Rumor: Apple Mulling 4-inch iPhone for the Ladies
This year, Apple unveiled the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, two new handsets that broke the previously held size records for iPhones, offering 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays, respectively. A new rumor is circulating, however, that points to Apple’s efforts to shrink things back down to a more manageable size – specifically for their female customers.
Last week, the rumor broke in the Times of India, which cited a report from The Electronic Times of Taiwan, which itself cited its sources in Apple’s Asian supply chain. Apparently, Apple has plans for a new iPhone with a 4-inch display – going back to the dimensions found in the iPhone 5, 5s, and 5C. That series of phone was already a jump from the previous screen size of 3.5-inches, it should be noted.
The new phone, says the report, will come out sometime in the second half of 2015. If this rumor is true, that might mean we’ll hear about the iPhone 6s or whatever they’ll call it in September, just like we’ve heard about the last batch of iPhones.
The report adds that Apple is “looking to help out ‘female users’ who may be having problems using the big-screen iPhones.” As much as this reinforces gender stereotypes and reduces half the population to a single preference, it’s not a bad idea – at least in my experience.
When my girlfriend and I switched over to T-Mobile last year, we had to get some new phones. I picked the Nexus 5, because it was pure Android, had good specs, and wouldn’t break the bank. She didn’t pick anything, but had one caveat: her new phone should be small. We went with the Samsung Galaxy Light, a crappy phone that has been an utter disappointment. If only she’d have accepted a somewhat larger phone! Alas, it wasn’t to be: based on this experience, I can corroborate the idea that ladies like small phones, specifically if they have small hands. We should’ve spent more money for the iPhone, dammit.
Another factor that would seem to indicate the truth to this rumor is the forthcoming release of the Apple Watch. When that was unveiled this past September, Apple revealed that the Watch would come in two different sizes – large and small. The implication there, of course, is that women are built physically different from men in general. Having a smaller accessory for daintier wrists makes sense. Moreover, when Apple releases the Apple Watch in two different sizes, it’ll do well to offer smaller iPhones too, which would likely result in bigger bundled sales.
A rumor like this makes a ton of sense to me, especially considering Apple’s longtime focus on aesthetics and their preference for making phones with smaller displays.
[Source: Times of India via Neowin]