Among the many topics address by Tim Cook during yesterday’s quarterly results conference call, Cook took a moment to discuss rumors that Apple may be working on a larger version of the iPhone. In a world where 5 inch, and even 6-inch smartphones, dubbed “phablets,” are becoming more common, Cook was quick to squash rumors that Apple would head in that direction, noting that there are still to many quality trade-offs in such displays.
From Cook’s comments:
My view continues to be that iPhone 5 has the best display in the industry. We always strive to create the very best display. Some customers value large screen size. Others value other factors such as resolution, color quality, white balance, reflectivity, power consumption, compatibility of apps, portability. Our competitors have made some significant tradeoffs in many of these areas to ship a larger display. We would not ship a larger display iPhone while these tradeoffs exist.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that we’ll never see an iPhone with a larger screen. Apple has never been quick to jump on the latest bandwagon – and the trend toward larger smartphones is no exception. When and if Apple sees the opportunity to product a larger iPhone without compromising quality, battery life, design, or the user experience, they’ll likely do so – but as for when that might happen, one guess is as good as any other.
Apple has made similarly negative comments towards 7-inch tablets, and the inclusion of 4G LTE in mobile devices – but as technology progressed, and those features became more feasible and more demanded, Apple eventually delivered on both of those.
As Tim Cook notes, deciding what direction to take the iPhone in is all about what trade-offs each possibility would require – and that’s been one of Apple’s core ideas for as long as I can recount. Personally, I agree with Tim Cook on this wholeheartedly. It’s better to do something right than to be the fastest to jump on the bandwagon.
