
Back to the iPhone 5S - mpweiher
http://technologynotes.net/blog/back-to-the-iphone5s
======
JeremyNT
Most of the top comments here are people expressing their preferences
regarding screen sizes. Some are very happy with the larger screens, some are
disappointed in them.

To me, this suggests that there is not a "winner" for what the "best" screen
size is. It seems that this is a personal matter and many users have different
preferences for their own reasons. It is clear that for some number of people
bigger is not better.

What confuses me is the fact that Apple did not find it worthwhile to continue
providing a smaller form factor. They (quite correctly) identified the demand
for larger screens, but have they failed to observe the demand for the smaller
ones? Or are the people who prefer smaller displays enough of a minority that
they are worth ignoring in favor of simplifying the product line?

~~~
crazygringo
> _What confuses me is the fact that Apple did not find it worthwhile to
> continue providing a smaller form factor._

I couldn't agree more. I'm still using the 4S because I want something that
_comfortably_ fits in my side jeans pocket. The 6? Forget it. When my 4S
breaks... I'll probably just buy another one, used. I find it almost
impossible to believe that the segment of consumers who want a phone that fits
_comfortably_ in a side jeans pocket -- since this is where a huge proportion
of guys keep it -- is too small to cater to. (Yes, I've tried a 6, and it
technically fits, but it is _not_ comfortable.)

If things keep up the way they do, I'm hoping Apple is finally forced to come
out with an "iPhone Mini". I _really_ hope they do.

~~~
forrestthewoods
Keeping support for small devices isn't free. I expect the 4S sized screen to
be completely deprecated in a few years. It's fine if you want your phone to
be just a phone and poor web browser. It's less fine if you want it to be a
pocket computer that performs a wider variety of tasks.

Not saying it can't be done, just that it has a not insignificant cost.

~~~
crazygringo
But that's exactly it -- I want my phone to be a phone and use phone-
appropriate apps, like Evernote or Spotify or Shazam or Hipchat or Yelp or
Moves or FitnessFast or the camera app or the weather app and so on...

And be a web browser of last resort, when I need to look something up quick
while on the street. I've got, you know, a laptop at work and a laptop at home
that work a lot better for web browsing.

~~~
forrestthewoods
Sorry, that's not the future for most people. Even apps like Evernote and
Spotify and what not are really, really hard to cram into a teeny tiny screen.
It's not a great experience. Then if you consider internationally how many
people use their phone as their primary, if not exclusive, computer and yeah.
That's just how it adds up.

App developers no longer have to worry about 320x480 resolutions. They
effectively don't worry about small from 3:2 aspect ratio displays. Soon they
won't have to deal with it at all. For the vast majority of users this is a
good thing. For a slim minority it's a bad thing. =[

------
robterrell
I went the other direction: I moved from an iPhone 6 to a 6+. I'm over 40 and
I find that the bigger screen (with the phone's new "Display Zoom" mode turned
on) makes it much easier to read the screen. As a result, I use my phone much
more. Previously, with the screen so difficult to read, I only used the phone
for voice calls (basically, never) and used an iPad for actual app use. Now
the iPad sits unused, while the phone meets all my needs.

I've got small hands, so I'm still figuring out how to best hold it, but being
able to read text on my phone screen more than makes up for it.

Lately I've been considering switching back to the iPhone 6 (better for
pocketing, less likely for my small hands to drop) and using an iPad Mini for
everything, including voice calls, via Continuity and bluetooth.

~~~
jobu
The 6+ is awkward to hold and almost impossible to use one-handed, but for me,
the bigger screen and longer battery life (almost double) more than offset the
shortcomings of the form factor.

It also seems to have louder speakers than any iPhone I've compared it with.
(now if they would just add another speaker on the top end to get stereo when
watching movies or playing games).

