Honestly... Apple never HAS to do anything. They march to the beat of their own drum. They've had no problems selling any phone. Most companies can only dream of having the same sort of success that Apple has in smartphones.
Phones have X inch screens. You can literally use any number for X.
The issue is... Apple has only ever had 2 screen sizes in their entire smartphone history... while everyone else has used a variety of sizes.
That doesn't mean Apple was right or wrong... screen size is just a decision. And it's one decision out of many that have to be made.
Then why build something that 'no one's going to buy'?
No what's silly is every time someone else does something people here immediately claim Apple's being copied. I can guarantee you if Apple released a 5.5" phone and two years later Samsung did the same most here would've called Samsung out for copying. Plus there's plenty of thiings in iOS that Apple borrowed either from jailbreak community or other platforms. Third party keyboards, extensions, widgets, actionable notifications all existed on Android before they did on iOS. What bothers me is blatant copying like that new tablet from Nokia that looks exactly like an iPad mini. Or some of the stuff Samsung used to do and Xiaomi is currently doing.
Most of those things existed BEFORE android too, did Google invent them on other platforms (IOS, OS2, MAC, Windows, Blackberry, WebOS, Palm, etc) using a time machine? There's very little of current interfaces of IOS or Android that's really new.
That was Apple's official stance a few years ago. The iPad was made for those that wanted more screen real estate.
And Apple's iPad experiment worked out pretty well for them.
Look... I know what you're saying.... that Apple was "forced" to sell larger phones because everyone else was.
But Apple has been the #2 smartphone manufacturer in the world for a while... with increased iPhone sales year-over-year... despite only selling "small" phones. It wasn't a bad place to be.
And their decision to sell larger phones will only further their success. I'm hearing rumors of 70 million iPhones for Q4 2014.... their biggest quarter ever.
Was Apple "forced" to sell larger phones? Were they "late" to sell larger phones? I'm sure this will be studied for years.
While Apple was making 3.5" and 4" phones... the other guys had 4.3" phones all the way up to 6" phones.
But the fact remains that the companies who were making larger phones still didn't have the success of Apple.
Screen size isn't the magic bullet you think it is.
And Apple's iPad experiment worked out pretty well for them.
Look... I know what you're saying.... that Apple was "forced" to sell larger phones because everyone else was.
But Apple has been the #2 smartphone manufacturer in the world for a while... with increased iPhone sales year-over-year... despite only selling "small" phones. It wasn't a bad place to be.
And their decision to sell larger phones will only further their success. I'm hearing rumors of 70 million iPhones for Q4 2014.... their biggest quarter ever.
Was Apple "forced" to sell larger phones? Were they "late" to sell larger phones? I'm sure this will be studied for years.
While Apple was making 3.5" and 4" phones... the other guys had 4.3" phones all the way up to 6" phones.
But the fact remains that the companies who were making larger phones still didn't had the success of Apple.
Screen size isn't the magic bullet you think it is.
My point is not that Apple had to do it because everyone else was. Obviously some people left Apple because they wanted a bigger screen, but not so much that it hurt sales. I believe Apple's concern was that those defections could've grown exponentially if they hadn't made a iPhone with a bigger screen.
My point is not that Apple had to do it because everyone else was.
I don't think for a second Apple said, "let's see what others are doing and then let's follow them in everyone else is doing it." They did it because 1) the consumer's interest was there, and 2) the technology was there. Remember the iPhone 6 is lighter than all of the 3.5" iPhones and a smaller box volume than all 3.5" iPhones up through the iPhone 3GS. A 4.7" iPhone simply wasn't a reasonable expectation then for many, many reasons.
My point is not that Apple had to do it because everyone else was. Obviously some people left Apple because they wanted a bigger screen, but not so much that it hurt sales. I believe Apple's concern was that those defections could've grown exponentially if they hadn't made a iPhone with a bigger screen.
Gotcha.
Yeah who knows what sales *would have been* if Apple offered larger sizes back then. I guess we'll never know.
