> There is no argument that some people really do like these big
  > closer-to-5-than-4-inch Android and Windows phones. I was in a
  > Verizon retail store yesterday (long story; don’t ask) and
  > overheard a relatively small woman buying a Galaxy S III. A
  > companion asked if she wasn’t worried that it was too big, and she
  > said no, big was exactly what she wanted, because she doesn’t have
  > a tablet and wanted to do a lot of reading on whatever phone she
  > got. She even said she was thinking about the 5-inch Galaxy Note
  > (which Verizon doesn’t carry). It was like a conversation out of a
  > Samsung commercial. Such people surely think the iPhone 5’s
  > display remains too small. But, trust me, there are going to be
  > many long-time iPhone users complaining that it’s too big after
  > they upgrade.
  >
  > In an ideal world, perhaps Apple would offer two iPhone sizes --
  > like they do with products such as MacBook Pros, MacBook Airs, and
  > iMacs. A smaller one with the classic 3.5-inch display, and a
  > larger (say, 4.5-inch?) one for people who want that.

That holds up pretty well, but I undershot the two sizes by an inch apiece.

Also, I haven't said whether I think a 5.5-inch iPhone is actually any good, because, duh, I haven't even seen one yet, let alone used one.

Next to them sat the occasional iPhone owner who was doing basic Facebook duty or playing simple games. I'm sure Apple is feeling a lot of pressure in Asia to move to a bigger screen.

Before Korea, last week I was in Japan, and didn't see this large of a percentage of big screen phones, but I saw lots of iPad minis out on the train and elsewhere while phones were safely kept in pocket. I think once people get a taste of a larger screen its hard to go back to the tiny 4" world. Sadly, this exposes the cult of personality Apple enthusiasts often partake of. 4" was perfect because Jobs and some psuedoscience said so. Now its not. I'm getting a little sick of these loudmouth guys who think perfection is achievable. Popular technology has a lot more in common with fashion than engineering. Wish these guys understood this and stopped putting their foot in their mouths, not that this is going to hurt Gruber's ad impressions. Being a dramatic soapbox-like loudmouth seems to be very profitable for bloggers. Why do we always gravitate to the Perez Hilton's of the tech world instead of more informed and moderate voices? Is fandom always irrational and will always reward those who know how to play the lowest common denominator?

But 4" is too small if it is the only device you have, if you use your device both as your mobile and as a PC or tablet. This has been Apple's blind spot, exacerbated by their focus on higher income customers who can afford multiple devices.

Much of the rest of the world cannot afford multiple expensive devices.

Much of today's youth are mobile only by choice. Since they text rather than make calls, and almost always have headphones with them, the awkwardness of putting a large device to their ear is a non-issue.

These were gadget happy geeks on IRC mind you. There are also the famous Slashdot iPod comments. Once the apple fans have gotten used to the larger screens they will think it was the way Jobs intended.

This can be seen again and again in everything from politics to religion .. to tech (which is not far from either nowadays, right?).

His function in the technology news media is almost exactly like a political pundit, he sets the talking points and they'll reverberate around the Apple-sphere for years even they've long stopped making any kind of sense.

I didn't flag this one because for what it's worth, it's a decent approach and analysis and technically possible.

What's not said here is of course the denouncement that he's now obliged to make against the larger format phone (after towing the line for so many years that bigger phones are the worst thing since the last mass extinction event) and the writeup about how this entire kind of analysis is necessary because of weaknesses in Apple's approach to handling different screen size and resolutions that only now being solved.

I've argued with a somewhat prominent advocate of certain touch behaviors, but it simply makes far more sense that interactive elements be ordered by priority from the bottom of the screen where they are most accessible by one handed users.

Part of it is that Android just isn't designed for one-handed use, but the limited width is a big part of it too.

I don't think I want a larger phone, but I can understand why Apple might make them.

  1564 × 880 is feasible for a 5.5-inch phone.
  That’s what you get if you maintain the 326
  pixels-per-inch density and @2x scale. This
  would increase area — the number of points
  displayed on screen — by a whopping 89 percent.
  But it wouldn’t increase the size of what you
  see at all. I think the sweet spot for a
  5.5-inch phone requires you see to more content
  and to make what you see at least a little bit
  bigger. So that’s why I’d bet against 1564 × 880.
 (1564 × 880 would be implausible for the 4.7-inch
  phone: it would render UI elements and text 15
  percent smaller than all previous iPhones.)

Wat?

For a photo it can be acceptable. Not great, but acceptable. For UI elements, it is horrible. Smudgy, blurry edge makes no one happy.