~~~
madeofpalk
> speaker on the top end to get stereo when watching movies or playing games

Are Stereo speakers actually noticeable on a device the size as an iPhone?
Wouldn't the speakers actually need to be further apart so your ears can hear
the difference better?

~~~
mikestew
In my experience: not really noticeable. I think people like the _idea_ but in
real use with a blind taste test I'd be surprised if people noticed a
difference. Of those who could discern a difference, ask them how much extra
they would pay or what other features they would be willing to give up
(battery life, size, et. al.) You want stereo? Put your headphones on, and it
will sound better to boot.

Besides, how important is audio fidelity when you're watching movies on a five
inch screen? Can barely see the faces of the actors, but hot diggity does it
sound good.

------
potatolicious
I'm inclined to agree - I use a iPhone 6 daily, and while the bigger screen is
nice in some ways, the loss of usability is aggravating.

"Reachability", to be blunt, is an admission of defeat - and I know this is a
tired trope - that would not have happened under Jobs. Sure, Jobs may have
surrendered to the trend of larger screen sizes, but he would've insisted on
something that wasn't so plainly awful as Reachability.

The bigger screen is beautiful and I love _looking_ at it, but I hate touching
it. I also hate the fact that the top right corner of all apps is now no-mans
land, covered with touch sensors as a matter of obligation than actual
usefulness. Expect app developers to start treating the top right corner of
the screen as non-user-interactive space only useful for displays.

It's too bad that Apple evidently doesn't have any intention of continuing the
4" form factor. I'd like to have seen multiple screen sizes given priority.

~~~
abalone
> Sure, Jobs may have surrendered to the trend of larger screen sizes, but he
> would've insisted on something that wasn't so plainly awful as Reachability.

Like what? A different way of shrinking the screen, or are you thinking
there's a way to enable one-handed use without shrinking?

Here's a comparison of the existing shrinking techniques.. you be the judge:
[http://www.phonearena.com/news/Whose-one-handed-mode-do-
you-...](http://www.phonearena.com/news/Whose-one-handed-mode-do-you-like-
best-Apple-Samsung-LG_id60607)

The cool thing about Apple's approach is that it doesn't actually shrink any
tap target sizes. Also it seems easier to enable (2 light taps vs. swiping
from the bezel edge). Having said that, I never use it, I just shift the phone
in my hand, like a ninja.

~~~
andrewfong
Honestly, the LG / Samsung method seems vastly preferable. Swiping from the
bezel edge is a much easier motion than the double tap on the home button
(which is sort of awkwardly placed for easy access given where you hand needs
to be to balance a larger phone). Tap targets shrink, but they're not any
smaller than they would have been on a smaller form-factor phone.

~~~
abalone
> Tap targets shrink, but they're not any smaller than they would have been on
> a smaller form-factor phone.

That's only true if the screen was a "magnified" version of a smaller screen
to begin with. That may be the case with many Android phones but the iPhone 6
has the same PPI as the 5, meaning the 6 maintains the same tap target sizes
and actually fits more information on the screen.

In other words, if you can comfortably shrink a screen's tap targets then it
wasn't an optimal screen to begin with.

------
trustfundbaby
When I first got the 6, I felt the same way immediately, and was going to
return it the following weekend. But after that week was up, a strange thing
happened ... I started looking at iphone 4's and 5's and thinking to myself

"gosh, that screen is kinda tiny"

I never did return my iphone 6. I noq love the big screen, that I hated so
vehemently when I first got it.

~~~
fidotron
Precisely. I do Android programming, which leads to a lot of exposure to
different screen sizes. Spend a week on a Galaxy Note, which is initially
shocking, and going back to something smaller has the same shock value that
the Note did in the first instance.

I must admit I can't see how or why people bother with less than 5 inch
devices now, but each to their own.

The other side effect of this is bigger phones make the idea of tablets seem
ridiculous. Were I Apple I'd reintroduce the 4 inch iPhone and kill the iPad
mini.

------
pcurve
I would like to hear female users chime in. I don't think one-handed operation
has been feasible for a large portion of female population even on iphone 5.
Once you get used to using two hands, I don't think it matters if something is
4.7" or 5.5". You just have to use two hands.