I just think it's funny how the conversation can shift when people start discussing iPhones and screen sizes.
For years everyone was saying "Apple needs larger phones... everyone else has them... Apple is getting left behind... doomed..."
And after they do release larger iPhones they say "Apple was late... they are copying everyone else... they've run out of ideas..."
I don't think for a second Apple said, "let's see what others are doing and then let's follow them in everyone else is doing it." They did it because 1) the consumer's interest was there, and 2) the technology was there. Remember the iPhone 6 is lighter than all of the 3.5" iPhones and a smaller box volume than all 3.5" iPhones up through the iPhone 3GS. A 4.7" iPhone simply wasn't a reasonable expectation then for many, many reasons.
Yeah who knows what sales *would have been* if Apple offered larger sizes back then. I guess we'll never know.
I just think it's funny how the conversation can shift when people start discussing iPhones and screen sizes.
For years everyone was saying "Apple needs larger phones... everyone else has them... Apple is getting left behind... doomed..."
And after they do release larger iPhones they say "Apple was late... they are copying everyone else... they've run out of ideas..."
So funny
For the record, I don't see it as copying. I do think that the criticisms, and the gnashing of teeth from the media, and many customers would've been deafening had they released only a thinner phone.
My point is not that Apple had to do it because everyone else was. Obviously some people left Apple because they wanted a bigger screen, but not so much that it hurt sales. I believe Apple's concern was that those defections could've grown exponentially if they hadn't made a iPhone with a bigger screen.
Apple could see that the market had shifted and they wanted to be in sync with it, especially in Asia. That they state that they waited until they could do it right seems accurate based on the reception of these devices and the length of time that they took to deliver them..
On the other hand, Apple may have continued being successful with a 4 inch screen and their current pace of development for some time into the future; we'll never know as Apple didn't hasn't yet built a 4 inch device with the same features, performance and design cues as the iPhone 6 / 6 Plus.
Perhaps the truth is that buyers would prefer a choice to purchase a flagship in a 4 inch form as well; I would and I see that in the future.
Either way, not seeing the big effort to try to determine if Apple changed its mind; they did.
Samsung struck gold by copying Apple and selling the one size (the phablet) that Apple decided not to offer. Apple pioneered the Newton, the iPod Touch, the iPad, the iPhone (multiple sizes on the last two). The one hole in the lineup in terms of size was the phablet.
Quote: "If you thought the iPhone inspired the iPad you would be wrong! Apple’s Steve Jobs was interviewed tonight at The Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital conference and was asked by Walt Mossberg if Apple knew it was going to build a tablet before they built iPhone. Jobs response to Walt, “I’ll tell you a secret. It began with the tablet.” Jobs continued “My God, I said, this would make a great phone … so we shelved the tablet and built the iPhone.”
Samsung is great at manufacturing. They're great at copying and tweaking with some little improvements. But when Samsung lacks a class-leader to copy (as in the case of their watches) they don't connect with success. Samsung is great only at taking an existing hit by another company and saying, how do we make this cheaper with some tiny innovations?
Unfortunately as good as Samsung is at that game, Xiaomi is better. That's why Samsung is crashing and burning as I type this, because they can't compete with Apple at the top/middle of the market (the innovator), and Xiamoi at the bottom (the aper/improver).
The happy news for Samsung is that the will continue to supply parts for Apple. Samsung is a world class manufacturer that got lucky with phablets and thought it got smart.
For the record, I don't see it as copying. I do think that the criticisms, and the gnashing of teeth from the media, and many customers would've been deafening had they released only a thinner phone.
Yeah... I wasn't talking about you... I was talking about "people" in general
They didn't have to. Apple doesn't get scared of the competition.
So I guess never in Apple history has Apple released a larger or smaller sized version of an existing product before the iPad/iPhone? Of course we'll exclude the iPod and iMac, MacBook, ...
