I don't want to start an iOS-Android flame war because iPhones are great in many ways and both sets of devices have their pros / cons. But IMHO Apple should continue to invest in bigger and better displays if it expects to compete effectively with Samsung.
More recently, I was cleaning out a drawer and found my old Google Ion (HTC MyTouch). The screen height on that phone is just about exactly the same as the screen width on my Galaxy Note 3. (My daughter has the Note II now.)
Maybe the reason these big phones work so well for me is that I don't use them as phones much at all. They are pocket Internet tablets.
Exactly. I try avoiding talking on the phone as much as possible. Text/email is the way I prefer. And reading/browsing is what I do most on phone. Hence bigger screen is a big plus.
I think one reason big phones took off in Europe/Asia was because much larger percentage of people use public transportation, meaning they spend an hour or more every working day sitting/standing in bus/subway. How do you use that time? Of course you read/watch/browse using your phone and bigger screen is a big plus. Talking on the phone is usually not practical.
Americans mostly have to drive which means they can't browse/watch while moving from 1 location to another.
I'm pretty sure NONE of the top Apple designers/execs commute to work in a public transportation or be driven in a limo, hence they don't understand WHY bigger screen phone is so attractive to a big chunk of users out there.
I didn't notice that in Europe where here in France a lot of people have iPhones. But China and HK? Full of big screen phones, Galaxy Notes are extremely popular there and I actually never heard of those phones before going to HK.
Its pretty well known that apple does user testing with children, and by designing a product that all ages can use they reserve a place in the mind of the next generation of smartphone users.
It's nice they make user friendly phones, but I don't think your logic works out like that.
I had a "dumb phone" until Sept. 2012 when I bought myself an iPhone 5 as my first smartphone. I'm a large guy (6'4") and have been more than pleased with the size. It fits in my pocket perfectly; I can use one hand to do everything; I don't have any trouble with the display at all.
However, I've noticed this general trend towards bigger phones as the future. In my mind, I always thought the larger the phone, the more the hassle. Phablets look utterly ridiculous. In your opinion, what are the benefits to a larger phone? Do you game? Is text larger/easier to read? I am genuinely interested.
As another note: I have my iPhone in a case. It's not an Otter Box or anything, but when I take it out of the case occasionally it feels ridiculously lightweight and small. After a few minutes/hours, the feeling normalizes and then suddenly the case, which was perfectly fine just a few hours ago, feels quite cumbersome. Could this be a factor in your perception?
With smartphones people started reading/browsing/watching/gaming. And of course for these, bigger phone is more attractive.
They couldn't care less what they look like as long as they get the functionality they want out of the phones.
Honestly (unrelated to screen size), I don't think I'll ever want to go back to paying money for a car to haul my own ass to work every day. I realized the other day that if I get a car that costs me $500/mo. for 72 months and commute to work on average 21 days a month, I'm spending $24 per round trip. Have the car for 15 years? Still $8/trip, not to mention maintenance, gas, parking and all of the other hassles. Sorry for the ramble, this is something I just realized after moving to a city in the States and realizing how freaking awesome public transportation is!
One reason the poor in US have EXTRA hard time getting out of poverty IMO is the requirement of a private car. If a poor American happens to lose use of a car (breakdown, gas price, etc), he/she immediately starts having hard time just getting to work. They could, but it takes 1-2 hr each way. The same commute would take half that time with a private car.
And don't forget they have to pick up kids, go to medical care, grocery shop, etc.
In other countries with well connected/cheap public transportation, no such barrier exists.
It's because you live in a place with no REAL public transportation. With a real public transportation system, you can go places at much lower cost.
Sony's Z1 Compact is close in screen size, but its external dimensions are nearly identical to the Moto X, which has a 4.7" screen.
At the moment, I use XPrivacy, which has very fine-grained control, confirm-on-use for permissions and the ability to supply fake data. As far as certain apps are concerned, I'm in Pyongyang.
I can leave my iPad at home and still be connected, and splitting my workload across two devices means my batteries both last for ages. Some prefer the convergence, and i totally get that, but I had used the original large android handsets, and now I've decided that 4-4.5" is the absolute maximum I feel comfortable with for using in one hand. If I, using two hands, I may as well use my 8" tablet with a much better screen and processor!
i don't know about you but people carrying Samsung Galaxy phones look ridicules when using the phone (and not to mention Galaxy S V is even BIGGER than S IV)