but for as much of a response to the iOS as it surly was, it could be argued that Android's open source nature has made it more revolutionary than iOS. Android is running on phones, tablets, PCs, TV players, cameras, etc.
I'm not even bashing Apple at all, I think they make fine products. I just hope that they're up to something completely new, because just rehashing the same basic device over and over in different sizes and colors isn't going to maintain their image as an innovator. I hope they do revolutionize another industry... and soon. It'd be great for them and the overall tech industry as a while.
But I see there's an unwillingness for discussion unless it consists of nothing beyond embarrassing flattery of Apple and their products, so I'll take your advice and go away.
SanDiego and Culver City. If I were to guess, I would say I saw more than 4x Samsungs to an iPhone.
Maybe because IPhone users put their phones in their pockets whilst Samsung Galaxy users couldn't fit them in their pockets and were forced to carry them in their hands? /s
I think you just described the reason Apple created the iPad mini.
Yes and no. The no being that the mini is too big to be a phone. There is a spot in-between that and the iPhone where the screen is more usable as a tablet yet not too big for a phone. I am not saying there is a market for this, I just don't know the facts. What I am saying is that what is true yesterday may not be true today. I see more people use the large Samsungs. They use them exactly like I use my iPhone, except it has a larger screen. The idea that it 'look silly' with such a large phone is nothing but misplaced vanity / prejudice. When the iPhone came out it felt weird, not it doesn't. I thought the same about the Razr, come to think of it. So if I was going to have only one single device I'd like an iPhone that was bigger than the 5.
I think this rumor may have some legs. Digitimes does not often get rumors correct that is very true but I base my opinion on logic more than anything those idiots are predicting. In fact I have been saying for a long time that Apple would release an additional iPhone model right around 4.9” and also that it would make sense to do so in the spring. From the Spring until the Fall when the newer iPhone model is released sales have been flatter for obvious reasons. People know a new model is coming out so many will tend to wait a little longer to get the latest and greatest. It is also true that some also just buy on their upgrade date as soon as they can but sales still seem to taper towards the end of the 1 year cycle. If Apple can have two new iPhone release dates separated by around 6 months this would keep the excitement and sales up year round. Apple needs a big Spring product launch every year in the iOS space and that used to be the iPad but recently the iPad is now a Fall launch.
It makes perfect sense that Apple would have not released both a 5C and also a larger iPhone at the same time. The only missing piece of the puzzle is a larger display iPhone. Due to it’s larger size they can introduce the new CPU in this model sooner with less concern about battery life and heat and have 6 months to optimize it for the smaller 4” model. So yes I think this rumor is true despite the fact that Digitimes is now saying something many of us here have been saying for a while. The cheaper iPhone came true with the 5c and the larger one will likely be released in the Spring if it is ready and if not in the Fall as a new model completing their product grid and offering a range of iPhones that should meet most consumers desires.
Maybe because IPhone users put their phones in their pockets whilst Samsung Galaxy users couldn't fit them in their pockets and were forced to carry them in their hands? /s
LOL, one could argue that the larger screen is easier on the eyes and would therefore get more use, while the smaller one is better tucked away
Maybe because IPhone users put their phones in their pockets whilst Samsung Galaxy users couldn't fit them in their pockets and were forced to carry them in their hands? /s
The iPhone is a better phone than the Galaxy without resorting to hyperbole or outright lies. The S4 can easily fit in pretty much all but the tightest and smallest of front pockets. Even the Note 3 which is about the same size as the Note 2 can be carried in the front pocket.
One tactic often used here on AI I have noticed is to try and discredit anyone that wants a larger iPhone by immediately suggesting larger means Note 3 size or the even more ridiculous trolls that try and suggest using an iPad mini with a data plan as a substitute. I don’t think anyone is clamoring for an iPhone of that size and most people seem to want something in the 4.7” to 5” range. I think 4.9” is just about perfect. Large enough to really enjoy the advantages of a larger display but still small enough to be more pocketable and use with one hand easier than an S4 or Note 3.
I have no idea when the larger iPhone will go on sale but once it does I can promise you my gold 5s will be up on Ebay the very same day. I love my iPhone and iOS but this has been the biggest negative for me since switching from a larger Android phone that I really miss. Perhaps had I never had a larger display I wouldn’t feel so strongly but once you have used a larger display it really is hard to go back to a small screen.
