"No one's going to buy a big phone"

[pdq]

...says the dig from Samsung.

But try as I might, I can't find the original quote. This article quotes Jobs as saying "You can't get your hand around it" and "Noone's going to buy it"...but doesn't provide a link to back it up, and I can't find it by Googling those phrases or parts thereof.

This article comes closer, ostensibly quoting Jobs at a press conference 4 years ago dealing with the "Antennagate" issue:

Engadget wrote:
In response to a question at its press conference today about whether Apple could've done anything to avoid its antenna issues with the iPhone 4, Steve took the opportunity to rip on bigger rivals, saying that making a phone so big "you can't get your hand around it" helps, but that "no one's going to buy that."

(my emphasis)

...which to me is saying, look, every phone that you hold in your hand is going to have some signal antennuation issues, unless you made it so huge you couldn't hold it in your hand, but that's not a practical solution to an antenna problem. That article goes on to say "We're assuming he's likely talking about the latest crop" [of larger Android phones], but the link they give to back up their quote doesn't include the actual quote from Jobs or anything else that I can find to justify their assumption, particularly since at that press conference, Apple demonstrated the same sort of signal attentuation in competitor's larger phones (such as the Samsung Omnia II).

Listen, I'm not just being obtuse; there certainly were ads that Apple ran in 2012 (well after Jobs' death) that suggested the (smaller) iPhone's size was thoughtfully chosen. And I don't think I'm a Jobs-worshipper - he certainly had his demons, and he could be a real a$$hole to others. It just bothers me that everyone's throwing various versions of this quote around, with no reference to the original quote to judge it's context.

How 'bout y'all? Exactly what did Jobs say, and in reference to exactly what?

[chopper]

Just part of the Steve smokescreen? He also said no one would watch video on a small screen before the iPhone was intro'd.

[Article Accelerator]

Was he wrong? There is an optimum size for handhelds and the new giant phones are not it.

These huge phones optimize for something other than pocketability and one-handed operation…

[pdq]

Article Accelerator wrote:
Was he wrong? There is an optimum size for handhelds and the new giant phones are not it.

These huge phones optimize for something other than pocketability and one-handed operation…

I'm not saying whether the sentiment is correct or not - My point is that I don't think Jobs was saying what everyone assumes he was saying. As far as I can tell, he certainly never said "no one's going to buy a big phone".

[sekker]

Just as the 15" laptop is STILL the magic size for most machines, there will be an optimal size for a phone for most people.

Apple has finally grown up to the view that they have the capacity to support multiple screen sizes for their precious iPhone market.

For many people, the 4.7in form factor is going to be the sweet spot.

For some, the larger phone is just more screen real estate to use.

I just don't want to buy the 5.5" screen and find it has crappy battery life. It's far too big to add an external battery case and still fit in my pocket!

[hal]

It took a lot more work than I thought, but I found the quote:

the context is re: the iphone4 connection problems from not holding it properly :-)

Q: Is there anything you could have said during the iPhone 4 launch keynote to lower expectations?

A: Steve: I've thought about that a lot. We didn't fully understand if there were problems. We might have set the expectations that all smartphones have weak spots. One of the things we've learned by being a leader in the smartphone world is that we have to educate. So we needed data, and we've got that now. You could make a really big smartphone that doesn't have this problem, so big you can't get your hand around it, but no one's going to buy that. We're not perfect, and we're working our asses off.

http://www.macrumors.com/2010/07/16/cove...onference/

Looks to me like the context changes the message. He said that no one would buy a large phone if you couldn't get your hand around it to operate... but the iphone 6 is, they say, NOT so big that you can't operate it... they moved buttons... you no longer HAVE to wrap your hand all around it to operate it...

and don't hold all old quotes against steve - he DID change his mind on occasion. Even visionaries have to do that now and then...

[decay]

Like the iPad Mini?

During the Q4 Apple earnings call, Cook addressed words spoken by Steve Jobs in the past regarding a 7-inch tablet:

On comments that Steve made before about 7 inch tablets, let me be clear, we would not make one of the 7 inch tablets, we don’t think they’re good products, we’d never make one.

In case you’re wondering what Steve Jobs said about the 7-inch form factor, here’s his original quote:

7-inch tablets are tweeners: too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with the iPad. ….7-Inch tablets are dead on arrival.

Jobs had more to say in his day about the smaller tablet:

While one could increase the resolution to make up some of the difference, it is meaningless unless your tablet also includes sandpaper, so that the user can sand down their fingers to around one-quarter of their present size. Apple has done expensive user testing on touch interfaces over many years, and we really understand this stuff.

There are clear limits of how close you can place physical elements on a touch screen, before users cannot reliably tap, flick or pinch them. This is one of the key reasons we think the 10-inch screen size is the minimum size required to create great tablet apps.

[DRR]

edit - nevermind. Reading comprehension problem

[pdq]

Hal- thanks for the link- looks like another transcript of the same press conference I mentioned, and reemphasizing the point that Jobs was referring to a smartphone "so big you can't get your hand around it", which none of the current crop (iPhone, Android, or others) are.

Decay - good point, and I remember Jobs saying he didn't like the 7" form factor tabs, that you would have to sandpaper your fingertips or somesuch to use them. He and/or Apple clearly had a change of heart about that, acknowledging market realities. As I mentioned, I'm not saying Jobs was infallible - far from it - just that he didn't say "no one is going to buy a big phone", as some are trying their darndest to suggest.

[testcase]

BULL! In addition to an iPhone 5s, I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 with a 5.7" screen. I LOVE the BIG screen and, have NO problem using it. If I decide to upgrade from my iPhone 5s, it will be to the iPhone 6+.


I also love my 17"MBP and, will not be a happy camper when it gets too long in the tooth to be really usable. A 15" screen would be so cramped. I bought my MBP directly from Apple.com right after the 17" was EOLed so, it's 2.25 years old now. I have Apple Care until next June and fully expect it to be viable for several years after that (my Pismo was a trouper for over eight years!).