5 ms·

"[A 3.5 inch screen instead of a 4 inch screen]is an example of one of those design decisions that you don’t usually notice until you see someone doing it wrong

"[A 3.5 inch screen instead of a 4 inch screen]is an example of one of those design decisions that you don’t usually notice until you see someone doing it wrong. It’s one of the things that makes Apple products Apple products." http://dcurt.is/3-point-5-inches http://dcurt.is/3-point-5-inches

spicyj 14y ago
To be fair, Dustin Curtis was mostly complaining about the width of the screen, which is unchanged in the iPhone 5.
- cheald 14y ago
  Which is why he made the iPhone's circle both wider and taller than the S II's, I suppose?
gecko 14y ago
The new screen is the same width as the old; just taller. If you look at the images in that blog post, it's pretty clear that a taller screen would be fine. It's the wider screen that really suffers. So I think his points hold.
- danieldk 14y ago
  ...because nobody uses their phone horizontally.
  - spicyj 14y ago
    It's uncommon to use a phone horizontally with one hand.
    - sukuriant 14y ago
      But many people use their phone horizontally with both hands. See: text messagers, IRC users, ssh session runnners, angry birds players
      - spicyj 14y ago
        And I doubt that you'll have any trouble using the iPhone 5 with two hands.
        inafield 14y ago
        Hey look! It's a PS Vita without the backside touch interface or media card reader! ;-)
    - danieldk 14y ago
      While the iPhone 4 screen's aspect ratio is 1.5:1, but the iPhone itself is 115.2 mm x 58.66 mm (approx 1:2). So, the same reasoning should apply to two finger use horizontally.
    - maaku 14y ago
      Depends on the phone.
  - bluthru 14y ago
    With one hand? No.
  - notatoad 14y ago
    Pretty much, yeah. Unless they're watching a movie or playing a game, it is pretty rare for somebody to be holding their phone horizontally.
- mtgx 14y ago
  No it doesn't. iPhone's new screen is 16:9, same as every Android phone. So a 4" iPhone screen would be exactly the same dimension as a 4" Android phone's screen. Also check this out. The Droid RAZR M is just slightly taller than iPhone 4S, and I guess on par with the new iPhone - even though it has a 4.3" screen! http://images.anandtech.com/doci/6242/DSC_8062_575px.jpg http://images.anandtech.com/doci/6242/DSC_8062_575px.jpg http://www.technobuffalo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/iphone-5-compared-iphone-4s-white-640x480.jpg http://www.technobuffalo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/ipho...
  - richcollins 14y ago
    It's the absolute distance that your thumb has to travel that is important, not the aspect ratio. The question is whether your thumb can reach the opposing corner of the screen. Of course you could always say that the parts that aren't reachable will only be used for display, not controls. But I doubt that iOS 6 moves the navigation buttons to the bottom.
JumpCrisscross 14y ago
Width, which seems optimal, hasn't changed. On the last image one can see that the green semicircle extends beyond the touchable part of the screen to the edges of the phone, implying the potential for a greater tactile surface.
- grogglesbegone 14y ago
  The fact that Curtis' ridiculous piece saw so much play is an indictment of the gullibility and desire to believe of too many. It has zero technical accuracy, nor does it even seem to consider the idea that people use their phones for many other things than typing while walking, one handed. Personally that is by far the least common way I use my device, and if every other use suffered for that one possible use I would declare it a terrible decision. The original iPhone had a 3.5" display because that was a huge display at the time. Some short-sighted simplicity of the API bound them to it. This new form factor ("fragmentation!") is in all senses a hack, though it brings them in line with the aspect ratio that competitors have been using for years. From the original link - "When you first see a phone with a 4-inch or larger screen"... Just to be clear those 4-inch or larger screen phones Dustin complained about all use a 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratio. As one aside -- I noted during the Verge live coverage that they, time and time again, pointed out where Apple was introducing features that look like or operate like competitors. I have to imagine that has something to do with the Gruber/Arment tag team that tried to smear them for failing to always point out when people follow Apple.
- cheald 14y ago
  Those circles aren't the same size, favoring the iPhone. It's not an honest comparison.
  - Steko 14y ago
    The Samsung circle reflects the fact that more of your hand is taken up in holding the increased witdth of the phone. If you actually try it you can see how it works easily.
    - 14y ago
w1ntermute 14y ago
