I'm curious to hear thoughts on the seemingly never-ending growth of the physical size of our smart phones.
Let's look at a bit of history. The iPhone debuted in 2007 with a 3.5 inch display, which increased to 4 inches in 2012. All iPhones were the same size until 2014.
Currently, someone wanting the newest technology has to buy an iphone 15, with a 6.1 inch display. The 4.7 inch Iphone SE is available, but having 2-year old tech, may not be a good investment for many looking to stay up to date.
Furthermore, the form facter of the current SE will almost certainly not be used again, and rumors indicate the next SE will feature a 6.1 inch display.
It's also worth noting that choosing a smaller phone in the last few years means sacrificing the pro specs. This trend seems to only be increasing. Not only has Apple dispensed with mini iphones, but early rumors suggest that next year's pro iphones will feature an even larger display, with only the regular models remaining consistent. whether or not this proves accurate, it seems undebatable that small phones are rapidly becoming a thing of the past.
Let me say I know that bezzles can shrink, as they have on this year's pros, but this doesn't negate the overall trend. It's also constantly brought up that small phones aren't good sellers, and Apple and other companies are of course so concerned with the bottom line.
With that context, at what point does the unchecked growth of our phones become an accessibility concern, and something that should be advocated against from the perspective of disability rights? I assume that larger phones have helped people with low vision, and that's great, keep them coming! But what about when people who are blind are forced to pay more money for a bigger screen that they don't want and can't benefit from? As bothered as I am regarding this, I'm sure others are even more affected. I probably have larger hands than average, and I don't have additional physical disabilities that undoubtedly make it more difficult to manipulate these increasingly unwieldy devices. AT what point do we say enough is enough and as individuals, communities, or disability rights organizations, begin to apply some pressure? Apple is a multi-trillion dollar company. Without taking anything away from the groundbreaking work they've done with accessibility, maybe selling devices that better accommodate people in the above situations could also be a priority along with ever increasing profits.
I'm curious on others' thoughts.
By Ben Dallin, 30 September, 2023
Forum
Apple Hardware and Compatible Accessories
Comments
dress for success is so shallow
Performance and results are far more important than hou you look. A business won't succeed on appearance.
Re: dress for success is so shallow
Some employers have ethics clauses and dress codes. What you call shallow, others call policy. Think on that.
Whatever Suits
Having worn many business suits over many years, I am thoroughly relieved to have finally reached that stage in life when I never need wear another suit ever again. I also hate ties with a passion.
Suits themselves are pretty cool, though. Two big inside breast pockets that could probably hold an iPad mini. Three outer pocket, although two are often sewn shut. Dress shirts (meaning shirts to be worn when wearing a suit) have a large pocket over the heart that can easily accommodate an iPhone max of any persuasion.
Suit pants also have enormous pockets, a pair up front (often with a small inside key pocket in the right front) and a pair behind.
The vest in 3 piece suits, on the other hand, usually have one or two quite small pockets for a pocket watch. Remember the old manual wind up pocket watch we old folks used to use? Smile. I kept mine in my vest pocket with a chain attached to a button hole.
So, counting it all up, when I used to wear a suit, I actually had enough pockets to have a single large phone in each of ten pockets. That would be ten phones, unless I doubled up somewhere.
Personally, I prefer small phones. I have never owned an iPad because I've never seen any reason to. My phone has always done it all. I do have a Mac, though. smile
Brian
I'm a hippie in disguise. Please don't tell anyone. So I get what you are saying about clothing. I must note in passing, though, that youu might not be well receiv ed if you showed up in nothing but a bathing suit at a funeral, wedding, or at court for an important case. But, shrug, smile, as we hippies like to say, to each their own.
Chosen Professions
I am lucky I suppose, that my chosen profession has never required me to be any more dressed up than a polo, a pair of khaki's, and a pair of business casual sneakers. Thankfully the khaki's I wear have deep pockets, and while I will never own a "Pro Max device if I can help it, at least I know I can carry one relatively well in a pants pocket. šš¼
Ironically I minored in the (American) Criminal Justice System in college, while majoring in Computer Science. And while I respect Bingo's profession, I do (not) have a mind for legal disputes and litigation.
On the plus side, I have only ever had to wear a suit 4 times in the entirety of my life; those were weddings. one of which was my own. š
@Bruce Harrell
Back in 2000. . . maybe it was 2001, anyways, I had to sit on a jury and for that Jury Duty, i wore a 2 tone polo that was gray and black and a pair of black slacks.
However for the Jury Summons, I showed up in a tee shirt and super baggy jeans. š
The reasons for discontinuationā¦
At the end of the day, small phones donāt sell very well because there are too many trade-offs for the majority of customers.
I absolutely loved my 12 Mini, it had an incredible form factor that I couldnāt help feel nostalgic about, because it reminded me so much of the early days of smartphones.
But the battery degraded quite quickly, the phone would heat up and become unresponsive quite often, and after updating to a 15 Pro Max itās clear that they wouldnāt even be able to begin trying to fit this type of camera system in a tiny form factor. The camera would take up half of the phone, and the battery and performance would suffer. Still, it was quite the phone.
But money is money, and the fact of the matter is that companies are only going to continue producing what will bring in the money. Itās unfair, but thatās business.
At the end of the day, even though theyāve done some absolutely incredible things especially in the world of accessible tech, Apple is not a charity.
Letās just break down the stats.
In 2014, after years and years of requests, Apple finally gave the iPhone a screen bigger than four inches with the iPhone 6 and 6+. How were those phones greeted? Wellā¦
They became the best selling smart phones of all time. Even to this day, the best selling smart phones of all time are the iPhone 6 and 6+.
222 Million Units! That is a lot of units.
Six years later, they tried to introduce the 12 and 13 mini, more than likely to gauge if there was any interest left in a smaller iPhone line.
The market answered with a resounding no.
https://www.macrumors.com/2022/04/21/iphone-13-mini-unpopular-march-quarter/
The regular iPhone 13 was able to gather 38% of iPhone sales in a quarter.
The Mini? 3%. Thatās it.
So they had two choices, keep producing that small phone for the 3%, or follow the money.
Of course they followed the money, thatās literally why they exist. Apple exists first and foremost to make money, just like every other consumer electronics company.
Even on the tablet side people want the biggest screens they can get, which is probably why Apple has been rumored to be working on a 12.9 inch iPad Air, and Samsung continues pushing tablets even further towards laptop sized 14+ Inch screens.
And itās the biggest selling point of their new Vision Pro headset, itās your own personal screen that can be literally as big as you want it. Not particularly something that interesting to someone like me, but itās clear that people donāt want to compromise on screensize.
At Bingo Little.
Call me common then because I really couldn't care about dressing smartly.
Yes; I'm the type of person to meet the king in pants, trousers, t-shirt, maybe a hoody, coat, socks and shoes, if he doesn't like it,, tough.
I've never seen and don't see the value in fancy smancy clothes.
Personally, I think the sizeā¦
Personally, I think the size of an iPhone 6s+ is just right, not too big and not too small. But at present, its size is likely to be much larger than this, as many opinions have said.