Jobs Scrapped the iPhone 5 Shortly Before Launch

[Muhammad Farrukh]

Apple disappointed a lot of people when it didn't announce an iPhone 5 last month. Though owners of the new iPhone 4S are no doubt happy with their purchase, the world thought Apple was gearing up to launch a completely redesigned iPhone and the minor upgrade that was launched in its place was a huge disappointment. However, it seems an iPhone 5 was on the cards for this year, until just a few months prior the launch.

Business Insider cites a reliable industry source that's been right about Apple stuff in the past in reporting that the fully redesigned iPhone was real but was scrapped by Steve Jobs because he didn't like it. BI's source says that Apple engineers he knows thought a new, full redesigned iPhone was going to be Apple's next big announcement until about three months before the iPhone 4S was announced (so Julyish). BI's source says he spent two weeks with one of the new, redesigned phones (before the project was scrapped, we assume) and that the device had a large 4-inch display; was made of in-house prototype material (ie. not production quality); had an aluminum back, just like the rumors predicted; a messed up color profile on the screen (an attempt, he believes, to draw attention away from the fact that Apple planned on having a better screen on the iPhone 5); no physical home button; a flatter/thinner design; much improved performance; a woeful battery; a 10-megapixel lens; and a version of Siri, then called Assistant.

All in all, that sounds to us like a pretty impressive piece of equipment. So why did Steve Jobs toss this device in favor of the iPhone 4S? According to BI's source, there's a rumor among Apple staff that says Jobs wasn't happy with the size of the screen because it "fragmented" the iPhone line. Steve has expressed his distaste for massive screens in the past, so we're not surprised to hear that a 4-inch display didn't jive with him. Still, with phones getting bigger and bigger, we're starting to think customers will want a 4-inch iPhone soon. The iPhone 4S's 3.5-inch display is going to look quite small next to the Galaxy Nexus' 4.65-inch panel.

Source: TomsHardware.com

Edited November 15, 2011 by SHoTTa35
Formatting!

[ARchamps]

4S looks okay but they haven't really changed anything besides the internal hardware (more ram, processor etc.) The Androids with their beautiful looking screens are looking nicer by the day. Might be time to jump ship from my Blackberry 9780 :shifty:

[SlapHappy]

I just upgraded. Could of went any route, was highly anticipating an iPhone 5, that did not happen and could not bring myself to buy an iPhone 4S because it was essentially the same thing as the iPhone 4 both cosmetically and OS so I decided to try Android. The phone is beautiful, screen is gorgeous, albeit a bit large. Plus it is LTE. The release of the 4s just cries ho hum to me. Like Apple has given up on innovation.

[Glassed Silver]

Apart from the housing matter there's nothing minor about the iPhone upgrade...

But I guess that's what most wanted with the new iPhone that cry the loudest: a new look.

IMHO the 4(S) look is incredibly and definitely hasn't worn out for me. I appreciate keeping the look.

I wouldn't mind getting my new iPhone next year (with good spec improvements of cause as usual) with the 4(S) look. :)

On a sidenote:

No problems with 3.5" here... Surely 4" would be nice, too, as it would also give a bit more room for battery (for god's sake, don't ridicule it again!).

I see the fragmentation issue and agree.

Seriously, I'll take the bigger battery over any reduction in size.

The iPhones all got pretty good sizes.

Give me say twice the effective battery life, then you can start tinkering with the size, but start from there.

Nevertheless, I like the iPhone, and it definitely is worth it to me, although there are a few drawbacks.

I ordered an external battery with 6000mAh to attach my iPhone to when I'm on a long trip.

This should get me sorted and my crying is less loud! :D

Glassed Silver:mac

[giantpotato]

Well this explains all those iPhone 5 cases with a new design that were leaked ahead of time, despite no iPhone 5 actually being released.

[Ironman273]

What I don't get is that larger screen ? different resolution. They could've made the screen larger and kept the 960x620 resolution. It would not have fragmented the iPhone software at all. It was a bigger step to double the resolution than to push the screen a little bigger.

[giantpotato]

What I don't get is that larger screen ≠ different resolution. They could've made the screen larger and kept the 960x620 resolution. It would not have fragmented the iPhone software at all. It was a bigger step to double the resolution than to push the screen a little bigger.