Who said anything about scared? Apple noted the trend to small light laptops in the netbook class, took the idea onboard and made a better product in the form of the Airs. Same thing with 7" tablets. Apple saw that they were becoming very popular so they developed the iPad mini. Same again with phones - Apple clearly saw the considerable success Samsung had with the Notes and the general rising popularity of large screened phones made by Samsung and others, particularly in Asia where they became the sole computer class device for many people.
In none of these instances did Apple pioneer or lead by introducing these form factors. They looked at the market trends and reacted. Are you really trying to argue that Apple lead the way or that they produced such products purely on their own whim and with no reference to what other companies were doing or how well their devices were being received? Or do you seriously think they always planned to make such products and that it was just sheer coincidence that other companies beat them to it?
In no way am I being critical of Apple in any way, they have had the great sense to profit from the market experimentation that others have done. One might almost call them cunning - they stood back and let Samsung absorb the development costs of the natural selection process - what some refer to as hurling shít at a wall and seeing what sticks - and have now jumped in with products that are like those that stuck.
I agree with everything you said here except I don't think the competition was/is floundering. And I don't think the 6 and 6 Plus were Apple waiting to jump in until they could do it better. I think there's lots of reasons the iPhone is better than the competition but I'm not sure what about the 6/6 Plus specifically makes them better large screen devices than their competitors. Below is an LG G3 and an iPhone 6 Plus. Both devices have a 5.5" display yet the 6 Plus has a much larger overall footprint. How is the 6 Plus a better implementation of the 'phablet' than the G3? I'll ask the same question with the iPhone 6 compared to the Moto X. The iPhone 6 is almost as tall as the Moto X even though the Moto X has a 5.2" display compared to the iPhone's 4.7" display.
To me a better implementation would have been to not ship a large screen device until Apple could figure out what to do with the home button/Touch ID so they could reduce the bezels and keep the overall device from getting much larger. But of course that wasn't going to happen as there's no way Apple could go another yesr without a larger screened iPhone.
Stop comparing still photos and start using them and you'll find your answer.
Apple could see that the market had shifted and they wanted to be in sync with it, especially in Asia. That they state that they waited until they could do it right seems accurate based on the reception of these devices and the length of time that they took to deliver them..
On the other hand, Apple may have continued being successful with a 4 inch screen and their current pace of development for some time into the future; we'll never know as Apple didn't hasn't yet built a 4 inch device with the same features, performance and design cues as the iPhone 6 / 6 Plus.
Perhaps the truth is that buyers would prefer a choice to purchase a flagship in a 4 inch form as well; I would and I see that in the future.
Either way, not seeing the big effort to try to determine if Apple changed its mind; they did.
Except there are no numbers to indicate a market shift.
Yes Apple changed their mind. Is that really so difficult to admit?
And Apple's iPad experiment worked out pretty well for them.
Look... I know what you're saying.... that Apple was "forced" to sell larger phones because everyone else was.
But Apple has been the #2 smartphone manufacturer in the world for a while... with increased iPhone sales year-over-year... despite only selling "small" phones. It wasn't a bad place to be.
And their decision to sell larger phones will only further their success. I'm hearing rumors of 70 million iPhones for Q4 2014.... their biggest quarter ever.
Was Apple "forced" to sell larger phones? Were they "late" to sell larger phones? I'm sure this will be studied for years.
While Apple was making 3.5" and 4" phones... the other guys had 4.3" phones all the way up to 6" phones.
But the fact remains that the companies who were making larger phones still didn't have the success of Apple.
Screen size isn't the magic bullet you think it is.
.
IPhone 5S and now iPhone 6 sales records are the demonstration that Apple choose the right time to introduce bigger displays.
IPhone 5S has a "tiny" 4" screen, nevertheless it sold more than any other big competitor.
Yes Apple changed their mind. Is that really so difficult to admit?
