That “Different Factor”
While iOS is almost five years old and has matured considerably since its inception, I think it now faces a little problem of some users switching over to the other side.
With the iPhone and iOS, Apple has crafted out an extremely well-designed series phone. Something that is meticulously designed from the ground up doesn’t have to change wildly if it has been thought out carefully from the start, which is true for iPhone and iOS.
(Picture from Gizmodo. I added the 2007 Android as it completes the picture.)
Unfortunately, I believe that the iPhone’s reliable familiarity and consistency may work against Apple for quite a number of people looking to purchase a new phone. There are people who want something different when they get a new phone. Externally, the iPhone 4S is so similar to its predecessor that it has turned some people off from an upgrade (based entirely on my anecdotal experience).
Android (or perhaps Windows Phone as well) provides variation. Each version is markedly different from the previous one. It moved from being a Blackberry clone to an iPhone one, and shook things up a bit with each major update. Android phone manufacturers have different user interfaces between them. More importantly, there are hundreds of Android hardware options. I think that it is this “different factor” which accounts for some people opting for Android (aside from those who plain prefer it over iOS). Some are bored with their iPhones: “It is different from my phone”. For some, it is probably an attempt at anti-comformity: “it is different from the phone everyone else is using”. It does not hurt that a switch to Android is more attractive than something more radically different like Windows Phone as the former is an exceedingly successful iPhone clone: it is different, but still somewhat comfortingly similar.
Screen size easily affects the “different factor” since it is the most obvious facet of a touchscreen smartphone. A 4” screen isn’t necessarily better than a 3.5” one. Some people may feel that a 4” screen is able to display more content, while others may feel that a 3.5” display makes for a more portable phone. I suspect that for many, a bigger screen just feels nicer simply because it is different. If not for the trend of “bigger is better” when it comes to screen sizes, even a smaller screen size may seem like an upgrade.
Why, HTC, now part of the bigger-is-better crowd, released a smaller 2.8” version to their flagship 3.5” Xda II smartphone in 2004 as an upgrade:
It was well-received. That was during a period when the prevailing trend was “smaller is better”, perhaps not so coincidently after Apple released the iPod mini (the phone was named Xda II Mini).
I don’t buy that “bigger is better”, but I do think that a bigger screen is indeed obviously different. Apple may well release a 4” iPhone next year to easily satisfy this “different factor”. However, this is Apple we’re talking about - albeit sans-Steve Jobs - so I am interested to see if Apple can reinvent its flagship product on its fifth birthday without changing the screen size, something that is not flawed to begin with. Think different they have to indeed.
PS: Of course, this problem may indeed be a non-issue for Apple considering the iPhone 4S’ stellar sales figure so far.
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