No doubt all the Apple fanboys will now be rushing to flip-flop and explain why a 4" screen was the right decision all along.
- aeontech 14y ago
  Not really. The width remains the same, so it's still usable with one hand. What's there to flip flop about?
- sbuk 14y ago
  No more than Apple's detractors are quick to say things like "No doubt all the Apple fanboys will now be..." :)
  - gcr 14y ago
    No doubt all the Apple fanboys will now say things like "No more than Apple's detractors are quick to say things like \"No doubt all the Apple fanboys will now be...\" :)" :)
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
bugmenot 14y ago
There are now several comments in this thread suggesting that these 4" are "different" because of the new aspect ratio. That ratio is anything but new, it's the same 16:9 everyone nowadays uses and a 4" screen from other manufacturers would have a) the same shape as the new iPhone b) be just what that dcurt.is post was rambling on against.
aeontech 14y ago
Spot on. "For the first time ever we've increased the size of the display. By making the screen taller, but not wider, you can still comfortably use it with one hand." - Jony Ive (quote from engadget's liveblog at http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/12/apple-iphone-5-liveblog/ http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/12/apple-iphone-5-liveblog/)
jkn 14y ago
The author used a smaller radius for the Samsung phone... Is it a mistake or is the the picture on the right at a smaller scale?
- cheald 14y ago
  Neither! Using Apple products makes your appendages larger, including your thumbs, obviously! :)
- HeyImAlex 14y ago
  Using the ruler tool in photoshop and comparing the ratios, it looks like they're pretty close to the same scale, and, even though it doesn't effect the message of the picture much, the second area is definitely smaller...
  - Steko 14y ago
    It's likely because your hand has to traverse the entire back of it. Put a phone in your hand and see how far your thumb swipes. Now turn the phone 90 degrees (or use a 2nd larger phone) and see that you really do make a smaller circle.
- snowwrestler 14y ago
  The size of your hand is fixed. With a wider object in your hand you cannot fold your thumb over as far.
majormajor 14y ago
I'd argue that the reason the iPhone succeeded as wildly as it did is because the one-handed-thumb-operation use case pales in comparison to everything else a big (for its time) touchscreen lets you do. My old T9 Symbian was fantastic for using one-handed with my thumb. I didn't have to look at the screen to type since the keypad had tactile feedback, and navigating up and down with the direction buttons to, say, delete a row from my grocery list while walking through the store was a breeze. I can type faster on a touch screen (especially when using two thumbs), but I can't do it blind nearly as well. Nowdays I hold my phone in one hand, and use the other hand's index finger to manipulate the screen. It's vastly better than a physical thumb keypad for watching media, browsing the web, or viewing any other kind of information (all of which benefits from a larger screen, which is why—epecially as a guy with large-enough hands to do one-handed operation in a pinch even on a bigger screen—I prefer 4.3" screens over the 3.5" of the iPhone). It's also vastly better than a physical keypad for most other forms of interaction. But one-handed thumb usage has always been my mode of last resort for a touch-screen phone. So I like trading against the usability of that mode in exchange for more visible surface area.
- bookwormAT 14y ago
  "I'd argue that the reason the iPhone succeeded as wildly as it did is because the one-handed-thumb-operation use case pales in comparison to everything else a big (for its time) touchscreen lets you do." I agree with this statement. A larger display delivers a much better experience when reading text, watching videos, playing games or touching controls in apps. I agree that the "I can reach the corner with my thumb" feature is an advantage. But that advantage pales compared to the fact that a large display (4.3+) significantly improves almost every action that people use on smartphones today. IMHO the only reason Apple sticks with the sizes they use is because they built an operating system that is not designed for multiple screen sizes. [edit: strange comment fail: I actually wote that I disagree with a statement that I actually agree with ;). fixed this now I guess]
  - mdonahoe 14y ago
    You both seem to be in agreement.
mtgx 14y ago
Eagerly waiting for a new post from him saying how actually 4" is the perfect size.
TallboyOne 14y ago
He must have very tiny thumbs
guelo 14y ago
Which is why Apple had to sue Samsung so people are no longer allowed to buy that phone. They love users so much they didn't want to see them using a phone where you can't reach the other corner with your thumb.