~~~
abalone
I'd speculate that pocket size is actually a bigger concern for women than one
handed use. With skinny jeans it has been extremely common to store a phone in
the back pocket. I can't see that happening with the iPhone 6. And I can't see
young women giving up skinny jeans anytime soon.

So that means one of two things:

1\. Young women start putting their phones in purses again.

2\. Stick with the iPhone 5s or switch to one of the few small Android phones.
(doubt it)

I wonder if either of these has borne out yet or if it's too early in the
upgrade cycle?

Are we nearing the end of the back pocket era?

~~~
felipesoc
Women don't use pockets, they use purses. Even most pockets in tight jeans are
fake. That's why the first Note was a big hit with older women. Big screen was
easier to read and it didn't make a difference to their purse.

~~~
cowpewter
I'm a woman and I _hate_ fake pockets. Loathe them to the extreme. I want my
wallet and phone in pockets. Purse is for extras you don't need ON you every
second, but are useful to have nearby, like eye drops or advil. My purse goes
to meta-locations, like to the office, or in my car, but I don't take it
everywhere with me (I don't take it inside stores, for example).

My opinion is not unique, but women are not given many choices about fashion
and pockets or lack thereof. You can say to vote with your wallet, but it's
hard enough to find clothes that fit properly (I am both overweight and have a
very small waist in comparison to my hips, finding jeans that fit over my butt
without having like 3 extra inches in the waistband is near impossible),
without having to exclude jeans that only have back pockets.

Every woman loves an outfit that manages to be cute and still have pockets.
It's like the holy grail of womanhood.

------
graywh
[http://9to5mac.com/2014/09/09/the-iphone-5-ad-that-apple-
wan...](http://9to5mac.com/2014/09/09/the-iphone-5-ad-that-apple-wants-you-to-
forget/)

------
herf
I can type a lot better on the iPhone 6, like really a lot better.

But apps that don't support "swipe to go back" are really pretty annoying now
(Twitter for instance). Scrolling to top and back are just way harder.

Also, I still constantly shut the phone off when trying to take a picture in
landscape mode. Power switch is just in the wrong spot.

~~~
chrisdroukas
Twitter's own iOS client most certainly supports swipe to go back.

------
bad_user
I got a Nexus 6, which is a 6 inch phone (I don't recommended it to people
because the screen is poorly calibrated). And I love the size.

For me my phone is a an Internet-enabled general purpose device, which
includes email, Skype, Facebook, Hangouts, YouTube, browsing websites and
reading technical documentation. For me this device works less as a phone and
for my use cases the large screen is great. And it has other benefits as well,
like much better battery life.

------
brandon272
Speaking of slippery phones...

I recently bought an Xperia Z3 which is the first phone I've had that has a
glass back along with a glass front. As a result, the phone is extremely
"slippery". I have always had a habit of setting my phone down on top of my
wallet. With the Z3, I was noticing that within a minute or two the phone
would slowly but surely slide off the wallet and onto the desk. I even noticed
this a couple of times on surfaces that were quite flat, including if I set it
on top of the cardboard box it came in!

Anyway, this all came to a head about 3 weeks after I purchased the phone. It
slid off my wallet and onto the floor and the front screen shattered. The
screen was $275 to replace, but I have found the replacement screen to be of
lesser quality and am now having minor audio issues as well. Disappointing so
early into the ownership cycle for a device.

In any event, I am now using a case for the phone, which seems to be an
absolute necessity for this device if you want it to not slide off of anything
you put it on. The choice of the rear glass cover seems like it offers a large
practical disadvantage for an aesthetic advantage that most people wouldn't
care about.

------
hatty
I switched from the 6 to 6 plus. Reading is great. I'm 5'11" with hands
average of that height. I think the only reason this has climbed so high on
hacker news is because it has Apple's name on it. More choice is better. As
people are consuming more content on their phones, like this website, bigger
screens are helpful. Consider PDFs.