I think this rumor may have some legs. Digitimes does not often get rumors correct that is very true but I base my opinion on logic more than anything those idiots are predicting. In fact I have been saying for a long time that Apple would release an additional iPhone model right around 4.9” and also that it would make sense to do so in the spring. From the Spring until the Fall when the newer iPhone model is released sales have been flatter for obvious reasons. People know a new model is coming out so many will tend to wait a little longer to get the latest and greatest. It is also true that some also just buy on their upgrade date as soon as they can but sales still seem to taper towards the end of the 1 year cycle. If Apple can have two new iPhone release dates separated by around 6 months this would keep the excitement and sales up year round. Apple needs a big Spring product launch every year in the iOS space and that used to be the iPad but recently the iPad is now a Fall launch.
It makes perfect sense that Apple would have not released both a 5C and also a larger iPhone at the same time. The only missing piece of the puzzle is a larger display iPhone. Due to it’s larger size they can introduce the new CPU in this model sooner with less concern about battery life and heat and have 6 months to optimize it for the smaller 4” model. So yes I think this rumor is true despite the fact that Digitimes is now saying something many of us here have been saying for a while. The cheaper iPhone came true with the 5c and the larger one will likely be released in the Spring if it is ready and if not in the Fall as a new model completing their product grid and offering a range of iPhones that should meet most consumers desires.
Earlier this year Marco Arment wrote a couple of blogs on regarding the rumor of an "iPhone Plus." He agrees with you regarding the possible size being 4.9". They are interesting reads;
Assuming he's correct, then Apple wouldn't have to make major changes other than exterior form factor which would make a Spring release of a bigger iPhone more plausible, albeit not guaranteed.
I hope they also come out with an updated iPod Touch. Has anyone hear any information about that?
Let's see, a portable device that plays media, hosts apps but doesn't make cell calls. Hmmm. I believe Apple's decisions show they believe that gadget, though gargantuan by comparison, would be the iPad Mini.
PS: One way to get a "new iPod" is to buy (or re-purpose your own) used iPhone 5's and run them as Wi-Fi devices.
Quote:
Originally Posted by paxman
I disagree. The real issue is that the world changes and people use devices differently than they did before. I do use my iPhone as a phone but I use it MUCH more as a very small computer For me it is a tiny tablet that also works as a phone. A lot of people around the world have only one device - their smartphone. As such a larger screened iPhone makes a lot of sense. This scenario did not exist a few years ago. Its not a fixed thing. People here should know that and not be so locked into old ideas when it comes to what a smartphone is.
Agree with your disagreement. Tho' many here won't buy in until Apple releases a larger screen model, and then most of those same people will be among that device's most ardent defenders.
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlituna
Not sure where in Cali you were but here in LA I see dozens of iPhones and iPads a day and perhaps two Samsung, or even windows, a week
In Salt Lake City I see far more Android phones and my best friend is about to abandon the walled garden. And you can blather on about ergonomics all you want, but I'm not buying a 4" phone.
True, most of these ubiquitous bits of plastic are cheapo droids capable of not much.
However, some of the things they're not capable of including running Apple's messaging solution, Facetime calls, Apple Maps, etc. actually pose a problem for Apple, as it makes those products start to resemble Sony's path down Atrac and Memory Stick lane (NTM Betamax which was their first "technologically superior box canyon"), i.e., 80% of the world's "smart phone" users are incommunicado with the 20% of the cool kids - unless they use competitor solutions.
So I worry about the "too clever by half" factor here.
That's exactly what the Pro is. "Pretty new." As opposed to a new device class - which Apple has not delivered since the iPad.
While the Mac Pro is loaded with cool engineering, down to brass tacks it's just a work station with an Intel processor and commercially available video cards which has cast its expansion bets on TB, a tech rollout that's starting to resemble the arc of Firewire: few available devices at too high a price premium for the extra value delivered to most potential buyers.
(Note: Even the iPad is arguably not a new device class, except that its seamless integration of the large screen with an optimized variant of the iOS operating system and associated processor and screen classes effectively made it one, and did shift the entire computing industry, so iPad's "a three point play the hard way" - a regular basket forced through the defense of the old way of doing personal computing. I.e., an "and one!")