spicyj 14y ago

To be fair, Dustin Curtis was mostly complaining about the width of the screen, which is unchanged in the iPhone 5.

cheald 14y ago
Which is why he made the iPhone's circle both wider and taller than the S II's, I suppose?

gecko 14y ago

The new screen is the same width as the old; just taller. If you look at the images in that blog post, it's pretty clear that a taller screen would be fine. It's the wider screen that really suffers. So I think his points hold.

danieldk 14y ago
...because nobody uses their phone horizontally.
- spicyj 14y ago
  It's uncommon to use a phone horizontally with one hand.
  - sukuriant 14y ago
    But many people use their phone horizontally with both hands. See: text messagers, IRC users, ssh session runnners, angry birds players
    - spicyj 14y ago
      And I doubt that you'll have any trouble using the iPhone 5 with two hands.
      - inafield 14y ago
        Hey look! It's a PS Vita without the backside touch interface or media card reader! ;-)
  - danieldk 14y ago
    While the iPhone 4 screen's aspect ratio is 1.5:1, but the iPhone itself is 115.2 mm x 58.66 mm (approx 1:2). So, the same reasoning should apply to two finger use horizontally.
  - maaku 14y ago
    Depends on the phone.
- bluthru 14y ago
  With one hand? No.
- notatoad 14y ago
  Pretty much, yeah. Unless they're watching a movie or playing a game, it is pretty rare for somebody to be holding their phone horizontally.
mtgx 14y ago
No it doesn't. iPhone's new screen is 16:9, same as every Android phone. So a 4" iPhone screen would be exactly the same dimension as a 4" Android phone's screen. Also check this out. The Droid RAZR M is just slightly taller than iPhone 4S, and I guess on par with the new iPhone - even though it has a 4.3" screen! http://images.anandtech.com/doci/6242/DSC_8062_575px.jpg http://images.anandtech.com/doci/6242/DSC_8062_575px.jpg http://www.technobuffalo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/iphone-5-compared-iphone-4s-white-640x480.jpg http://www.technobuffalo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/ipho...
- richcollins 14y ago
  It's the absolute distance that your thumb has to travel that is important, not the aspect ratio. The question is whether your thumb can reach the opposing corner of the screen. Of course you could always say that the parts that aren't reachable will only be used for display, not controls. But I doubt that iOS 6 moves the navigation buttons to the bottom.

JumpCrisscross 14y ago

Width, which seems optimal, hasn't changed. On the last image one can see that the green semicircle extends beyond the touchable part of the screen to the edges of the phone, implying the potential for a greater tactile surface.

grogglesbegone 14y ago
The fact that Curtis' ridiculous piece saw so much play is an indictment of the gullibility and desire to believe of too many. It has zero technical accuracy, nor does it even seem to consider the idea that people use their phones for many other things than typing while walking, one handed. Personally that is by far the least common way I use my device, and if every other use suffered for that one possible use I would declare it a terrible decision. The original iPhone had a 3.5" display because that was a huge display at the time. Some short-sighted simplicity of the API bound them to it. This new form factor ("fragmentation!") is in all senses a hack, though it brings them in line with the aspect ratio that competitors have been using for years. From the original link - "When you first see a phone with a 4-inch or larger screen"... Just to be clear those 4-inch or larger screen phones Dustin complained about all use a 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratio. As one aside -- I noted during the Verge live coverage that they, time and time again, pointed out where Apple was introducing features that look like or operate like competitors. I have to imagine that has something to do with the Gruber/Arment tag team that tried to smear them for failing to always point out when people follow Apple.
cheald 14y ago
Those circles aren't the same size, favoring the iPhone. It's not an honest comparison.
- Steko 14y ago
  The Samsung circle reflects the fact that more of your hand is taken up in holding the increased witdth of the phone. If you actually try it you can see how it works easily.
  - 14y ago

w1ntermute 14y ago

No doubt all the Apple fanboys will now be rushing to flip-flop and explain why a 4" screen was the right decision all along.

