To many, myself included, Apple not making a 4-inch iPhone 6 (perhaps ‘iPhone 6 mini’ or ‘iPhone 6C’) is madness. Then again Apple not making a 4-inch iPhone 6 at the time it announced the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus felt equally crazy.
So while I’m not in favour of Apple only selling iPhones in larger sizes, it is worth playing devil’s advocate and trying to understand why the company would be so quick to dump the smaller screens which have served it so well for 7 generations.
Read more - New 4-inch iPhone 6 Reported. 5 Reasons Apple Must Make It
1. Market Demand
While vocal, those still desperate for a 4-inch iPhone 6 may be in a smaller minority than they imagine.
Data from analyst IDC in September found growth in the ‘phablet’ market (which it defines as 5.5-inch to sub-7-inch devices) is going to increase by 209% by the end of year. By comparison growth in regular smartphones will have grown just 12.8%. This will go on for some time as well as growth rates for phablets is still expected to be more than 5x that of smaller smartphones (16.6% vs 3.2%) by the end of 2018.
Furthermore China, a major target for Apple, has long coveted phablets with many owners using them instead of a laptop or desktop computer altogether.
Consequently there is a clear business argument for Apple to size up its iPhones rather than keep a smaller version.
Read more - iPhone 6 Plus Vs Galaxy Note 4 Review: 2014's Biggest Phone Fight
2. Changing Usage
What drives this growth in big screen phones is changing usage. In short: smartphones are no longer primarily used as phones. In fact some may argue they never were (smartphones tend to be small computers that just happen to make phone calls).
This change has been going on for some time. For example, way back in June 2012 UK carrier O2 observed that making calls was only the fifth most frequent activity on a smartphone. It had fallen behind web browsing, social media, listening to music and gaming (graphic below). Emails and messaging back then were still less popular than phone calls, but it is hard to see that still being the case today.
As such if your phone is no longer predominantly a phone, it doesn’t need to be phone sized. Media consumption is most enhanced through a larger screen (which also drives purchases of more apps, video, music, etc) so smaller screens are marginalised.
3. Apple Watch Booster
Of course a common counter argument to point 2 is that larger screens make big phones more inconvenient to use one handed and that is undeniably true.
Then again Apple has a plan for this: the Apple Watch. For the times when your big phone isn't convenient to use the Apple Watch is designed to provide at-a-glance information. Don’t want an Apple Watch? Perhaps that will change after six months with the iPhone 6 Plus.
Read More - Apple Watch: Everything You Need To Know
4. The iPhone 6 WILL Get Smaller
One of the things which struck me most in my iPhone 6 review is that the 4.7-inch device is just as large as many 5-inch Android phones and not even that much smaller than the 5.5-inch LG G3 (above) because of its large top and bottom bezels.
This will inevitably change. Ever smaller bezels have become a battleground for smartphone manufacturers to offer an aesthetic advantage. When Apple finally gets around to cutting the bezels down on the iPhone 6 (the home button will have to adapt) a 4.7-inch iPhone may not be that much bigger than the 4-inch iPhone 5S given it also has large bezels.
This is unlikely to happen before a design refresh (so iPhone 7 in 2016 rather than iPhone 6S in 2015) but launching a 4-inch iPhone 6 that may not have a place within the line-up inside two years doesn’t make a lot of business sense and even risks cannibalisation.
Read more - iPhone 6: Owners Must Adapt To 5 Big Changes
5. Lack of Competition
One of the strongest arguments for a 4-inch iPhone 6 is that there is no real competition from rivals at this size. All so-called ‘mini’ Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini and Sony Xperia Z3 Compact are actually 4.6-inches and above making them rivals for the iPhone 6.
That said of these mini and compact phones the only rival with truly cutting edge specs is the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact, the rest are mid-range at best. Furthermore with rival manufacturers all seemingly determined to keep going bigger and bigger each new generation is actually less of a threat to the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 than the last. For example:
- Motorola Moto X (2013): 4.7-inches; Motorola Moto X (2014) 5.2-inches
- Samsung Galaxy S3 (2012): 4.8-inches, S4 (2013) 5-inches, S5 (2014) 5.1-inches
- HTC One M7 (2013) 4.7-inches, M8 (2014) 5-inches, rumoured M9 (2015): 5.2-inches
- LG G2 (2013): 5.2-inches, LG G3 (2014) 5.5-inches
- Nexus 4 (2012): 4.7-inches, Nexus 5 (2013) 5-inches, Nexus 6 (2014) 6-inches
Read more: iPhone 6 And iPhone 6 Plus vs iPhone 5S And iPhone 5: Should You Upgrade?
Sad Facts
Despite all this I do think it would be a great shame if Apple didn't make a 4-inch iPhone 6. Asking long-time users to completely ditch a form factor they know and love is a big ask and getting them to do so only because they have no other choice long term if they are going to stick with Apple is tough.
Then again Apple is a business. Industry data says that for the majority bigger is better and it is also where market momentum will lie for the next 3-4 years. Yes Apple still could surprise us with a 4-inch iPhone 6 (as a budget option alongside an iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus in late 2015 would be a good fit), but I just can't see it.
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