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mechanic
Lets see. iPhone, iOS, Siri, 4 complete redesigns of iPhone, iPad, iPad Air, iPad Mini, A series custom silicon, audience noise cancelation tech, A7 worlds first 64 bit mobile processor (ARMv8), ios7 worlds first 64bit mobile os (by the way iOS7 shares the code base from OSX 10.9 Mavericks so that it is now very possible to run desktop apps with minor changes in iOS, not a small thing by itself either), Retina display, Battery technology to allow thinner devices, iTouch fingerprint authentication (fingerprint tech that is actually useable and not junk like the moto atrix (I owned an atrix), and numerous other refinements to touch display tech to allow for thinner devices by integrating the digitizer with the lcd and hosts of other memory advancements to numerous to mention.
Those are just a few. There are many more. You really should read a bit more. Not everything is apparent by just looking at the outside of a device. Some of the biggest advances in the industry from Apple occur on the inside and will continue to happen from Apple.
All laudable improvements to what was a revolutionary platform, but only value-adds, not paradigm shifts like the iPhone itself. Could also quibble that Apple "invented" neither noise cancelling nor 64 bit processing, etc., but they seem to have done 'em well enough to best in various areas you mentioned.
No one sane would claim that Apple lacks engineering and design chops (tho' I'm not a particular fan of the Ives aesthetic which I would describe as "Vision trumps both form and function"). And their moves into chip world, biometric ID and 64 bitness are certainly strategic (both Google and facebook are making rumbles about venturing into their own server chips, and possible Amazon is as well - following in Apple's tracks). NTM their peerless supply chain management, ability to hold the media's attentions, etc., etc.
Meanwhile, a Mac is still recognizably a Mac and an iPhone's still an iPhone. A Tiger user might take a second or 27 to get up to speed on what's happened since, but could still start computing right away, just as a 3GS owner could be making calls, taking pics and launching apps in a trice.
And that's true even if the sum of the incremental improvements in toto makes a 5s and an an MBAs hugely more functional than the original iPhone and Mac notebooks - as there's been roughly parallel (and in some cases superior) evolution in the non-Apple equivalent products.
"Can't innovate, my ass!" - in the sense of creating an entirely new market - as Jobs did every few years after his return - to me remains an unproven assertion.
So until proven otherwise (which I hope will be sooner rather than later - as Apple news has already been far less fascinating since the charismatic founder's passing), Apple's current path resembles a paraphrase of the most famous Ballmer quote: "Iterate, iterate, iterate!"
I think that depends on the size of your hands. I have an HTC DNA (5" screen) and with my average size hands and with a case on, the phone is very functional with one hand. I can't reach all areas of the screen with one hand but I am probably at somewhere around 75% or so.
One handed operation is important to some and not important to others. However, at this point, a 5" phone seems rather uninteresting. Although I doubt Apple would do much more. I think a better size choice would be a 4.25" model for the one-handers and a 5.5"-5.75" for the phablet crowd.
Will a buy a larger iPhone? Heck ya. Will it come out in May? Heck no.
It will come out in June. During WWDC. Larger size iPhone will be software thing for the rest of the world. Hardware will be solved by Apple. As always
I don't get this.. Bigger is Better mentality. For my money the iPhone 4 was the perfect size. and palm fit for one hand use.
I think Apple should make a lighter thinner faster version on the phone with the length breadth and screen size of the IP4.
That one fits easily in my jeans pocket and is super easy for one hand texting.. which is 90 percent of iPhone use anyway. Just make it faster and lighter.
I don't get this.. Bigger is Better mentality. For my money the iPhone 4 was the perfect size. and palm fit for one hand use.
I think Apple should make a lighter thinner faster version on the phone with the length breadth and screen size of the IP4.
That one fits easily in my jeans pocket and is super easy for one hand texting.. which is 90 percent of iPhone use anyway. Just make it faster and lighter.
Your views are equally as baffling to those of us that want a larger display. One handed use to me is of zero importance when I am playing games, surfing the web, and using most apps.Even with my iPhone 5s I tend to hold it in landscape mode and not portrait for almost everything with the exception of voice calls, Siri, and a few more. Texting may be 90% of your use of an iPhone but that is not in any way close to my usage pattern.
If this report turns out to be true, I'll be happy as a pig in $#1T. I'm off release cycle and won't be eligible for an upgrade until March or so and will get 6 month old 5S or wait even longer for a "6". I can get a new hardware model shortly after I'm up for a new subbed phone. I superficially long for a new new iPhone model since I missed the 5 and 5s releases and am still stuck on a 4S
In some ways it would make sense for Apple to release large (or Pro) mobile devices in the spring and "consumer" models in the fall. I'm not interested in the larger iPad, but maybe there will be a quiet update of the iPad mini....