Marketing probably. I'm guessing the "Retina Display" term couldn't technically be used anymore if they kept the same resolution since the pixels would now be distinguishable by the human eye. (maybe, I didn't do the math)

[Vice]

Marketing probably. I'm guessing the "Retina Display" term couldn't technically be used anymore if they kept the same resolution since the pixels would now be distinguishable by the human eye. (maybe, I didn't do the math)

I think you're right it would fall just under the 300 Pixels Per Inch threshold they set themselves when explaining what Retina meant to them.

[The_Decryptor Veteran]

It's funny how phones were getting smaller and smaller, and now the goal is to apparently make them into tablets.

I think people expected too much out of the iPhone 5, so when it was released with the 4S name people were greatly disappointed that it didn't have "feature <x>", or a redesigned case (The 3GS and 3G case had barely any changes, so it's not unexpected).

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

Who cares what Steve Jobs want, it's about the consumer and demand. People want a larger screen, so rather than telling people what they should use and lagging behind,money should just listen to consumers and keep up with the trends.

[Growled Member]

I prefer larger screens myself. My Inspire has a 4.3 inch screen. I think sometime in the near future Apple will rethink their strategy and decide a 4 inch screen is a good thing.

[Ironman273]

Who cares what Steve Jobs want, it's about the consumer and demand. People want a larger screen, so rather than telling people what they should use and lagging behind,money should just listen to consumers and keep up with the trends.

I hate to say it, but no... Most of the time the public doesn't really know what they want. They'll want something without thinking of the downsides that an engineer or visionary would see. It's Apple's product and they should do what they want with it. If so many people dislike the 3.5" screen (which I find perfect for using the phone since a larger screen like on the HD7 strains my thumb when swiping stuff) then Apple will feel it in their bottom line.

[Tech Star]

Who cares what Steve Jobs want, it's about the consumer and demand. People want a larger screen, so rather than telling people what they should use and lagging behind,money should just listen to consumers and keep up with the trends.

No. People don't know what they want, they are too stupid to know what they really want and what really works. Having a phone screen more than 3.5" (or even 4") is too big and uncomfortable to work with one hand. Steve understood that.

[fsX]

No. People don't know what they want, they are too stupid to know what they really want and what really works. Having a phone screen more than 3.5" (or even 4") is too big and uncomfortable to work with one hand. Steve understood that.

I just bought a Nexus S. It's my first smartphone and as such, prior to purchasing it I was afraid it'd be too big (its screen is 4"). Now I think it's just the right size and I would welcome bigger screens, whereas I struggle to use keyboards on 3,5" phones.

I just upgraded. Could of went any route, was highly anticipating an iPhone 5, that did not happen and could not bring myself to buy an iPhone 4S because it was essentially the same thing as the iPhone 4 both cosmetically and OS so I decided to try Android. The phone is beautiful, screen is gorgeous, albeit a bit large. Plus it is LTE. The release of the 4s just cries ho hum to me. Like Apple has given up on innovation.

Goodness gracious me.

[The_Decryptor Veteran]

Who cares what Steve Jobs want, it's about the consumer and demand. People want a larger screen, so rather than telling people what they should use and lagging behind,money should just listen to consumers and keep up with the trends.

Just because users want something, doesn't mean it's the best solution. I used to be able to use my old Nokia phone one handed, but I can barely use my iPhone with one hand due to the screen size, making it larger would just make it harder to hold.

[Growled Member]

No. People don't know what they want, they are too stupid to know what they really want and what really works. Having a phone screen more than 3.5" (or even 4") is too big and uncomfortable to work with one hand. Steve understood that.

So you are saying that all iPhone users are stupid?

[dnast]

So you are saying that all iPhone users are stupid?

I think the point is that you can't always make decisions based on some users being very vocal about a feature they want. There are other factors to consider when changing the design that might not cross many consumers' minds.

Personally, I find 3.5" screens tiny after using a 4.3" screen for a long time. It took some getting used to, but now I'd never use a phone that was less than 4" if I could help it. My hands aren't large, either.

[Muhammad Farrukh]

Personally, I find 3.5" screens tiny after using a 4.3" screen for a long time. It took some getting used to, but now I'd never use a phone that was less than 4" if I could help it. My hands aren't large, either.

Indeed.

As much as I like the software and the hardware and all the other goodies of iPhone, I can't help but feel that the screen size is small. Too small if you ask me.

After using 4.0, 4.1, 4.3 inch screens, it just doesn't feel right in your hand.

