14 DAY TRIAL // Remember when, back in 2008, everyone was waiting for the iPhone mini? It was the perfect device - smaller than the then-huge iPhone 3G. Seven years have passed and some of us are again in the same situation: waiting for the mini-iPhone compared to the now-huge iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus.
Yes. I am one of those stuck with an iPhone 5s. It has the perfect-size display for me, and it fits in my hand and my pocket. Sure enough, I tried using the iPhone 6 and even touched the 6 Plus. Just like some of you, I said they are too big for me and went back to my iPhone 5s.
Getting used to it
I know it is just a matter of getting used to it. I was on an iPhone 4 for two years and I loved it. The device was fast and the hardware was simply beautiful. I still believe the iPhone 4 is the most beautiful iPhone Apple made. It is thick considering today's devices, but the glass and aluminum combination was awesome for its time.
Right before I switched to the iPhone 5s, I was thinking just how odd it is going to be to hold a device with a "taller" screen. The extra screen real-estate was tempting, but my beloved iPhone 4 was good enough. I took the leap of faith, and sure enough in just under a week I did not look back at my old phone. It is a hand-down phone in my family and I still use it occasionally. Leaving aside the slow OS, I cannot believe I was happy with such a small screen.
So I must admit: maybe if I switched to an iPhone 6, I would be happy with it as well, and the current iPhone 5s screen would seem small and odd to use.
That being said, as long as the iPhone 6 does not offer any other advantages, I chose not to upgrade. But the iPhone 6s (or maybe iPhone 7) is just around the corner.
The need to move on
I have upgraded my phones not on a two-year but on a three-year basis, so I may be able to skip the iPhone 6s, too. I know the current iPhone 5s will get very, very slow on iOS 9, and it will be a pain to use it. As of iOS 8.1, the battery doesn't seem to last that long so I may face a decision to upgrade the phone or change the battery. Having a phone battery that lasts less than 24 hours is not something I can take for long.
Another important aspect of my daily routine is to do whatever I need with a bug-free phone. And the iPhone 5s has showed a strange behavior every once in a while. I've seen apps crashing or not working at all. Even Apple's own Music.app crashes with smart playlists. I know this is something Apple can fix with an update, but where's the long-awaited iOS 8.3.1 when you need it?
Bigger is the new better
Apple was forced, in a way, to create larger screen devices. They were a little bit late to the game because they usually take about two years to create and market a new product. That makes the iPhone 6 as old as the iPhone 5 in Apple's book. They were designing it in 2012 only to release it in 2014.
Sure enough, Apple may have forgotten about the iPhone 5s users and their need for a smaller device, just because they were focusing on the bigger screens. Bigger has become the new better. And by that I mean that larger screen devices seem to be the new trend and everyone is onboard with that.
However, Apple has a way out of this. When they release a new phone, let's call it iPhone 6s for the same $199 (€175) they have to lower the price for the current iPhone 6 models to $99 (€87). The Cupertino-based tech giant will also feel forced to sell an iPhone for 0 US dollars (with a two-year subscription) and that cannot be the iPhone 5s.
Choose your color
And this is how we get to have a 4-inch iPhone, but not the one we were all looking for. The future 4-inch phone would be an iPhone 6c. Yes, you are right! Plastic case, many colors and iPhone 5s internals with an upgraded camera and Touch ID.
Are we going to be happy with that? Hell NO! This would not be a full-fledged new-generation iPhone, but a dumbed-down iPhone 5s in a slimmer, more colorful package.
Yes, I know the device will sell a lot. Developing countries and teenagers alike will love it. And why wouldn't they? After all, this is the 4-inch iPhone that the world was waiting for.
Don't get me wrong! It is still an awesome device. It's just not the iPhone tech geeks and Apple users were looking for. One can only hope that Apple learnt their lesson with the iPhone 5c and the iPhone 6c will not feel cheap. They could, at least, keep the metal body and skip the plastic for good. One last request - can we skip the rounded sides as well?
Circling back to the title of this editorial, the users will hate a plastic iPhone 6c because this is not 2013. We do not have an awesome iPhone 5s with the same screen size coming out at the same time. It's just the larger iPhone 6s and whatever they are going to release after iPhone 6 Plus.
Talking about the successor of iPhone 6 Plus, here's another idea: skip that altogether and focus on the 4-inch and 4.5-inch size only.