~~~
ZanyProgrammer
More choice is better, you mean "More larger choices are the only thing you
have so I guess they are better."

~~~
mullingitover
They still sell the 5S, and the next generation will include the same size as
the 5S.

~~~
ZanyProgrammer
Link for that assertion? That Apple will include a 5/5s sized iPhone the next
time around?

~~~
mullingitover
It's a rumor at this point [1] but if they completely kill small screen phones
on the next release I'll eat my hat. Since the 6 came out, I've noticed that
smaller people of either gender really prefer the smaller screen size. There's
a gigantic market for the 4" screen, Apple already has support for it in their
OS, and they're not the type to throw away billions that people are offering
them for this size of device.

[1] [http://www.techtimes.com/articles/21559/20141205/apple-
iphon...](http://www.techtimes.com/articles/21559/20141205/apple-iphone-
mini-4-inch-display-set-replace-5c-rumor.htm)

------
cykho
I have no idea why they don't just move the control buttons to the bottom of
the screen. The real estate is great - they just need to break the paradigm of
sticking the most importance tap targets at the unreachable top of the screen.

~~~
gecko
You know what phone did that? Windows Phone. And it was amazing. And no one
could figure out where the menus had gone to, because everyone was so used to
iPhone and Android. So then all the developers, including even Microsoft, got
enamored with the hamburger menu as the new action bar, and that was the end
of that experiment.

I _really_ agree with you, to be very clear; this is one of many things where
I think that Windows Phone had the benefit of hindsight and actually delivered
a superior experience to the competition. But Windows Phone is repeatedly
finding that there's too much inertia behind iPhone and Android's existing UI
metaphors, so Microsoft has steadily been turning Windows Phone into more of
an Android-with-fewer-apps than a real alternative.

If Microsoft, with a need to distinguish itself, and a fresh user base, could
not move the control buttons to the bottom, I do not have high hopes for Apple
at this point.

------
lancewiggs
Later this year we will have even more choices of screen sizes for visual
input/output: with Apple Watch joining iPhone5s/5c/6/6+/?, iPad Mini, iPad and
perhaps a larger iPad. We also have the range of mac laptops and desktops
which are not (yet?) touch-screen but have keyboards, trackpads and mice.

For all of these devices we have a choice of audio input/output, from (for me
clunky) Beats headphones through to the classic Apple headphones, earpieces
and other non-Apple devices and of course built in mics and speakers on most
devices.

We will put these together in our own way. Tiny screens for glances and simple
tasks, larger screens for two handed use and longer or more complex tasks, and
computers with keyboards for the most complex tasks. We can increasingly use
audio to control and get output from any device, so the large device might sit
in a bag or pocket while the voice commands or watch drive actions.

So someone might be content with an iPhone 5S sized phone, but they may also
have an iPad for reading. Alternatively an Apple Watch, iPhone 6+ and no iPad
could deliver the same solution in a different way.

I'm not sure how it will play out, not for me let alone anyone else. I didn't
ever expect to get a vast screen phone, but after trying an otherwise unusable
Sony Z2 on a trip I realised that the 6+ could be incredibly useful - and it
is. The old 5 looks tiny now.

I'm just glad there are choices - within the ecosystem of course.

~~~
davidy123
I can't wait until we can deliver pizza with our iPizza Delivery Device. Until
then, no pizza for we.

------
steven2012
Yes, I agree. I've also had the iPhone 6 since launch. One the second day I
accidentally dropped it and the screen shattered. I was told by an Apple
Genius to get AppleCare over the phone, which I did, and then I replaced my
phone using that. That night, I bent it because I accidentally sat on it in my
back pocket. I subsequently got this replaced under the free warranty, so
frankly I'm satisfied with the level of care I've gotten from Apple regarding
these problems.

In the past few months, I've gotten used to it, but I prefer my iPhone 5. I
still have my iPhone 4 and 5 lying around, and the iPhone 5 is still nice to
hold.

I always feel like the iphone6 is going to slip from my grasp. I never felt
that with my iPhone 5. As well, the larger screen just doesn't do it for me.
Too many buttons or links for "Next", etc are in the upper right or left hand
corners, and I never can reach them with one hand. The overall usability of
the iPhone 5 is much better.

I do like using ApplePay, and it is much easier to read websites with the
iPhone6, especially when in landscape mode. In the end, I'll just adapt, but
it's not like the iPhone 6 is a clear home run vs the iPhone 5, and that is
probably meaningful in terms of how the pace of their innovation is slowing
down.

