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4 inches

dcurt.is

41–50 of 78 posts

Re: 4 inches

#41

So a while back the benefits didn't outweigh the "huge downside" that he found the screen size of the Galaxy SII, but now that Apple increases their screen size "the software benefits that come from that extra half an inch hugely improve the experience of using the phone." The continually disappointing thing about the iPhone coverage has been people who dismiss things as not needed until Apple gets around to implemen…

Did you read the post? He says it's only "barely acceptable" at 4 inches - hardly glowing praise, and the S3 has a 4.8 inch screen.

Re: 4 inches

#42
post #3

The elephant in the room is that unlike on android phones, there is no hardware 'back' button on iPhone. Where is it instead (by convention)? The top left corner of the screen, ie, the most unreachable place on the new iPhone. I'm still amazed this thing was produced by Apple given that oversight.

Not every app needs a back button, though. It's really that simple. That and the behavior is unpredictable because the button can't be labeled, being hardware. If a modal dialog pops up, say in a game, it will be a gamble whether the back button dismisses the dialog or shoots me back to the task I was doing prior to firing up the game. It's not that well thought out an idea. Now, placement is a different issue and we…

By default in Android, back key pressed when dialogs are showing simply dismiss those dialogs. There are app authors who override back button behavior (wrongly) and break this paradigm. The persistent availability of the back button is great, for the most part, as I know I should be able to get back to where I was in most scenarios.

Re: 4 inches

#43

So a while back the benefits didn't outweigh the "huge downside" that he found the screen size of the Galaxy SII, but now that Apple increases their screen size "the software benefits that come from that extra half an inch hugely improve the experience of using the phone." The continually disappointing thing about the iPhone coverage has been people who dismiss things as not needed until Apple gets around to implemen…

[deleted]

Re: 4 inches

#44
The notion that Apple or anybody else can design the perfect sized screen based upon holding the phone in one hand and thumb reach is silly, because in this scenario many apps are rendered useless without multi-touch!

It's obvious that people hold phones differently, use phones differently, and have different sized hands. It's also obvious that some people like buying phones with bigger screens. Why does everything Apple do have to be justified or rationalized as some kind of great and insightful design choice?

Re: 4 inches

#45
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It might not be hardware anymore, but there is still a ubiquitous back button. And depending on how you look at it, the rotation change could be a good thing - the intention is to keep the ubiquitous button set closest to where your hands will be resting.

It's not though. The back button on phones stays on the top or bottom edge (the icons just rotate to face you). Which side it will be on is wild guess though depending on the phone and OEM. Tablets will move it to the bottom in whatever orientation you are in which good but the issue with that though is that the screen dimensions change and I can't tell you how frustrating that is in games and changing their OpenGL p…

The back button is ubiquitous for each phone. Yes, it differs between manufacturers but most people only have one phone.

Irrespective of where on the bottom row it is, it's still more useful than the top left of the iPhone 5.

Re: 4 inches

#46

So a while back the benefits didn't outweigh the "huge downside" that he found the screen size of the Galaxy SII, but now that Apple increases their screen size "the software benefits that come from that extra half an inch hugely improve the experience of using the phone." The continually disappointing thing about the iPhone coverage has been people who dismiss things as not needed until Apple gets around to implemen…

Clearly the Apple koolaid causes your hands to shrink. That is the only conclusion I can make from this blog post.

Re: 4 inches

#47
"Every area of the screen is reachable, after all (unlike many Android phones with 4-inch+ screens)"

Because 4-inch is the upper limit and Apple got it right again.

Re: 4 inches

#48
> iOS’s tab bars are anchored to the bottom of the screen, where your thumb more naturally rests, so it remains easy to change app sections (contrast this with Android’s tab bars, which are usually located at the top of the screen, and sometimes out of reach).

I disagree with this, I think navigation should be at the top because you use them infrequently. What you do do frequently is scroll, and navigation being on the bottom gets in the way of trying to scroll.

However, this is just my own personal observation. I'm not going to write a blog post on how it is a scientific fact that navigation is better when on the top.

Re: 4 inches

#49
post #18

I would just like to point out that this is a highly subjective argument. The iPhone 5 might be too large for Dustin's hand, but I'm quite comfortable using a 4.3 or even 4.5 inch phone. I naturally hold phones with the bottom right corner in pushing the bottom of my hand like the second image on the page, and my hand quite naturally wraps a phone up to ~4.5". For me, emphasis me, any phone over 4.5 becomes a problem…

Exactly: an iPhone 4 is to my girlfriend's hand nearly exactly as a Galaxy Note is to mine. The idea that people make these reachability arguments as if hand size is universal down to silly half-inch increments is downright insane.

Have you ever heard the phrase 'optimise for the common case'?

Re: 4 inches

#50
Is it me, or are people just dancing to Apple's fiddle? I've seen this same type of post several times, but it doesn't apply to me...or most people I know most likely.

I hold a phone across my fingers, tucked nicely under the top of my palm. I can reach across a 4" screen without a problem.

Also, when I'm holding a phone vertically, I don't typically only use my thumb - I use my other, more dexterous, and more "free", hand.

Wait...maybe the people this applies to are busy with their other hand?

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