That's like saying Apple wanted to have a "thick" phone and then changed their mind a couple years later to make it "thinner". Surely you aren't revising that part of history. The answer is and always has been that they would make the best possible device for a given time. Going from a thicker to thinner or heavier to lighter device there is no need to consider the OS or coders, but with a new display resolution, aspect ratio, pixel density, and size you have to consider how this will affect the usability of the SW which means it takes calculated planning; otherwise you end up with an Android-like solution which is not a good user experience.
Comments
Then why build something that 'no one's going to buy'?
I'm not sure I follow.
Apple sells every iPhone they make... in every size.
That was Apple's official stance a few years ago. The iPad was made for those that wanted more screen real estate.
No what's silly is every time someone else does something people here immediately claim Apple's being copied. I can guarantee you if Apple released a 5.5" phone and two years later Samsung did the same most here would've called Samsung out for copying. Plus there's plenty of thiings in iOS that Apple borrowed either from jailbreak community or other platforms. Third party keyboards, extensions, widgets, actionable notifications all existed on Android before they did on iOS. What bothers me is blatant copying like that new tablet from Nokia that looks exactly like an iPad mini. Or some of the stuff Samsung used to do and Xiaomi is currently doing.
Most of those things existed BEFORE android too, did Google invent them on other platforms (IOS, OS2, MAC, Windows, Blackberry, WebOS, Palm, etc) using a time machine? There's very little of current interfaces of IOS or Android that's really new.
And Apple's iPad experiment worked out pretty well for them.
Look... I know what you're saying.... that Apple was "forced" to sell larger phones because everyone else was.
But Apple has been the #2 smartphone manufacturer in the world for a while... with increased iPhone sales year-over-year... despite only selling "small" phones. It wasn't a bad place to be.
And their decision to sell larger phones will only further their success. I'm hearing rumors of 70 million iPhones for Q4 2014.... their biggest quarter ever.
Was Apple "forced" to sell larger phones? Were they "late" to sell larger phones? I'm sure this will be studied for years.
While Apple was making 3.5" and 4" phones... the other guys had 4.3" phones all the way up to 6" phones.
But the fact remains that the companies who were making larger phones still didn't have the success of Apple.
Screen size isn't the magic bullet you think it is.
.
My point is not that Apple had to do it because everyone else was. Obviously some people left Apple because they wanted a bigger screen, but not so much that it hurt sales. I believe Apple's concern was that those defections could've grown exponentially if they hadn't made a iPhone with a bigger screen.
I don't think for a second Apple said, "let's see what others are doing and then let's follow them in everyone else is doing it." They did it because 1) the consumer's interest was there, and 2) the technology was there. Remember the iPhone 6 is lighter than all of the 3.5" iPhones and a smaller box volume than all 3.5" iPhones up through the iPhone 3GS. A 4.7" iPhone simply wasn't a reasonable expectation then for many, many reasons.
Gotcha.
Yeah who knows what sales *would have been* if Apple offered larger sizes back then. I guess we'll never know.
I just think it's funny how the conversation can shift when people start discussing iPhones and screen sizes.
For years everyone was saying "Apple needs larger phones... everyone else has them... Apple is getting left behind... doomed..."
And after they do release larger iPhones they say "Apple was late... they are copying everyone else... they've run out of ideas..."
So funny
Did you not read the 'not'?
For the record, I don't see it as copying. I do think that the criticisms, and the gnashing of teeth from the media, and many customers would've been deafening had they released only a thinner phone.
My point is not that Apple had to do it because everyone else was. Obviously some people left Apple because they wanted a bigger screen, but not so much that it hurt sales. I believe Apple's concern was that those defections could've grown exponentially if they hadn't made a iPhone with a bigger screen.
Apple could see that the market had shifted and they wanted to be in sync with it, especially in Asia. That they state that they waited until they could do it right seems accurate based on the reception of these devices and the length of time that they took to deliver them..
On the other hand, Apple may have continued being successful with a 4 inch screen and their current pace of development for some time into the future; we'll never know as Apple didn't hasn't yet built a 4 inch device with the same features, performance and design cues as the iPhone 6 / 6 Plus.