~~~
derefr
> That night, I bent it because I accidentally sat on it in my back pocket.

Do people really keep phones in their back pockets?

For that matter, do people really still keep _anything_ in their back pockets,
except as an ephemeral thing that you take out after a few seconds? Sitting
with things in your back pockets is known to create spinal problems.

~~~
steven2012
I put my phone in my back pocket often, when I need to stick it somewhere
briefly. I think in that particular case, I was picking up one of my kids, and
I slid it into my back pocket, and then subsequently forgetting it was there.
I never had a problem with sitting on my iPhone 5.

------
x0054
Reading a lot of the comments about this story, the takeaway should really be
that people prefer different sized devices. I like the size of the iPhone 5.
After iPhone 6 came out, I have even considered looking at some of the android
devices, but all of them are actually bigger than the 5 as well.

That being said, I can see how people can prefer a phone with a bigger screen.
Apple makes 3 different sizes of the MacBook, the 11, the 13, and the 15 inch.
They also used to carry the 17 inch one, which my dead would have loved,
because he is looking for a new laptop with a 17+ screen. All he does is sit's
with it in his arm chair and listens to music, so portability isn't a priority
for him. He is currently using a 17 inch Lenovo.

In any case, a 4.5 inch, 5 inch, and 5.5 inch iPhone product range is quite
reasonable. For the really crazy amongst us, make the iPad Mini and the iPad
also phone capable, and sell that to people if they really need to have the
biggest phone they can possibly have. There are already data capable iPads, so
they have the hardware necessary. Make it work like a phone with headphones,
and there you go, it's just a software tweak away.

The other big problem with the new iPhone 6 line is the ridiculous amount of
space that's wasted below and above the screen. If you hold the phones side by
side, you will realize that the screen from the iPhone 6 can easily fit into
the body of he iPhone 5. Apple has really painted themselves into the corner
with the home button. Back in the days of the iPhone one they has space for a
huge physical home button. But now, not so much. The home button, along with
the fingerprint sensor, can be moved to the side of the phone, for use with
your thumb or the pointing finger (for left handed people amongst us). This
way they can make the 4.5 inch iPhone to be the size of the 4S, the 5 inch
iPhone would be the size of the 5S, and the 5.5 inch model can be the size of
the current iPhone 6.

Problem solved, big screens, small phones, more choice. And..... it will never
happen :)

------
exprL
Part of the problem are the iOS design guidelines, which place the “back”
button in the top-left corner (or did so in the past). A larger screen avoids
the feeling of crowdedness, at the expense of reachability. If you rarely need
to access the top part of your screen, the trade-off is usually at least
acceptable if not worthwhile – less so with many iOS applications.

I mostly use my smart phone to browse the web, and I think one of the things
Windows Phone got right was to place the navigation bar on the bottom
(although I don't use Windows Phone, my phone does the same). Thus, unless
there are controls at the absolute top of the page, I don't have a problem
reaching anything (most native apps on my phone support gestures, which rely
less on absolute finger placement).

~~~
superdude
"Back" is now a swipe from the left edge of screen to right.

------
baddox
I couldn't agree more. I have been very reluctant to upgrade my 5S to a 6.
Admittedly, I tried once soon after the release, but the Apple store was out
of AT&T phones. Since then, I've decided I might as well wait and see what
happens. I've even caught myself wondering if there are any decent ~4 inch
Android phones out there.

