By Sarah Bowden, Marketing and Social Media Manager
Many rumors have been flying around about the upcoming release of the iPhone 6. Will it be bigger? Will the screen resolution be increased? Will it even be made out of the same material? All these things have caused both excitement and anxiety in our tech heavy world as people anticipate it’s arrival, rumored to be in Fall 2014 around October.
What most expect is an iPhone that looks similar to the Samsung Galaxy S3, which currently boasts its 4.8” screen size. The believed goal is a phone that is a miniature tablet, allowing users to hold the phone comfortably with one hand while also being able to see and experience more on their screen. The debate on what size the iPhone 6 will be has run in a few directions. Ultimately, many believe that Apple will release two different sized iPhone 6s- one similar to the current Samsung Galaxy S3 and one even larger at around 5.5” screen size.
Another rumored feature includes the material used for the iPhone. Currently, the iPhone’s aluminosilicate glass is one that is scratch resistant but certainly not shatter proof, as many users can attest. It is speculated that Apple will switch over to a sapphire glass which is not only more durable, but also much thinner and carries almost 100% transparency; the sapphire glass is already being used as the home button and the back camera for the iPhone 5s.
With the emerging iPhone 6, also brings a new iOS system of iOS 8. The new update brings a fancy photo editing application, text message integration to your other Apple products, keyboard, messaging, and mail enhancements, as well as an updated Siri. Too bad for iPhone 4 users and those with any iPhone older than that because the iOS 8 will only work on models of iPhone 4s and newer, making your old iPhone obsolete; even iPhone 4s users are rumored to have a slower interaction with the interface.
With so much to look forward to with this new release, how could there be any downsides? Well for starters, if the iPhone 6 does come out with a model that is 5.5”, users will be struggling to use the phone with one hand and most likely have to use two hands to navigate the device. How interesting it is to think that as consumers we used to want our phones to become smaller and smaller and now we are back wanting our phones to be larger, almost tablet-like. Another point of problem is the sapphire glass, which although is more durable is also currently less abundant and therefore more expensive, raising the price of the already expensive phone to an even higher price. Finally, the biggest downside to waiting and paying for this grand upgrade is that companies like LG and Samsung are improving their phones at such a rapid rate that your iPhone isn’t as unique as it once was. Sure, consolidation of your iTunes, iPhoto, Apple products, etc. is extremely convenient, but many users don’t even take advantage of half of what the iPhone has to offer so why wouldn’t they go to a cheaper phone that has many of the same specs when screen size seems to be at the top of many consumers lists?
For Yopine, there’s things to consider. A changing screen size may change the way our application and others are designed. What happens for companies like our own who don’t use a separate interface for tablets, but instead an elongated version of other phone versions. Instead of stretching the iPhone 4 or 5 screens, there may need to be a completely different design for optimal use and screen space. Our application relies heavily on high resolution images, polls, and listed brainstorms. With the increase in screen size, it allows for less movement and scrolling between options so you can see more contributions all at once. You will also be able to see more of the image when polls are being used.
We can only wait and see how consumers will respond to Apple’s new iPhone 6 and whether the jump in screen size is beneficial or ultimately a flop.