As with TVs, albeit for slightly different reasons, the smartphone market has become fixated on size. Larger displays with greater pixel density, leaving more room on the screen for more attractive apps. Samsung has a form factor for every mood these days, from the Galaxy Pocket Neo (3” and 240×320 pixels) to the flagship S7 (5.1”, 1440×2560) to the outsized Galaxy Note tab (7”, 800×1280).
Apple’s ethos of premium product, premium price was putting the iPhone on a purely upward curve from the iPhone 5 (4”, 640×1136 pixels) through to the iPhone 6 (4.7”, 750×1334) and 6 Plus (5.5”, 1920×1080). If there is one thing Tim Cook era Apple is notable for, however, it’s flexibility. Steve Jobs’ insistence that the iPad’s 9.7” screen was all the tablet you’ll ever need, his successor has given us the 7” iPad mini and 12.9” iPad Pro. At Monday’s product showcase in Cupterino, Cook gave us two more devices to cheer for, both new executions on familiar form factors: a 9.7” (1536×2048 pixels) iPad Pro and the 4” (1136×640) iPhone SE.
It’s not just the resolution I’m concern with in these products, more the usage model their releases suggest. My iPad is only half the device it is without a keyboard peripheral and enough people agreed that it made Apple rethink the tablet as not just a content consumption device for the front room, but one for business and creative users, as well. The increase in screen size to above 12” with the iPad Pro put it in the laptop space and made it a novel competitor for ultrabooks such as the iPad Air. Now we have a situation where the Pro has done so well that its spec is being crammed back down to ‘regular’ size. It makes one wonder if this was part of the original product roadmap to scale up on spec with an eye to the laptop market, using the casual experience as an entry point to get people to embrace the idea of using a tablet in the first place. Impressive foresight, if that were the case. Or maybe Apple is responding to Q1 2016 figures showing a continued decline in sales – down from 22 million to 15 million units.
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Enough of the iPad, what’s far more interesting to this hack’s weary eyes is the return of the iPhone 4. Despite the omnishambles of Antennagate, the iPhone 4 and 4S remain the most attractive handsets Apple has ever produced. Where the five could be accused of being ‘the same but longer’ and the 6/6 Plus as being a bit samey in comparison to similar offerings from Samsung and HTC, the 4 remains the standard in design, ergonomics and materials. My 4S is still my go-to phone and but for an aging battery and the greater heft of iOS I’d be happy if it was the last I ever used – it even fits in my pocket. This is why I’m borderline excited about the SE. Is there a gap in the market for it beyond stuckists? IPhone sales for the first quarter of 2016 were largely static at 75 million units, so it’s not like there’s a slump in the market to correct. However, having a lower cost phone occupying the price point of the dinky 5C while retaining the classic Apple build quality would be more ‘brand appropriate’. Reassuringly expensive – to borrow a slogan.
So is the answer to the iPad’s struggles to scale up and slim down, while the iPhone does both? Let’s see how actual sales go after the fanboys clog up the preorders.
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