Then again, I'm the guy who was disappointed in the switch from the 4S screen
to the 5. Even that screen increase was pointless for my purposes. I would
still much rather have the internals, thinness, and lightness of the 5S with
the screen size of the 4S. I anxiously await the day the industry returns to
small phones. It's bound to happen some time.

~~~
adwf
If you're not too attached to iOS, I've just recently upgraded my old Samsung
S3 to a Sony Xperia Z3 Compact. It's a ~4.5" phone with phenomenal battery
life. It's got all the power of a flagship phone, but is the only flagship
that is <5" that I could find. I've been using it for about 9 hours today so
far (since charging) and it's still at 96% charge.

~~~
baddox
That's the Android phone that usually gets recommended in these discussions.
It looks decent enough, especially for Android hardware, but it's basically
the same size as the iPhone 6, and the "cost" to me of switching to Android
isn't yet worth the benefit of upgrading from my still-excellent 5S. I think
it will be another product cycle before I seriously consider any phone
upgrade. If I really think about it, I'm probably using a phone less and less
every year.

------
xixixao
I always thought the position of the back button in the top left corner is the
worst part of iOS, even back before iPhone4s. I also can't reach the top left
corner of my phone, but luckily I don't need to, on my Lumia (920).

------
dghughes
This could be easily solved (if it is a problem) by making the icons scroll
vertically instead of horizontally.

I don't understand the problem though how many people use a phone one-handed
all the time? I can see for some things but all the time so much that it's a
problem reaching the upper left corner (if right handed).

It's funny though I was just looking through some old phones today my old N95,
Nexus One and my current one an S5 a difference of seven years (2007 to 2014).
[https://i.imgur.com/3cjBkxH.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/3cjBkxH.jpg)

------
ary
And thus the pendulum of fashion swings in the other direction. Maybe.

I never understood the obsession with large screens on phones until I was
confronted with the idea of using a phone for literally _everything_. Using a
computer 5+ days a week makes me want a reasonably sized mobile device that
strikes a good balance. Were I only to have a mobile device I imagine I would
want the largest screen I could get for watching video and handling my day to
day miscellanea.

Those of lamenting the loss of smaller mobile devices will probably be forever
outvoted by the average consumer.

------
snotrockets
I suspect the problem isn't just the physical size of the screen, but how does
the UX fit it. iPhone apps were always designed with a very specific screen in
mind (consider the back in the top right, for example).

Apple is facing a problem: they can not increase the screen size without
breaking lots of apps, or breaking the current UX paradigms they drilled into
users' muscle memory in the last 5+ years.

What wonders me is that they should have known better: we had the same issues
10+ years ago, with computer screens increasing in size and DPI.

------
abdophoto
I think the size of the phone is just a small problem. In my opinion it's the
software the needs work. Right now, iOS is just scaled up and that's just not
ideal.

For example, take how the Home screen icons stick to the top. You can in
theory have 5 rows of icons with a blank one on the bottom. This may have
worked well on previous iPhone's but with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus it makes it
even harder to reach.

These are things I hope Apple addresses in iOS 9. Right now it's just scaled
up for big phones. It's now time to optimize it.

------
thought_alarm
I could see myself going back to a smaller phone. I use an iPad most of the
time; when it comes to my phone, portability and usability on-the-go are much
more important than readability.

The additional screen real estate is significant and nice, but you don't
realize how much you depend on decent one-handed operation until you lose it.

That said, my 5S stays at home/office and I still carry around a 6. When
paired with the leather case it's just such nice piece of hardware to hold in
your hand.

------
serve_yay
I still really like mine, I especially enjoy the thinness of it. If I drop it
and it breaks I'll get another one, I don't want to feel anxious about using
it, since I use it a lot. I never use the reachability feature, I feel like
that is more relevant to the 6+. I feel like that phone is just way too big,
hilariously so, but I don't mind the size of the 6.

------
daigoba66
I upgraded to the iPhone 6 from the 4S. For the first time ever I got a case
for it. The phone is so light and slick in my hands; when using it one-handed
I often felt as though I were about to drop it. That said, after about 2 weeks
I grew very comfortable with the larger screen. It also fits fine in my pocket
even with a case. I'm very happy with it.

