Steve Jobs Introduces the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch

Re:Steve Jobs Introduces the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch by lindig on Friday September 12, 2014 @02:05AM (#8306772)

The design of the iPhone is guided by what is technically possible as much as by ergonomics. As the size of our hands hasn't changed, how can a 4.7 inch phone now be perfect when previously 3.5 inch was deemed perfect? Here is one reason: as the devices become slimmer, your thumb can reach farther than before and hence cover a larger screen. So: it's the combination of thinness and size that makes the iPhone 6 still usable with one hand. I'm not denying that people might not care as much and simply want a bigger screen, too, and this is an additional factor.

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Re:Steve Jobs Introduces the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch by thaumasiotes on Friday September 12, 2014 @02:46AM (#8306852)

> As the size of our hands hasn't changed, how can a 4.7 inch phone now be perfect when previously 3.5 inch was deemed perfect? Here is one reason: as the devices become slimmer, your thumb can reach farther than before and hence cover a larger screen.

Well, I'd say most of the problem here is trying to identify a two-dimensional screen by a single number, the length of its diagonal. It must make more sense to give the actual dimensions of screens.

I remember pained discussion of the Nexus 5 saying the 4 was wide enough. The 5 is only wider by a couple millimeters, but is significantly enough taller that they bumped the single number identifying its size. That's no way to communicate.

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Re:Steve Jobs Introduces the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch by Tyrannosaurs on Friday September 12, 2014 @11:03AM (#8308366)

Doesn't perfect also depend on what you're trying to do?

It's all trade offs but as we increase what we do with our phones, a bigger screen potentially becomes more valuable.

I know a lot of people saying they have no interest in more than 3.5" or 4". Generally those people are fairly casual users. I also know "power users" (horrible term) who have been crying out for bigger screens.

I'm less worried about thumb size and more worried about how it feels in my pocket.

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