And this is one reason why I haven't bought an iPhone yet. (regardless of having no money for it :p )

[Tech Star]

So you are saying that all iPhone users are stupid?

No, wtf, why would you say that? The majority do not need a screen bigger than 3.5"'s, and because of that Apple does not need to cater to the other markets. So instead of focusing on those markets, they focus on one (the 3.5" and the 9.7" (iPad) and they excel in that one market.

If people see that the iPhone is perfect as a 3.5" phone because iOS works well with it, and they don't really need a 4" or 4.3" screen size phone (or known as Android & Windows Phone), then Apple won. They got the sale and that is all that matters and took a customer away from the other company. They won.

[dnast]

No, wtf, why would you say that? The majority do not need a screen bigger than 3.5"'s, and because of that Apple does not need to cater to the other markets. So instead of focusing on those markets, they focus on one (the 3.5" and the 9.7" (iPad) and they excel in that one market.

If people see that the iPhone is perfect as a 3.5" phone because iOS works well with it, and they don't really need a 4" or 4.3" screen size phone (or known as Android & Windows Phone), then Apple won. They got the sale and that is all that matters and took a customer away from the other company. They won.

Playing devil's advocate, do you believe that a resolution of 480x320 was perfect up until the iPhone 4 was released?

Anyway, out of the lack of anything else better to do I decided to take a couple of photos. Both of these photos consist of an old iPod Touch and a HTC HD2 - both have vastly different screen sizes (3.5" vs. 4.3").

iPod Touch on top of an HD2:

As you can tell by the upper-right corner, I placed the iPod Touch too high, but it still shows that the HD2 isn't all that much larger. The iPod Touch is too far to the left a bit, too, but this does nothing but help my argument that they aren't very different in size. Unless the iPhone is stretching your thumb to the limits, I don't think a larger screen will necessarily hinder you for too long.

Now let's compare the screens side by side - once again I didn't line things up correctly being in a rush (and I still gave the Touch an inadvertent advantage), but I meant to align the top of both screens:

There is a lot more screen real-estate without the phone being much larger (compare both pics - no trickery happened). I'm not trying to knock the iPhone 4S in any way, but just trying to show that a 4"+ iPhone shouldn't be out of the question. I think marketing had a lot to do with it having the same relatively small screen for so long now.

[OOOOOOOO]

4S looks okay but they haven't really changed anything besides the internal hardware (more ram, processor etc.) The Androids with their beautiful looking screens are looking nicer by the day. Might be time to jump ship from my Blackberry 9780 :shifty:

Not one single Android screen out at the moment cuts it against the iPhone 4 screen tho ... sure, they're bigger ... but they're lower res (phones) and they have nasty colour issues ... compared to iPhone 4, they're simply not a match. I have almost all the latest Android phones in my office as I make apps for both devices. And so far, iPhone 4 trumps them all ...

[Muhammad Farrukh]

Not one single Android screen out at the moment cuts it against the iPhone 4 screen tho ... sure, they're bigger ... but they're lower res (phones) and they have nasty colour issues ... compared to iPhone 4, they're simply not a match. I have almost all the latest Android phones in my office as I make apps for both devices. And so far, iPhone 4 trumps them all ...

Galaxy Nexus?

[Ironman273]

Why the iPhone Never Went Beyond 3.5-inch Displays (and Probably Won?t Ever)

by Conan Hughes on Nov 07, 2011 with

For a product line touted to be magical, groundbreaking, and intuitive, the iPhone never went past the 3.5-inch mark for its display ever since the original product was unveiled by the late Steve Jobs in 2007. Competing smartphones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S II, have gone past four inches to display more and more details. But, what has actually made Apple refrain from expanding its iPhone?s display (and possibly for its later iterations)? Being practical.

A smartphone, with all its multi-touch capability, is actually best used with just one thumb, with the remaining fingers securely grasping the back and your other hand conveniently busy elsewhere. For instance, the most common smartphone tasks?making a call after selecting a contact in the phonebook, typing down a text message reply, and browsing the Web?typically only require single swipes and single taps. And, that should be done with your thumb alone.

But, try performing those tasks with phones whose display measures at least 4 inches diagonally. While you can comfortably tap away within the range of your thumb?s reach, there will certainly be remote buttons and whatnot that will have you fidget with your hand?which risks your phone?s falling to the ground. You have no choice but to use your other hand instead. That is what makes large screens ultimately useless, as shown in the image by Calling All Geeks.

