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After transitioning from an iPhone to a (Samsung) Android, the iPhone screen seems so small that it's like a toy. My friends who have switched had the same expe

After transitioning from an iPhone to a (Samsung) Android, the iPhone screen seems so small that it's like a toy. My friends who have switched had the same experience. 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.

hayksaakian 13y ago
Conversely, when I use my father's iPhone, it fits really well in my hands. 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.
- leobelle 13y ago
  > 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.
Zak 13y ago
To provide a counter-anecdote, I really wish there was a flagship-class Android device the size of current iPhones. My Nexus 5 is difficult for me to use one-handed and makes itself known in my pocket more than I'd like. 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.
- rttlesnke 13y ago
  This is exactly what I want too. Pocket-sized tablets may have their advantages, but the compact size of the iPhone is more attractive to me. Make an Android flagship phone of that size, that'd be #1 on my list.
waxin 13y ago
then what you want is NOT a phone is a HUGE phone 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)
Stratoscope 13y ago
I had a funny experience when I got my Galaxy Note II a year or so ago. I had a Nexus 7 that I used at home all the time for web browsing and general stuff. But the day I got the Note II was the last day I used the Nexus 7 for much of anything. There just wasn't enough of a difference to matter. I had everything on my phone and nearly the same screen size as the Nexus 7 - but in a lightweight version that fit in my pocket. 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.
- dba7dba 13y ago
  > 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.
  - baby 13y ago
    > I think one reason big phones took off in Europe/Asia was because much larger percentage of people use public transportation 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.
adt2bt 13y ago
This is an interesting opinion to me. My background: 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?
- dba7dba 13y ago
  Larger percentage of people in Europe/Asia commute via public transportation, meaning they have more than an hour a working day where they can't do much else other than read something. 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.
  - adt2bt 13y ago
    I can see that use case clearly now. I, too, commute with public transportation and quickly started bringing actual books, and actually just recently bought a Kindle Fire for the commute. It's wonderful. 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!
rdl 13y ago
I like that my iPhone 5S can go in my back pocket and I can sit on it (on all but the hardest of chairs) without damaging it (in a reasonable magpul case).
jquery 13y ago
Funny. I transitioned from an Android to an iPhone and marveled that it didn't feel like I was carrying a brick in my pocket anymore, and that one-handed use was SO MUCH EASISER. You're right, Apple should invest in larger displays, but iPhones should be more like their laptop line: let the consumer pick the display size.
girvo 13y ago
Seem I prefer my iPad mini + iPhone one-two punch combo. It means that I have a bigger device that is still small enough to carry around in my bag and nice enough to be more useful than a Laptop for anything but work related stuff, but with a small easy to use phone that I can use for actual phone tasks like calling. 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!
baddox 13y ago
Interesting. Ever since I switched to an iPhone 5 from a 4S, the bigger screen feels obnoxious and less handy. To each his own, I suppose, but I don't think I will ever need or desire a screen larger than the 4S.
siculars 13y ago
My problem with Android vs iPhone is the inverted security model. On Android the app tells me what it is going to do and I have to take it or leave it. I end up leaving it and thus have no apps. On iPhone I can finely tune which permissions I allow an app to have. Any fix for this on the horizon? I am a fan of the more liberal app store policy on Android, read bitcoin, but not to the extent where I would allow apps to have more access than I think they should.
- Zak 13y ago
  App Ops was available briefly and did exactly what you want. Google made it inaccessable in 4.4, claiming it was only intended for testing. It's possible to restore on a rooted device, but more sophisticated solutions are available with root. 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.

hayksaakian 13y ago

Conversely, when I use my father's iPhone, it fits really well in my hands. 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.

leobelle 13y ago
> 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.

Zak 13y ago

To provide a counter-anecdote, I really wish there was a flagship-class Android device the size of current iPhones. My Nexus 5 is difficult for me to use one-handed and makes itself known in my pocket more than I'd like. 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.

rttlesnke 13y ago
This is exactly what I want too. Pocket-sized tablets may have their advantages, but the compact size of the iPhone is more attractive to me. Make an Android flagship phone of that size, that'd be #1 on my list.

waxin 13y ago

then what you want is NOT a phone is a HUGE phone 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)

Stratoscope 13y ago

I had a funny experience when I got my Galaxy Note II a year or so ago. I had a Nexus 7 that I used at home all the time for web browsing and general stuff. But the day I got the Note II was the last day I used the Nexus 7 for much of anything. There just wasn't enough of a difference to matter. I had everything on my phone and nearly the same screen size as the Nexus 7 - but in a lightweight version that fit in my pocket. 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.

dba7dba 13y ago
> 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.
- baby 13y ago
  > I think one reason big phones took off in Europe/Asia was because much larger percentage of people use public transportation 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.

adt2bt 13y ago

This is an interesting opinion to me. My background: 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?

dba7dba 13y ago
Larger percentage of people in Europe/Asia commute via public transportation, meaning they have more than an hour a working day where they can't do much else other than read something. 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.
- adt2bt 13y ago
  I can see that use case clearly now. I, too, commute with public transportation and quickly started bringing actual books, and actually just recently bought a Kindle Fire for the commute. It's wonderful. 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!

rdl 13y ago

I like that my iPhone 5S can go in my back pocket and I can sit on it (on all but the hardest of chairs) without damaging it (in a reasonable magpul case).

jquery 13y ago

Funny. I transitioned from an Android to an iPhone and marveled that it didn't feel like I was carrying a brick in my pocket anymore, and that one-handed use was SO MUCH EASISER. You're right, Apple should invest in larger displays, but iPhones should be more like their laptop line: let the consumer pick the display size.

girvo 13y ago

Seem I prefer my iPad mini + iPhone one-two punch combo. It means that I have a bigger device that is still small enough to carry around in my bag and nice enough to be more useful than a Laptop for anything but work related stuff, but with a small easy to use phone that I can use for actual phone tasks like calling. 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!

baddox 13y ago

Interesting. Ever since I switched to an iPhone 5 from a 4S, the bigger screen feels obnoxious and less handy. To each his own, I suppose, but I don't think I will ever need or desire a screen larger than the 4S.

siculars 13y ago

My problem with Android vs iPhone is the inverted security model. On Android the app tells me what it is going to do and I have to take it or leave it. I end up leaving it and thus have no apps. On iPhone I can finely tune which permissions I allow an app to have. Any fix for this on the horizon? I am a fan of the more liberal app store policy on Android, read bitcoin, but not to the extent where I would allow apps to have more access than I think they should.

Zak 13y ago
App Ops was available briefly and did exactly what you want. Google made it inaccessable in 4.4, claiming it was only intended for testing. It's possible to restore on a rooted device, but more sophisticated solutions are available with root. 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.