I'm very hopeful about Apple's 2014 hardware releases!
Ok so you play lots of games.. there are millions of users who look at the iPhone as a tool for greater productivity. Sure Apple should make big flashy screens for people who have time to play games.. A lot of us don't. what we need is connectivity. Viz cloud cover over all our devices so that we can access our data everywhere and a small non obtrusive device that allows us that access, In a package that fits a suit pocket and does not weigh us down. How is that baffling ??
Once again, a bunch of people post about how they use their phones, while at the same time extrapolating that usage out to the point where they automatically assume that everyone else uses it in exactly the same way, and for the same reasons.
One comment above makes that claim that a larger screen is "easier on the eyes". (Albeit a bit tongue-in-cheek.)
Regardless, I don't want a bigger phone in order to make the text size bigger, I want a bigger phone in order to see more information (books, articles, web pages) at the same time.
A lot of us don't. what we need is... How is that baffling ??
And again, how is it baffling that other people might have other needs, wants, and desires? No one is saying that Apple should take their one and only iPhone and make it into an iNote.
But Apple could design a newer, larger phone and sell it in addition to the current size, just as they did with the iPod nano, shuffle, mini, classic, and touch. Each found its own niche and set of users, and no one with a nano was going around telling classic owners that a device with that size, shape, and capacity wasn't needed.
Comments
Over the years not one of Digitimes predictions that I have read (and there have been dozens), have come true. In fact in most cases there so far off from the truth, its actually humorous. There good for a laugh nothing more. Just to add any article that quotes them is not worth reading either.
Exactly.
A few additional sizes are nice for giving people more options, but what I'm really anxious to see from Apple is something completely *new* - as in not just a iWatch in the form of a shrunk down iPhone, or iTV in the form of iOS on a TV. Something entirely new.
It's going on 7 years since the iPhone came out, and all they've done is make it in different sizes and colors.
Lets see. iPhone, iOS, Siri, 4 complete redesigns of iPhone, iPad, iPad Air, iPad Mini, A series custom silicon, audience noise cancelation tech, A7 worlds first 64 bit mobile processor (ARMv8), ios7 worlds first 64bit mobile os (by the way iOS7 shares the code base from OSX 10.9 Mavericks so that it is now very possible to run desktop apps with minor changes in iOS, not a small thing by itself either), Retina display, Battery technology to allow thinner devices, iTouch fingerprint authentication (fingerprint tech that is actually useable and not junk like the moto atrix (I owned an atrix), and numerous other refinements to touch display tech to allow for thinner devices by integrating the digitizer with the lcd and hosts of other memory advancements to numerous to mention.
Those are just a few. There are many more. You really should read a bit more. Not everything is apparent by just looking at the outside of a device. Some of the biggest advances in the industry from Apple occur on the inside and will continue to happen from Apple.
I really hope this rumor is true because Apple needs to fill more niches with different iPhone models. It is crazy to have just one size for all users. I would really love to see Apple go in the other direction and offer a tiny iPhone built around Siri.
You obviously have never used an iPad.
Maybe because IPhone users put their phones in their pockets whilst Samsung Galaxy users couldn't fit them in their pockets and were forced to carry them in their hands? /s
I think you just described the reason Apple created the iPad mini.
Yes and no. The no being that the mini is too big to be a phone. There is a spot in-between that and the iPhone where the screen is more usable as a tablet yet not too big for a phone. I am not saying there is a market for this, I just don't know the facts. What I am saying is that what is true yesterday may not be true today. I see more people use the large Samsungs. They use them exactly like I use my iPhone, except it has a larger screen. The idea that it 'look silly' with such a large phone is nothing but misplaced vanity / prejudice. When the iPhone came out it felt weird, not it doesn't. I thought the same about the Razr, come to think of it. So if I was going to have only one single device I'd like an iPhone that was bigger than the 5.