------
nkantar
This is exactly what I've been saying since the release of the 6/6+.

Though I might even go so far as to say I miss the old 3.5" screen.

------
DominikR
I for one have switched from Android (I mainly develop for Android) the first
time to an iPhone (6 Plus) because Apple finally provides a "phablet" and I'd
definitely switch back to Android if they should stop selling this form factor
in the future.

But I agree that the accessibility feature is useless, so I've just turned it
off.

------
joshmlewis
When the reachability mode was first announced everyone seemed to laugh it off
as a joke but I use it quite a lot. Sometimes it does cause a little bit more
of a delay than I'd like but usually after pressing the intended button it
will quickly jump back. I'm curious how many others use it?

~~~
k-mcgrady
I use it. I had trouble reaching the top of the 5S so the 6 is impossible for
me. My issue though it that I don't think about using reachability until I
have failed to reach a button up top and am already frustrated.

------
ojbyrne
The iPhone 5S just managed to fit in the zipped pockets of the running shorts
I wear (several different brands). The iPhone 6 does not (I bought it for
ApplePay). Now I have a Garmin running watch that I probably wouldn't wear
previously. I need an iPhone 6 minus.

------
seanabrahams
The more I use the iPhone 6, the less inclined I am to use it while on the go
and the more interested I am in the iWatch.

I doubt Apple intentionally released larger iPhones to spur such interest, but
I'm curious if others out there are having the same experience.

------
kylec
I completely agree. I used my iPhone 6 for a month or so before I gave up and
switched back to my iPhone 5s. There are things I miss about the 6, but I like
the size of the 5s way more. I really hope Apple makes a top-end 4" iPhone
again.

------
cwbrandsma
I have fairly large hands and long fingers, I've actually considered the
iPhone 6 because of this. The normal iPhone always felt too small for me. I
also have trouble finding gloves that fit right, the fingers are just too
short.

------
TazeTSchnitzel
Admittedly, I don't own an iPhone 6. But when I've tried it in the Apple
Store, I must say that my own iPhone 5C fits my hand better than the iPhone 6
does. I love the 5C, it's the perfect size and shape.

------
frou_dh
Presumably the 5S is also going to have a nice long iOS support lifetime given
it's the first of the 64bitters and that's the type of line Apple has been
known to draw.

~~~
tedunangst
Also TouchID and secure enclave.

------
asn0
iPhone 6 confirmed to me what Steve Jobs had said about the importance of
screen size.

If I was using my phone mostly like a micro-iPad for gaming and watching
movies, a big screen would be desirable. But for mostly one-handed use (phone,
exercise assistant, etc) it's too big.

My next phone will be the 5s. Or maybe the rumors will be right that there'll
be a mini-iPhone.

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joshontheweb
Yep, I recently lost my 5s and I'll be replacing it with another one.

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alayne
I really enjoy having a bigger screen. You don't -- that's okay.

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baddox
It's okay, but it does suck for those of us who enjoy smaller screens, since
there are no longer any flagship smartphones for us. :)

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alayne
Z3 Compact? If there's a market for certain devices, companies will sell them.
What do you expect companies to do here? I don't understand this discussion.

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kylec
People here are complaining about a 4.7" screen phone and you counter with...
a 4.6" screen phone. I think you've demonstrated baddox's point.

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markmark
Screen size isn't phone size, particularly when it comes to iPhones, since
they have very large bezels. Here [http://j.mp/1uIZZ6f](http://j.mp/1uIZZ6f)
is a size comparison of the 5S, 6 and Z3C.

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facepalm
He must have really short arms if he can not even reach across the screen of
an iPhone 6.

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zghst
Someone has to be the cynic – Yay another article about personal whims.

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rotub
PRO TIP: Do people forget you can lightly tap the home button twice to bring
the top of the screen halfway down the screens length to make it reachable
with one hand?

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bdcravens
I don't think so, given the many comments about reachability. It seems many
don't feel it's an intuitive solution.

