Other The Future of the Smaller iPhone

[MF878]

A few people have expressed their disdain that all three of this year's new models are larger than the 6/7/8/SE. With Apple choosing to kill the SE instead of spec bumping it, I would assume we won't see anything that small again, nor do I think Apple will release any updated models going forward with the traditional home button design. If we assume that there is enough demand for an iPhone smaller than those released this year, and Apple did choose to offer a smaller iPhone with the notch and Face ID, I can only think of two possibilities.


Option A
5.5" LCD, 1624x750, 326ppi

The iPhone XR takes the iPhone XS Max resolution, dials it down to 2x instead of 3x scaling, and maintains the traditional 326ppi so that UI elements are rendered slightly smaller than the Max, and thus the display is slightly smaller. This option does the same thing with the regular XS resolution. This display would be exactly the same width as the 6/7/8 display, just taller. Assuming a bezel width the same as the XR, this results in a phone that is very slightly wider than an 8 and very slightly shorter (almost imperceptible so pretty much the same footprint).

Option B
5.0" OLED, 2082x960, 458ppi

This display takes the 5/5s/SE resolution, bumps it up to 3x scaling, and lengthens to the new aspect ratio. UI elements are rendered slightly larger for parity with the other OLED models. Assuming a bezel width the same as the XS, this results in a phone slightly larger than an SE, but still nearer to an SE than an 8.


I think if Apple does feel the need to reintroduce a smaller iPhone going forward, Option A is more likely. As we know from the XR, LCD displays allow for more affordable price points. Option B requires developers to support another new resolution, whereas Option A does not. Option B is also likely too small to have broad appeal. With the trend towards larger displays, Apple can probably get away with not offering anything smaller than the 7/8 footprint considering there are very few phones that compact with flagship or near-flagship features.

To give you an example of how Option A could fit into the lineup, this is how it could've worked this year:

XR (5.5" LCD) - $649
XR Max (6.1" LCD) - $749

XS (5.8" OLED) - $999
XS Max (6.5" OLED) - $1099

The standard XR and XS display the same amount of content on the screen, and the same is true for the XR Max and XS Max. The proportional size difference between the XR and XR Max would be approximately equal to that between the XS and XS Max.

 

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If Apple manufactures a 5.0 OLED iPhone incorporating some of the latest features at/or below $650, watch that sell like you would not believe. I personally would Purchase that instantaneously.

 

[kasakka]

To make a phone with a smaller physical size than the iPhone XS, Apple would have to go with a 5.0" full screen display. As seen here, this would make it both slimmer and slightly less tall. 5.5" is too close to the iPhone XS screen size.

At that size I think they would have to compromise on a lot of things from battery life to having increased thickness so FaceID components can fit etc.

IMO the XS is a reasonably sized phone but I would love to see a cheaper version of it. To me having the cheaper XR sit between the XS models in size is a bit weird but I guess the larger size gives them more freedom in how things fit inside making it cheaper to manufacture. If the XR came in XS size I would definitely buy it over the XS.

 

[maflynn]

If we assume that there is enough demand for an iPhone smaller than those released this year, and Apple did choose to offer a smaller iPhone with the notch and Face ID, I can only think of two possibilities.

there was not enough demand, pure and simple. People have by and large moved on from the smaller form factor. There is a strong minority to be sure, but they are a niche and apple does not want to incur the over head costs of maintaining a phone line that doesn't sell well.

Apple killed off the 17" MacBook Pro and a vocal minority were aghast. Even now years later they opine about a future 17" laptop that will never show up