aeontech 14y ago
Not really. The width remains the same, so it's still usable with one hand. What's there to flip flop about?
sbuk 14y ago
No more than Apple's detractors are quick to say things like "No doubt all the Apple fanboys will now be..." :)
- gcr 14y ago
  No doubt all the Apple fanboys will now say things like "No more than Apple's detractors are quick to say things like \"No doubt all the Apple fanboys will now be...\" :)" :)

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

bugmenot 14y ago

There are now several comments in this thread suggesting that these 4" are "different" because of the new aspect ratio. That ratio is anything but new, it's the same 16:9 everyone nowadays uses and a 4" screen from other manufacturers would have a) the same shape as the new iPhone b) be just what that dcurt.is post was rambling on against.

aeontech 14y ago

Spot on. "For the first time ever we've increased the size of the display. By making the screen taller, but not wider, you can still comfortably use it with one hand." - Jony Ive (quote from engadget's liveblog at http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/12/apple-iphone-5-liveblog/ http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/12/apple-iphone-5-liveblog/)

jkn 14y ago

The author used a smaller radius for the Samsung phone... Is it a mistake or is the the picture on the right at a smaller scale?

cheald 14y ago
Neither! Using Apple products makes your appendages larger, including your thumbs, obviously! :)
HeyImAlex 14y ago
Using the ruler tool in photoshop and comparing the ratios, it looks like they're pretty close to the same scale, and, even though it doesn't effect the message of the picture much, the second area is definitely smaller...
- Steko 14y ago
  It's likely because your hand has to traverse the entire back of it. Put a phone in your hand and see how far your thumb swipes. Now turn the phone 90 degrees (or use a 2nd larger phone) and see that you really do make a smaller circle.
snowwrestler 14y ago
The size of your hand is fixed. With a wider object in your hand you cannot fold your thumb over as far.

majormajor 14y ago

I'd argue that the reason the iPhone succeeded as wildly as it did is because the one-handed-thumb-operation use case pales in comparison to everything else a big (for its time) touchscreen lets you do. My old T9 Symbian was fantastic for using one-handed with my thumb. I didn't have to look at the screen to type since the keypad had tactile feedback, and navigating up and down with the direction buttons to, say, delete a row from my grocery list while walking through the store was a breeze. I can type faster on a touch screen (especially when using two thumbs), but I can't do it blind nearly as well. Nowdays I hold my phone in one hand, and use the other hand's index finger to manipulate the screen. It's vastly better than a physical thumb keypad for watching media, browsing the web, or viewing any other kind of information (all of which benefits from a larger screen, which is why—epecially as a guy with large-enough hands to do one-handed operation in a pinch even on a bigger screen—I prefer 4.3" screens over the 3.5" of the iPhone). It's also vastly better than a physical keypad for most other forms of interaction. But one-handed thumb usage has always been my mode of last resort for a touch-screen phone. So I like trading against the usability of that mode in exchange for more visible surface area.

bookwormAT 14y ago
"I'd argue that the reason the iPhone succeeded as wildly as it did is because the one-handed-thumb-operation use case pales in comparison to everything else a big (for its time) touchscreen lets you do." I agree with this statement. A larger display delivers a much better experience when reading text, watching videos, playing games or touching controls in apps. I agree that the "I can reach the corner with my thumb" feature is an advantage. But that advantage pales compared to the fact that a large display (4.3+) significantly improves almost every action that people use on smartphones today. IMHO the only reason Apple sticks with the sizes they use is because they built an operating system that is not designed for multiple screen sizes. [edit: strange comment fail: I actually wote that I disagree with a statement that I actually agree with ;). fixed this now I guess]
- mdonahoe 14y ago
  You both seem to be in agreement.

mtgx 14y ago

Eagerly waiting for a new post from him saying how actually 4" is the perfect size.

TallboyOne 14y ago

He must have very tiny thumbs

guelo 14y ago

Which is why Apple had to sue Samsung so people are no longer allowed to buy that phone. They love users so much they didn't want to see them using a phone where you can't reach the other corner with your thumb.