Perhaps the truth is that buyers would prefer a choice to purchase a flagship in a 4 inch form as well; I would and I see that in the future.
Either way, not seeing the big effort to try to determine if Apple changed its mind; they did.
Samsung struck gold by copying Apple and selling the one size (the phablet) that Apple decided not to offer. Apple pioneered the Newton, the iPod Touch, the iPad, the iPhone (multiple sizes on the last two). The one hole in the lineup in terms of size was the phablet.
Quote: "If you thought the iPhone inspired the iPad you would be wrong! Apple’s Steve Jobs was interviewed tonight at The Wall Street Journal’s
All Things Digital conference and was asked by Walt Mossberg if Apple knew it was going to build a tablet before they built iPhone. Jobs response to Walt, “I’ll tell you a secret. It began with the tablet.” Jobs continued “My God, I said, this would make a great phone … so we shelved the tablet and built the iPhone.”
Samsung is great at manufacturing. They're great at copying and tweaking with some little improvements. But when Samsung lacks a class-leader to copy (as in the case of their watches) they don't connect with success. Samsung is great only at taking an existing hit by another company and saying, how do we make this cheaper with some tiny innovations?
Unfortunately as good as Samsung is at that game, Xiaomi is better. That's why Samsung is crashing and burning as I type this, because they can't compete with Apple at the top/middle of the market (the innovator), and Xiamoi at the bottom (the aper/improver).
The happy news for Samsung is that the will continue to supply parts for Apple. Samsung is a world class manufacturer that got lucky with phablets and thought it got smart.
Yeah... I wasn't talking about you... I was talking about "people" in general
And I wrote that for the benefit of anyone that might read it. Apologies if it sounded like a implication.
They didn't have to. Apple doesn't get scared of the competition.
So I guess never in Apple history has Apple released a larger or smaller sized version of an existing product before the iPad/iPhone? Of course we'll exclude the iPod and iMac, MacBook, ...
Who said anything about scared? Apple noted the trend to small light laptops in the netbook class, took the idea onboard and made a better product in the form of the Airs. Same thing with 7" tablets. Apple saw that they were becoming very popular so they developed the iPad mini. Same again with phones - Apple clearly saw the considerable success Samsung had with the Notes and the general rising popularity of large screened phones made by Samsung and others, particularly in Asia where they became the sole computer class device for many people.
In none of these instances did Apple pioneer or lead by introducing these form factors. They looked at the market trends and reacted. Are you really trying to argue that Apple lead the way or that they produced such products purely on their own whim and with no reference to what other companies were doing or how well their devices were being received? Or do you seriously think they always planned to make such products and that it was just sheer coincidence that other companies beat them to it?
In no way am I being critical of Apple in any way, they have had the great sense to profit from the market experimentation that others have done. One might almost call them cunning - they stood back and let Samsung absorb the development costs of the natural selection process - what some refer to as hurling shít at a wall and seeing what sticks - and have now jumped in with products that are like those that stuck.
Stop comparing still photos and start using them and you'll find your answer.
Except there are no numbers to indicate a market shift.
Yes Apple changed their mind. Is that really so difficult to admit?
IPhone 5S and now iPhone 6 sales records are the demonstration that Apple choose the right time to introduce bigger displays.
IPhone 5S has a "tiny" 4" screen, nevertheless it sold more than any other big competitor.
Ask Jon Gruber, he has a Moto X along with his iPhone.
That's like saying Apple wanted to have a "thick" phone and then changed their mind a couple years later to make it "thinner". Surely you aren't revising that part of history. The answer is and always has been that they would make the best possible device for a given time. Going from a thicker to thinner or heavier to lighter device there is no need to consider the OS or coders, but with a new display resolution, aspect ratio, pixel density, and size you have to consider how this will affect the usability of the SW which means it takes calculated planning; otherwise you end up with an Android-like solution which is not a good user experience.