I think this rumor may have some legs. Digitimes does not often get rumors correct that is very true but I base my opinion on logic more than anything those idiots are predicting. In fact I have been saying for a long time that Apple would release an additional iPhone model right around 4.9” and also that it would make sense to do so in the spring. From the Spring until the Fall when the newer iPhone model is released sales have been flatter for obvious reasons. People know a new model is coming out so many will tend to wait a little longer to get the latest and greatest. It is also true that some also just buy on their upgrade date as soon as they can but sales still seem to taper towards the end of the 1 year cycle. If Apple can have two new iPhone release dates separated by around 6 months this would keep the excitement and sales up year round. Apple needs a big Spring product launch every year in the iOS space and that used to be the iPad but recently the iPad is now a Fall launch.
It makes perfect sense that Apple would have not released both a 5C and also a larger iPhone at the same time. The only missing piece of the puzzle is a larger display iPhone. Due to it’s larger size they can introduce the new CPU in this model sooner with less concern about battery life and heat and have 6 months to optimize it for the smaller 4” model. So yes I think this rumor is true despite the fact that Digitimes is now saying something many of us here have been saying for a while. The cheaper iPhone came true with the 5c and the larger one will likely be released in the Spring if it is ready and if not in the Fall as a new model completing their product grid and offering a range of iPhones that should meet most consumers desires.
Maybe because IPhone users put their phones in their pockets whilst Samsung Galaxy users couldn't fit them in their pockets and were forced to carry them in their hands? /s
LOL, one could argue that the larger screen is easier on the eyes and would therefore get more use, while the smaller one is better tucked away
Maybe because IPhone users put their phones in their pockets whilst Samsung Galaxy users couldn't fit them in their pockets and were forced to carry them in their hands? /s
The iPhone is a better phone than the Galaxy without resorting to hyperbole or outright lies. The S4 can easily fit in pretty much all but the tightest and smallest of front pockets. Even the Note 3 which is about the same size as the Note 2 can be carried in the front pocket.
One tactic often used here on AI I have noticed is to try and discredit anyone that wants a larger iPhone by immediately suggesting larger means Note 3 size or the even more ridiculous trolls that try and suggest using an iPad mini with a data plan as a substitute. I don’t think anyone is clamoring for an iPhone of that size and most people seem to want something in the 4.7” to 5” range. I think 4.9” is just about perfect. Large enough to really enjoy the advantages of a larger display but still small enough to be more pocketable and use with one hand easier than an S4 or Note 3.
I have no idea when the larger iPhone will go on sale but once it does I can promise you my gold 5s will be up on Ebay the very same day. I love my iPhone and iOS but this has been the biggest negative for me since switching from a larger Android phone that I really miss. Perhaps had I never had a larger display I wouldn’t feel so strongly but once you have used a larger display it really is hard to go back to a small screen.
I think this rumor may have some legs. Digitimes does not often get rumors correct that is very true but I base my opinion on logic more than anything those idiots are predicting. In fact I have been saying for a long time that Apple would release an additional iPhone model right around 4.9” and also that it would make sense to do so in the spring. From the Spring until the Fall when the newer iPhone model is released sales have been flatter for obvious reasons. People know a new model is coming out so many will tend to wait a little longer to get the latest and greatest. It is also true that some also just buy on their upgrade date as soon as they can but sales still seem to taper towards the end of the 1 year cycle. If Apple can have two new iPhone release dates separated by around 6 months this would keep the excitement and sales up year round. Apple needs a big Spring product launch every year in the iOS space and that used to be the iPad but recently the iPad is now a Fall launch.
It makes perfect sense that Apple would have not released both a 5C and also a larger iPhone at the same time. The only missing piece of the puzzle is a larger display iPhone. Due to it’s larger size they can introduce the new CPU in this model sooner with less concern about battery life and heat and have 6 months to optimize it for the smaller 4” model. So yes I think this rumor is true despite the fact that Digitimes is now saying something many of us here have been saying for a while. The cheaper iPhone came true with the 5c and the larger one will likely be released in the Spring if it is ready and if not in the Fall as a new model completing their product grid and offering a range of iPhones that should meet most consumers desires.
Earlier this year Marco Arment wrote a couple of blogs on regarding the rumor of an "iPhone Plus." He agrees with you regarding the possible size being 4.9". They are interesting reads;
Post 1: http://www.marco.org/2013/01/31/iphone-plus-speculation
Post 2: http://www.marco.org/2013/02/08/iphone-plus-dpi-argument
Assuming he's correct, then Apple wouldn't have to make major changes other than exterior form factor which would make a Spring release of a bigger iPhone more plausible, albeit not guaranteed.