The only other cases, where interaction with the device requires using multiple fingers simultaneously, are when playing games and watching movies. And, during these times, you usually hold your phone sideways (landscape mode) and possibly with both your hands.

The iPhone and its display size is the prime example of Steve Job?s demand for perfection. He himself may have noticed this flaw of some parts of larger screens becoming useless or void of interaction when using just one hand alone. You can try it for yourself and see how everything displayed in the iPhone can be reached easily, whereas you?ll be having a hard time on larger devices.

Furthermore, many smartphones have become so large that they are rather hard to hold, with their areas surpassing that of the average palm, and that your fingers can?t reach even the other side of the phone anymore. As a result, handling them with a firm, secure grip is no longer applicable, thereby increasing the likelihood of accidental drops.

Another reason I can think of is the fact that fashion these days demands tight or skinny jeans. Imagine how unsightly it would be if you put a large smartphone in your pocket, bulging at a disturbing level. In fact, would it have fit in your pocket comfortably in the first place? Had you carried a smaller device like the iPhone 4S, this won?t have to be a problem.

If the iPhone 5 (or whatever Apple decides to name its next phone) ever comes out with a larger screen, Apple may have already done something to address these problem. Perhaps they will have sported it with a flexible LCD display. But, for now, be thankful that your iPhone 4S?s screen is smaller.

However, the larger screen on Android phones also have a practical reason?bigger viewing space. Since smartphones these days are already hooked up to high-speed data networks, the Web is readily accessible from smartphone users? devices. The larger screens on recent Android devices, although arguably not as one-thumb-friendly as a 3.5-inch form factor, also provide a bigger window for more content to be shown on the display. That is as much practicality as limiting the screen size to just 3.5 inches for the sake of thumb reach. It also allows for less scrolling (with the thumb) when viewing content.

Do you find the 4.3-, 4.5-, or 4.65-inch touchscreen on your Android phone woeful to your thumb? Or do you find it acceptable enough for one-hand use?

Source: Android Authority

[dnast]

Why the iPhone Never Went Beyond 3.5-inch Displays (and Probably Won?t Ever)

by Conan Hughes on Nov 07, 2011 with

[snip]

Source: Android Authority

I don't know. The editorial starts off slightly subjectively disagreeable, but the arguments get weaker and even more subjective.

First, you don't need to hold many phones in the "death grip". That's the way I held iPhones and iPod Touch devices initially, but after using an HD2 with a 4.3" screen I learned to loosen my grip a bit and I was still able to reach anywhere on the screen with my thumb. It did take a while to adjust to, but it's not something I've thought about in a long time since then up until this thread. Also, I'll bring up that there are a lot of light, "cheap"-feeling phones that may not feel so secure with a looser, more extended grip, so I can somewhat understand from that perspective.

Second, and I'm not one to ever point out how Apple loves to sue over its software patents, but they are (or were) quick to sue over pinch-to-zoom and other multi-touch capabilities in other phones - but it's just for gaming and watching videos? With the first-gen iPod Touch I first earned to use two fingers to zoom in and out in Safari before any games were available (and thankfully other devices are still able to do so - thank you Apple for leading the way!). With the exception that you're very talented, you're not doing these things one-handed unless it's sitting on your lap or another flat surface - trust me, I've tried. Besides, I've found that I use my phone less and less with my primary thumb exclusively in most circumstances as time has went by. I thought I was fast with Swype when I got used to it, but I'm much faster with the Gingerbread keyboard (and even the iOS one) these days, two-thumbed. I have to admit that doing everything with one thumb was and still is very comfortable and intuitive, but I have since learned that using multiple fingers is usually much more efficient.

Last, well there are things that may not be exaggerated, but I can't honestly relate with the rest of the complaints. Stuff like not being able to reach the other side of the screen and skinny jeans making a phone an "unsightly bulge" seem to be filler in the article IMO, so I won't go into that territory. My hands aren't that big and I can reach across the screen no problem and, sorry, but being able to notice someone's phone in their pocket isn't exactly a turn-off to me - nor is it a reason to not own a device (depending on what it is :p).

[StrikedOut]

I use my Sensations 4.3" screen with one hand very comfortably, never had any issues. When I got the phone I thought it would feel too big in my hand but due to the way it's shapped it feels very natural, when I hold my old Desire it now feels way too small.