I hope they also come out with an updated iPod Touch. Has anyone hear any information about that?
Let's see, a portable device that plays media, hosts apps but doesn't make cell calls. Hmmm. I believe Apple's decisions show they believe that gadget, though gargantuan by comparison, would be the iPad Mini.
PS: One way to get a "new iPod" is to buy (or re-purpose your own) used iPhone 5's and run them as Wi-Fi devices.
I disagree. The real issue is that the world changes and people use devices differently than they did before. I do use my iPhone as a phone but I use it MUCH more as a very small computer For me it is a tiny tablet that also works as a phone. A lot of people around the world have only one device - their smartphone. As such a larger screened iPhone makes a lot of sense. This scenario did not exist a few years ago. Its not a fixed thing. People here should know that and not be so locked into old ideas when it comes to what a smartphone is.
Agree with your disagreement. Tho' many here won't buy in until Apple releases a larger screen model, and then most of those same people will be among that device's most ardent defenders.
Not sure where in Cali you were but here in LA I see dozens of iPhones and iPads a day and perhaps two Samsung, or even windows, a week
In Salt Lake City I see far more Android phones and my best friend is about to abandon the walled garden. And you can blather on about ergonomics all you want, but I'm not buying a 4" phone.
True, most of these ubiquitous bits of plastic are cheapo droids capable of not much.
However, some of the things they're not capable of including running Apple's messaging solution, Facetime calls, Apple Maps, etc. actually pose a problem for Apple, as it makes those products start to resemble Sony's path down Atrac and Memory Stick lane (NTM Betamax which was their first "technologically superior box canyon"), i.e., 80% of the world's "smart phone" users are incommunicado with the 20% of the cool kids - unless they use competitor solutions.
So I worry about the "too clever by half" factor here.
The Mac Pro is pretty new: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/12/19/online-apple-store-goes-down-ahead-of-expected-mac-pro-release.
That's exactly what the Pro is. "Pretty new." As opposed to a new device class - which Apple has not delivered since the iPad.
While the Mac Pro is loaded with cool engineering, down to brass tacks it's just a work station with an Intel processor and commercially available video cards which has cast its expansion bets on TB, a tech rollout that's starting to resemble the arc of Firewire: few available devices at too high a price premium for the extra value delivered to most potential buyers.
(Note: Even the iPad is arguably not a new device class, except that its seamless integration of the large screen with an optimized variant of the iOS operating system and associated processor and screen classes effectively made it one, and did shift the entire computing industry, so iPad's "a three point play the hard way" - a regular basket forced through the defense of the old way of doing personal computing. I.e., an "and one!")
Lets see. iPhone, iOS, Siri, 4 complete redesigns of iPhone, iPad, iPad Air, iPad Mini, A series custom silicon, audience noise cancelation tech, A7 worlds first 64 bit mobile processor (ARMv8), ios7 worlds first 64bit mobile os (by the way iOS7 shares the code base from OSX 10.9 Mavericks so that it is now very possible to run desktop apps with minor changes in iOS, not a small thing by itself either), Retina display, Battery technology to allow thinner devices, iTouch fingerprint authentication (fingerprint tech that is actually useable and not junk like the moto atrix (I owned an atrix), and numerous other refinements to touch display tech to allow for thinner devices by integrating the digitizer with the lcd and hosts of other memory advancements to numerous to mention.
Those are just a few. There are many more. You really should read a bit more. Not everything is apparent by just looking at the outside of a device. Some of the biggest advances in the industry from Apple occur on the inside and will continue to happen from Apple.
All laudable improvements to what was a revolutionary platform, but only value-adds, not paradigm shifts like the iPhone itself. Could also quibble that Apple "invented" neither noise cancelling nor 64 bit processing, etc., but they seem to have done 'em well enough to best in various areas you mentioned.
No one sane would claim that Apple lacks engineering and design chops (tho' I'm not a particular fan of the Ives aesthetic which I would describe as "Vision trumps both form and function"). And their moves into chip world, biometric ID and 64 bitness are certainly strategic (both Google and facebook are making rumbles about venturing into their own server chips, and possible Amazon is as well - following in Apple's tracks). NTM their peerless supply chain management, ability to hold the media's attentions, etc., etc.
Meanwhile, a Mac is still recognizably a Mac and an iPhone's still an iPhone. A Tiger user might take a second or 27 to get up to speed on what's happened since, but could still start computing right away, just as a 3GS owner could be making calls, taking pics and launching apps in a trice.
And that's true even if the sum of the incremental improvements in toto makes a 5s and an an MBAs hugely more functional than the original iPhone and Mac notebooks - as there's been roughly parallel (and in some cases superior) evolution in the non-Apple equivalent products.
"Can't innovate, my ass!" - in the sense of creating an entirely new market - as Jobs did every few years after his return - to me remains an unproven assertion.
So until proven otherwise (which I hope will be sooner rather than later - as Apple news has already been far less fascinating since the charismatic founder's passing), Apple's current path resembles a paraphrase of the most famous Ballmer quote: "Iterate, iterate, iterate!"
5 inch isn't suited for one hand use already.
I think that depends on the size of your hands. I have an HTC DNA (5" screen) and with my average size hands and with a case on, the phone is very functional with one hand. I can't reach all areas of the screen with one hand but I am probably at somewhere around 75% or so.
One handed operation is important to some and not important to others. However, at this point, a 5" phone seems rather uninteresting. Although I doubt Apple would do much more. I think a better size choice would be a 4.25" model for the one-handers and a 5.5"-5.75" for the phablet crowd.
-kpluck
Will a buy a larger iPhone? Heck ya. Will it come out in May? Heck no.
It will come out in June. During WWDC. Larger size iPhone will be software thing for the rest of the world. Hardware will be solved by Apple. As always
I don't get this.. Bigger is Better mentality. For my money the iPhone 4 was the perfect size. and palm fit for one hand use.
I think Apple should make a lighter thinner faster version on the phone with the length breadth and screen size of the IP4.
That one fits easily in my jeans pocket and is super easy for one hand texting.. which is 90 percent of iPhone use anyway. Just make it faster and lighter.
I don't get this.. Bigger is Better mentality. For my money the iPhone 4 was the perfect size. and palm fit for one hand use.
I think Apple should make a lighter thinner faster version on the phone with the length breadth and screen size of the IP4.
That one fits easily in my jeans pocket and is super easy for one hand texting.. which is 90 percent of iPhone use anyway. Just make it faster and lighter.
Your views are equally as baffling to those of us that want a larger display. One handed use to me is of zero importance when I am playing games, surfing the web, and using most apps.Even with my iPhone 5s I tend to hold it in landscape mode and not portrait for almost everything with the exception of voice calls, Siri, and a few more. Texting may be 90% of your use of an iPhone but that is not in any way close to my usage pattern.
If this report turns out to be true, I'll be happy as a pig in $#1T. I'm off release cycle and won't be eligible for an upgrade until March or so and will get 6 month old 5S or wait even longer for a "6". I can get a new hardware model shortly after I'm up for a new subbed phone. I superficially long for a new new iPhone model since I missed the 5 and 5s releases and am still stuck on a 4S
In some ways it would make sense for Apple to release large (or Pro) mobile devices in the spring and "consumer" models in the fall. I'm not interested in the larger iPad, but maybe there will be a quiet update of the iPad mini....
I'm very hopeful about Apple's 2014 hardware releases!
Ok so you play lots of games.. there are millions of users who look at the iPhone as a tool for greater productivity. Sure Apple should make big flashy screens for people who have time to play games.. A lot of us don't. what we need is connectivity. Viz cloud cover over all our devices so that we can access our data everywhere and a small non obtrusive device that allows us that access, In a package that fits a suit pocket and does not weigh us down. How is that baffling ??
Once again, a bunch of people post about how they use their phones, while at the same time extrapolating that usage out to the point where they automatically assume that everyone else uses it in exactly the same way, and for the same reasons.
One comment above makes that claim that a larger screen is "easier on the eyes". (Albeit a bit tongue-in-cheek.)
Regardless, I don't want a bigger phone in order to make the text size bigger, I want a bigger phone in order to see more information (books, articles, web pages) at the same time.
A lot of us don't. what we need is... How is that baffling ??
And again, how is it baffling that other people might have other needs, wants, and desires? No one is saying that Apple should take their one and only iPhone and make it into an iNote.
But Apple could design a newer, larger phone and sell it in addition to the current size, just as they did with the iPod nano, shuffle, mini, classic, and touch. Each found its own niche and set of users, and no one with a nano was going around telling classic owners that a device with that size, shape, and capacity wasn't needed.